Corin's list of likely locations narrowed to three within two days of careful scouting, and by the third day, Liora's furthest patrol confirmed what they'd all feared and hoped to find in equal measure — flickering light within an ancient, half-collapsed shrine six miles north of the fortress, deep enough in the hills to have escaped notice for months. Word of the discovery spread through the fortress like a held breath finally released, everyone sensing that the waiting, at least, was finally coming to an end.

"It's her," Caleb confirmed, returning breathless from the scouting run. "I saw Gianna at the shrine's entrance, keeping watch. Jeanne's inside. They've been there...