Page 196 of Revels on an Angel’s Grave

Emmeline hesitated, wary of anyone in her space right now, but then she remembered the favor she’d asked of the General. “Yes, please.”

She opened the door wider but tucked her dagger into her belt.

Cyren didn’t impose, only taking a few steps into the room. They wore finery befitting of the grand party Rocarri required they all attend tonight to mark the eve of the final trial.

Emmeline’s stomach turned.

“Am I late? I’ve gotten distracted.”

“No, I’m early. I have some business to take care of before tonight.” Cyren removed that aged ledger, Property of City Accords embossed across the front. “Forgive me that this took so long, with everyone taking time off for the tournament, official procedurals have been moving much slower than usual. But here you have it. Records about the temple trading, straight from our private files.”

Emmeline’s heart inflated. Eagerly, she took the ledger, flicking through the crinkled pages. The Averian’s moniker was all over them, as were some of the trade routes she’d already uncovered.

But there was more.

The Temple of Selene had been excavated ages ago. There was no evidence of it ever being inhabited before or after the Averian’s time, yet the concrete timetables put him there at least once each year.

Why was this high-ranking man in an illegal operation visiting an abandoned temple?

Though there was verifiable evidence that nothing remained at the sight, it stood out to Emmeline. Especially with her curiosity over the three-pronged being, Selene.

These files also had specific dates the Averian was suspected of relocating children from one temple to the next. Much like the Temple of Selene, they put him in Lumin at least once a year.

Lumin. The city she was born near. The place her sister was originally taken from.

What had the Averian returning when the rest of the routes didn’t dictate anything as repetitive?

When she’d asked Metrina about her sister a few weeks ago, the Fate had said seek the riches of nine for truths about her family. Emmeline had followed the hint, expecting to find information about Addie, but instead ended up in tunnels beneath the ground, eavesdropping on Rocarri about the tournament and his rituals.

But what if Metrina had been trying to show her something about her sister? The Warders, the Temple, the Averian being in Lumin, the goings on in the capital…what if it was all entwined?

Her heart pattered faster. “How far back do these go?”

“I hazarded a guess,” Cyren began, wariness clear in their voice, “and asked for records within the past two decades.”

Emmeline froze, only her gaze lifting. “Why?”

“It’s clear you’re looking for something personal. Being thirty years old, with the age typical Fate ties reveal themselves I guessed you wouldn’t need to go back further.”

Emmeline considered, twirling her opal ring. Her Fate ties had revealed themselves earlier than most. And that fateful day when she imploded, when a sudden burst of magic led to her family’s discovery and her sister’s kidnapping, thinking it had been her…

Two decades may not be enough.

Was that something she was willing to tell Cyren, though?

She wasn’t sure. Her gaze dropped back to the pages. This file may not tell her exactly where Addie had been taken, but if Emmeline could go back a few more years, maybe she could build out the path.

The General hummed as Emmeline considered. “Has it been helpful?”

Her attention snapped up. “What?”

“The scroll.” Cyren ducked their chin at the table beside the door, the silver gems in their braided coronet glinting like a crown. “I’d hoped it would be.”

Emmeline’s heart stuttered, hand gently landing atop the worn parchment. “It was you?”

Cyren nodded, a friendly smile playing on their lips. “It was. I could tell from our first interaction that you didn’t trust me, and I don’t blame you given your arrival here, but I saw how Rocarri treated you during the first trial and thought it might give you a leg up.” They leaned forward. “Plus, I recognized your curious nature. I hoped if I gave it to you anonymously, you may be intrigued enough to use it.”

Emmeline swallowed thickly, eyes stinging. “Why tell me now, though? And why give it to me at all?”