Awakened
I reached up with trembling hands, feeling along the carved lower edge of the heavy wooden frame until my fingertips pressed against the hidden mechanical latch buried deep within the woodwork.
With a quiet, metallic click, the heavy gilded frame swung outward on invisible brass hinges, exposing the dark, square alcove of the wall safe hidden directly behind the plaster.
I wiped the hot tears quickly from my face with the back of my hand, taking a deep, shuddering breath as I smoothed my features into a mask of pure steel. There was no room for tears tonight. Tears were for the weakling daughter my father thought he had raised. Tears were for the fragile girl Lurii laughed at in the universi