I found the elders still awake in the small meeting room off the main hall. The long oak table was covered with the usual scattered maps and ledgers. They looked up when I walked in, and I didn't bother with small talk.
"I need to talk to you about Elise," I said, pulling out a chair and dropping into it. "She got an email tonight. Four words. 'Your mother knew everything.' Blank sender, no signature. The same night she was asking me about my wolf and saw the scorch mark on her land. Before that, she had threatening texts telling her to leave the territory. For her to stay away."
"And someone took the photograph from my office—the one with my father and the old advisors. Plus pages missing from the archive. I want to know who has the access and the knowledge to pull all of it off without anyone noticing."
Maren tilted her head, watching me. Petra stopped tapping her fingers on the armrest. Sorin just sat there for a long moment, eyes half-closed like he was listening to something.
