Page 370

"I know."

We walk several steps. Then I ask: "Do you think they moved?" Rhyven doesn't answer immediately. His gaze moves across the street. Windows. Alleys. People. Always watching.

"I think something that spent weeks taking exactly what it wanted doesn't suddenly lose interest."

Cold moves through me. "What did it want?"

"That's the problem." He looks at me. "We still don't know." Human. Fae. Siren. Vampire. Wardkeeper. Dragon. Different manifestations. Different magic. Different bonds. Different defenses. Maybe they weren't victims selected randomly. Maybe they were questions. And the Hollowborn were collecting answers.

Rhyven's gaze shifts toward my face. I know what he's thinking before he says anything. Blood Echo. Me. Whatever the Hollowborn still don't understand. His jaw tightens. I point at him. "No."

He blinks. "I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"No."

"You had the face."

"What face."

"The one where you decide I'm in mortal danger."

"That's just my face." I laugh despite myself. Good. I needed that.

At the Academy gate, our authorization is checked twice. The guard scans the copied pages. Caelen refuses to surrender them. Rhyven backs him. We get through. The wards close behind us. For the first time today, my shoulders loosen. Barely.

The Council meets us within an hour. Not all of them.

Three representatives. Professor Vayne. The Headmaster. My father. Of course. The copied records are placed on the table. Nyra explains. Again. The Thinning. Hollow places. Eleven quiet days. Elarion. Tiravell. Lyssara. The route. Nobody interrupts. My father's expression changes when Nyra reaches the regional reports. Not surprise. That's what bothers me. Recognition. Rhyven sees it too. I know because his posture changes beside me. Caelen notices. Of course. "You knew." I say.

My father looks at me."We knew similar reports existed."

"That's not what I asked."

"Eirea."

"Did you know the disappearances stopped before spreading?" Silence. Answer enough. Anger moves through me. Not explosive. Cold.

"How long?"

"The historical record is incomplete."

"How long did Varethia go quiet?"

"Eleven days in the most reliable account." Nyra's fingers tighten around her notes. Exactly what we found.

"And you didn't think that mattered?" Caelen asks.

My father's gaze shifts toward him. "We did."

"Then why didn't we know?"

"Because this investigation extends beyond five students."

Rhyven speaks. "Then perhaps information relevant to those five students should extend back." The room changes. Slightly. Rhyven doesn't raise his voice. He never needs to.

One Council representative looks toward him. "Careful, Chief Corvell."