Chapter 41

Ronan's POV

The second scout confirmed the lower room had fresh lantern oil and a Concord lock fitted over the original. Whoever had been using it had left by the service stair. Tamsin sent guards to both exits, then had the door opened. They found a mattress, a tin cup, and a line of small marks scratched into the wood beside it.

They did not find Micah.

I watched Mara count the marks before Maeve asked her to come away. She counted them again in the corridor, silently, with one finger moving against her palm.

Soren said the room's speaking wire led to a sealed line beneath the Luna wing. He could not say where Micah had been taken. Tamsin had him check his notes against the stones themselves before she let him near the controls. Darius remained under guard. I would have liked an answer from him, but wanting to hurt