Page 26 of The Last Remaining Light

Caelyn openly watched her the entire way over, his eyes never leaving her.

“What?” Elowynn finally asked, setting the books atop the table.

He quickly averted his gaze.

“Nothing.”

“That was very clearly something,” she replied, one brow lifting in skepticism.

A beat passed.

“You have ink on your face,” he blurted.

Elowynn halted her movements, staring at him.

The corners of Caelyn’s mouth twitched upward.

"You are absolutely insufferable," she declared, finally realizing he was teasing her.

He shrugged before looking back at the charts he was organizing. “You are very easy to distract.”

“I am not certain whether that is something to be proud of or ashamed of,” she replied as warmth crept into her cheeks. Elowynn sat down rather quickly before he could notice.

Unfortunately, Caelyn had always been far more observant than she gave him credit for.

Rain continued to fall outside while the two of them worked near the hearth. Elowynn attempted reading portions of the Ash War histories Agatha assigned, while Caelyn repaired torn resonance charts beside her.

The farther she read, the heavier the air inside her chest became. “These records contradict each other constantly,” she muttered while twirling a strand of hair.

Caelyn glanced up from the chart spread across his lap. “How?”

“Well,” she began with a sigh. “One text claims the northern collapses began after Starless outbreaks in the eastern observatories.” She flipped ahead several pages with more force than necessary. “Another says the currents failed first and the outbreaks followed afterward.”

Caelyn took note of her emphasis on certain words and thought about it for a moment.

“Maybe both happened,” he offered.

A thoughtful crease formed between Elowynn’s brows. “That would mean the cities and Vigil Orders never understood the true source, though."

Caelyn abandoned the chart altogether and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Did anyone?"

Silence sat between them at his question.

Elowynn looked toward him and found him deep in thought, his eyes fixed somewhere beyond the table. Another soft sigh escaped her as she looked back at the pages. Outside, a gust of wind rattled the window panes, the rain intensifying further.

“There are records here of cities sealing entire districts during outbreaks,” she murmured, her finger tracing one line of text. “It says… some locked people inside before the blackening could spread.”

She raised her eyes and found the hope had drained from Caelyn's expression. Even so, she continued.

“Another observatory executed its own resonance scholars after signs of corruption appeared beneath their skin—”

A pause.

“Gods above,” she breathed, her hand fluttering to her chest.

The words began to blur beneath her gaze. Elowynn started to understand why no one spoke plainly about the Ash Wars and why Agatha had not allowed her to learn the truth until now.

Because they were horrifying.