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We leave the sanctuary at dawn.
Or what passes for dawn underground — a gradual lightening of the ventilation shafts, a stirring of bodies in the darkness, the smell of morning fires being lit in the communal hearth. The Keepers gather to see us off. Forty-seven of them, plus more who have emerged from deeper chambers to catch a glimpse of the hybrid who carries Eliara's journal.
Morwen walks us to the hidden entrance. She moves slowly, her ancient bones protesting the stairs, but her pale eyes are bright.
"You have everything?" she asks.
"The testimonies. The journal. The evidence." I pat my satchel. "Everything we need to make the case."
"And Darian? What will you tell him?"
"The truth. All of it. He deserves to know what his mother sacrificed. He deserves to know you're here.
