Page 320 of Salt Between the Wolves

Both apprentices immediately looked up from their work.

"What kind of records?"

"Old ones."

The younger woman straightened in her chair.

"How old?"

"We don't know yet."

That answer only seemed to make the discovery more appealing.

Eira hid a smile.

"We are not leaving tomorrow."

The younger apprentice visibly deflated while the older one sighed.

"That means no."

"That means no."

The younger woman looked unconvinced.

Eira shook her head and settled back at the desk. Around her, parchment rustled, pens scratched steadily across paper, and afternoon light drifted through the high windows, catching the dust suspended in the air.

For the first time in generations, the archives of Ironfang felt alive—not because of the records themselves, but because people cared enough to search through them, preserve them, and argue over what they might contain.

The realization brought a quiet satisfaction that needed no words.

She glanced once more toward the strange pages resting at the edge of her desk, covered in unknown symbols, an unknown language, and unknown history. Then her gaze shifted to Leander's letter—Silverwake, more records, more questions, and more answers waiting somewhere beyond the mountains.

The future stretched before her in a hundred different directions, and for once she felt no need to choose only one.

A knock sounded against the open door, and all three women looked up.

One of Ironfang's servants stood in the entrance. "There you are."

Eira immediately recognized that tone—trouble.

"What happened?"

The servant smiled. "Nothing."

Which meant something had happened.

"The preparations are beginning."

For a moment Eira simply stared, then understanding arrived. Across the room both apprentices gasped simultaneously, while Mara, who had been quietly reading in a corner for nearly an hour, looked entirely too pleased with herself.

The servant bowed. "The elders are asking for you."

The younger apprentice made a sound that suggested she might explode from excitement, and the older one wasn't far behind.

Eira closed her eyes briefly, then stood.

Outside, beyond the stone walls of Ironfang, the wind moved across the mountains, and somewhere above the fortress, on a cliff overlooking the valley, a small gathering was beginning to assemble, waiting.