Chapter 70: Kathryn Morgan
{Elira}
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I began to move through the archive room slowly, the way one would wander through a sacred place—not because of any rule or sign, but because it felt like that kind of space.
Shelves towered high, dust motes twirled in golden light, and everywhere I turned, something called out to be discovered.
I brushed my fingers across the spines of leather-bound books and old scrolls, their labels handwritten in neat, ancient scripts. Some were faded, others crisp and recently re-inked.
A few shelves held rolled maps stacked like scrolls in a wizard’s study.
The first scroll I opened revealed an illustrated map of the Eastern forests, dating back over a century. I ran my fingers across the inked rivers and shaded hills, then turned to Rennon, who was seated at a desk nearby, flipping through a worn binder.
"Do you know what this map is?" I asked.
He looked up, glasses low on the bridge of his nose. "That’s the territory line before the Northern packs merged. It no longer exists."
"Oh." I rolled it up carefully and tucked it back.
From there, I moved from shelf to shelf, sometimes finding a document so peculiar or intriguing that I couldn’t help but bring it to Rennon’s attention.
Every time, he answered patiently, as if he’d been waiting years for someone to ask these questions finally.