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"That sounded convincing."

"It wasn't meant to."

We wait. Twenty minutes. Thirty. Forty-seven. No bells. No alarm. No footsteps running toward us.

Only Council doors opening and closing below. I try reading. Impossible. Nyra pretends to compare dates.

Cassian sleeps sitting up. Again. At one thirty-four, someone comes upstairs. Caelen. Alone.

I stand before he reaches the common room. His face gives me the answer. Not fear. Not yet. Something heavier. Recognition. "Elarion." Nyra says.

Caelen stops. Looks at her. "Yes." No one speaks.

"How many?" I ask.

His jaw tightens. "Nine."

Nyra goes very still. "Nine?"

"One night."

Cassian is awake now. "Where?"

"Three southern settlements."

Nyra looks toward the map. Historical Elarion. Southern settlements. Of course.

"Same method?" I ask.

"We think."

"Think?"

"Three disappearance sites show localized depletion."

My stomach drops.

"Residue?"

"One."

"Ward fluctuation?"

"Yes."

"How long before?"

"Unknown."

Nyra is already writing. Caelen rubs a hand over his face. "Two fae temporarily lost access to their manifestations." Silence.

Cassian lowers his blanket. "Completely?"

"For several minutes."

"And then?"

"Returned."