CHAPTER SIXTY NINE – THE OLD RUNES

"Can I ask you something?" She turned to find Florian watching her with those penetrating emerald eyes. "Of course." "What drew you to this place?" he asked, waving a hand vaguely. "To our world, our family's orbit? Was it curiosity? A sense of something...more?" His question gave Cassie pause as she considered her answer. Was it purely circumstance, a desire for a better life that had led her to take the job at the Grey Room that fateful night? Or had there been some deeper pull, some unconscious awareness that bigger mysteries awaited her here? "I suppose...I've always felt a little out of place," she said slowly. "Like there was more to the world than what was on the surface, you know? So when this opportunity came along, as strange and grandiose as it seemed...I don't know. I felt compelled to dive in, to embrace the unknown." Florian held her gaze for a long moment before nodding slowly. "I know the feeling," he murmured in a soft rumble. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows