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Agricultural inventory. Gods. Why did we copy agricultural inventory? Cassian. Probably. Then— Wait. I move the page closer. "Nyra."

She stops. "What." I point. One line near the bottom.

Barely legible. Access through the lower passage remained prohibited following disturbances reported near the Heart. Nyra takes the page. Reads.

Her face changes. "Date."

I check. "One hundred and thirty-eight years ago." Five years later. "Lower passage." I say.

"Yes."

"That's physical."

"Maybe."

"What symbolic concept has a lower passage?"

"A religious site." Damn.

"A structure."

"Possibly."

"Underground?"

"Possibly."

I glare at her. "You're enjoying this."

"I am absolutely not."

We search. Really search. The next thirty minutes disappear. Dates. Names. Places. References. Most useless. Some strange. Nothing definitive. One document describes Varethia as protected by strength at its center. Could mean anything. Another mentions ceremonies honoring the enduring heart of the kingdom. Probably metaphorical. Another refers simply to the Heart. No context. No location. No explanation. It's maddening. Then Nyra notices something. She goes very still. "What?" She doesn't answer. Instead, she pulls one sheet from the pile.

Checks the date. Another. Another. I watch. "Nyra."

"Wait." She starts separating documents. Left pile. Right pile. Then another. And another. Her movements get faster. I recognize that expression. Something has clicked. Finally, she looks at me. "Dates."

"What about them?"

"These references." She taps the left pile. "All before the last Hollowborn conflict."

I look toward the right. "And after?"

"Nothing."

My stomach tightens. "Nothing?"

"I searched every copied document we have dated afterward."

"That doesn't mean—"

"I know." She interrupts. "It doesn't prove anything."

Good. "But?"

Nyra looks at the papers. "The phrase disappears."

I sit back. Could mean terminology changed. Could mean the tradition ended. Could mean whatever it referred to stopped existing. Could mean nothing. Could mean everything. I hate mysteries. Apparently I chose the wrong Academy. "You know what I'm going to say." Nyra says.