Page 183

"I know." She smiles. "That's why I'm explaining." She kneels again. Instead of organizing by events... She organizes by questions. What changed? When did it begin? Who witnessed it? Who benefits?

I feel my heart beat a little faster. "You think someone benefits?"

She looks at me as though the answer is obvious. "Eirea. If these aren't natural, they're intentional." The room falls quiet. I don't think...I don't think any of us had actually said that aloud before. She circles the word: Intentional. Then draws four lines beneath it. "If someone wanted the wards weakened they wouldn't attack the strongest point first."

I blink. "They'd test them."

"Exactly."

"Briar's Hollow."

She nods. "One village. One anchor. They watched." Another line. "They learned." Another. "They tried again somewhere else."

I feel my stomach twist. "We never thought about..." I start.

"The order." She finishes for me.

"No."

She flips through my notes again. Her finger stops. "Wait."

"What?"

"You said Professor Neris received thirty-eight letters."

"Yes."

"From different kingdoms."

"Yes."

She becomes very still. "Were they all the same?"

"No. They described different manifestations. Different creatures. Different wards."

She nods slowly. "So why..." She trails off.

"Why what?"

"They're all filed together."

I frown. "Because they're related."

"Maybe." She meets my eyes. "Or maybe...someone wanted Professor Neris to think they were." I stare. I'd never...I'd never even considered that. Nyra immediately shakes her head. "No." She says again.

"What?" I ask.

"I don't like that thought." She admits.

"You just had it."

"I know. It doesn't mean it's right." She writes it anyway. Assumption—not fact. I watch her underline it twice. "My grandfather used to say something." She murmurs.

"What?"

"When everyone agrees too quickly...look for the person who benefits from agreement." The sentence settles heavily between us. She writes it in the corner of the page. Not as evidence. As a reminder. I study the growing web of parchment spread across the floor. It's beautiful. Complicated. Terrifying. For the first time the investigation exists outside my own mind. Outside Professor Neris' office. Outside the Archive. It's real. Visible. Shared. Nyra suddenly points toward the page labeled Blood Echo. "I have a question." I nod. "You said everyone believes Blood Echo lets you read memories."

"Yes."