Page 319 of Salt Between the Wolves

Eira listened patiently, asking questions, making notes, correcting dates, and suggesting cross-references, until for nearly an hour she lost herself in the work and found herself wondering, for perhaps the hundredth time, how much history had vanished simply because nobody had cared enough to preserve it.

When the discussion finally slowed, the younger apprentice hesitated and then glanced toward a separate pile resting at the corner of the table.

"There was one other thing."

Eira looked up as the girl pointed toward several loose pages.

"We found those hidden inside a damaged ledger."

"Hidden?"

"Folded between the bindings."

The older apprentice frowned. "We can't read them."

Eira crossed the room and picked up the pages, studying the unfamiliar writing, which was not merely old but different, the symbols curving in ways she had never seen before—no Northern script, no Frostvein markings, no trade language from the coast. For a moment something stirred at the edge of her thoughts, a feeling she could not quite name, not recognition but possibility.

"What do you think it is?" asked the younger girl.

Eira turned another page, the strange symbols staring back at her, patient and waiting, before she set the documents aside.

"Leave them on my desk."

The girls exchanged a look.

"That's all?"

"For now."

The younger apprentice appeared mildly disappointed, while the older one seemed relieved.

Eira smiled faintly. "For now," she repeated, because something told her those pages had waited a very long time to be found, and they were not finished telling their story yet.

The younger apprentice reluctantly returned to her sorting while the older gathered another stack of damaged records.

Eira unfolded the letter.

The handwriting was immediately recognizable.

Eira,

The eastern storage vault has finally been opened. Among the records we found several references to agreements between coastal settlements and northern packs that appear to predate modern law. One document mentions something called the Law of Two Voices, though unfortunately the surviving text is incomplete. I suspect you will want to examine it yourself.

Should you decide to do so, Silverwake remains open to you.

Leander

Eira read the letter twice before folding it carefully.

"Good news?" the younger apprentice asked.

"Possibly."

The answer was enough to capture both women's attention.

"What is it?"

"There are records in Silverwake," Eira said.