The captive's interrogation yielded little else of substance before her composure fully collapsed into silence, whatever loyalty or fear bound her to the Hollow Seat apparently strong enough to outlast even the Council's most patient questioning, but the single confirmed title gave Petra's ongoing research a focal point it had lacked throughout months of scattered, fragmentary investigation."The term appears exactly twice more in the historical correspondence," she reported, three days after the chamber's confrontation, her study wall now bearing a fresh cluster of red thread converging on a single point she'd marked simply as unknown. "Both references treat the Hollow Seat as a position rather than a permanent identity, suggesting it passes between individuals across generations rather than naming a single, immortal figure.""That's almost reassuring," Kellan said, though his tone carried little genuine relief. "Whoever currently holds it is mortal, at least. That means they can be

The description Headmaster Voss provided, however incomplete, gave Petra's research fresh direction, and the following weeks saw her cross-referencing historical correspondence against contemporary sightings with a renewed energy that reflected the investigation's mounting proximity to genuine resolution. "I've found references to a woman matching that description across multiple, separate correspondences," she reported, gathering Noah and his closest allies in the study that had become the investigation's permanent headquarters. "Different names in each instance, but consistent physical description, consistent unnatural stillness, consistent pattern of brief, unannounced visits followed by long absences. I believe we're looking at a single individual operating across decades, possibly longer, given how far back some of these references extend." "That's not possible for an ordinary mortal," Kellan observed. "Unless she's using some manner of preservation magic, or she isn't entirel

Noah felt the confrontation's balance shift, subtly but unmistakably, toward something considerably more complicated than simple capture or combat, Miss Corwin's willingness to speak at all suggesting a calculation he didn't yet fully understand."You're stalling," Kellan said, emerging from his own concealed position with several of his coordinated guards fanning out to close whatever escape routes the garden's layout offered. "Long enough for something. Reinforcements, or simply long enough that we lose patience and let you go rather than continue this conversation.""Perhaps," Miss Corwin said, unbothered by the accusation. "Or perhaps I have simply lived long enough to understand that conversation, patiently extended, often yields more than force ever could. You want the Hollow Seat's identity. I am considering whether providing it serves my own interests better than continued silence.""What would make it serve your interests," Elara asked, her ancient attention fixed on the stra

The Council session convened to receive Miss Corwin's revelations carried a different quality than any previous gathering, the assembled Twelve absorbing news of a confirmed, named adversary with a mixture of relief at finally having something concrete to act against and renewed dread at exactly how formidable that concrete target actually appeared to be."A fortress this thoroughly concealed, defended by forces this coordinated, represents a considerably different challenge than anything this Council has previously organized against," Renfrew observed, studying the rough map Miss Corwin had helped assemble from memory. "I would caution against approaching this the way we approached the Sleeping Crown, with urgency outpacing preparation.""I agree," Noah said, drawing on every hard lesson the past year's rushed confrontations had taught him. "This isn't a race against an accelerating timeline the way the First Howl's awakening was. Thessaly is testing us, gathering information before

The sanctuary passage swallowed them into darkness the moment Elara sealed the fissure entrance behind the four of them, Noah, Lyra, Kellan, and Elara herself, the morning light vanishing so completely that Noah's eyes needed several long seconds to adjust to the faint, bioluminescent traces the pendant's warmth seemed to coax from ancient markings along the passage walls."This matches what I remember," Elara said quietly, her voice carrying none of the uncertainty she'd shown during earlier consultations, six weeks of gradually recovering memory having sharpened into something considerably more confident now that she stood within the actual architecture that had stirred it. "The builders favored these resonant stones for lighting, rather than open flame that might betray a refugee's position to pursuers."They moved in careful, disciplined silence, Kellan taking point with the particular economical stride of someone who'd spent six weeks studying every scouting report available, Lyr