“Then what were you supposed to do?”

“Photograph the appropriate pages.”

“How, when books of that age and value are kept behind glass and magically protected?”

“All magic can be countered if you have the knowledge. I do.”

“The fact you were caught suggests you do not,” Cynwrig said, voice dry.

Anger flashed briefly through her expression. “That was not due to lack of skill, but rather a lack of information from our source.”

“Meaning?” I asked.

“I was unaware the museum had recently added a sensor under the book’s stand. When I moved the pages, it altered the weight balance and set off the alarm.”

“Meaning you were unable to finish photographing the pages?”

A pleased smile touched her lips. “No.”

“What pages did you photograph?”

“Some poem about the black sword of Rostin De Clari.”

It was no surprise, then, that the Looisearch were several steps ahead of us when it came to the Claws search. Peregrine had photographed the book six months ago. That would have given them plenty of time to find someone to transcribe the text and grab all the clues.

Though it did beg the question, why did they wait until after Nialle had contacted Jules Auclair to approach—or rather kill—the man and steal the notes folder Jules had prepared for Nialle? I doubted there’d be too many historians researching the history of the Rostin De Clari line, as she wasn’t exactly a well-known figure, especially here in England.

“Who were the images sent to?” Cynwrig asked.

“Seryn Morrisa.”

Once again tension rippled through him. He definitely knew the woman. A relative, perhaps? Or, more precisely, a close relative of Jalvi’s? They’d apparently made themselves scarce, so that wouldn’t be surprising.

“How often do you report to her?” I asked.

“Nightly.”

I glanced at Cynwrig. “I’m thinking we need her to keep doing that.”

“I’m thinking you’re right.”

I stepped close to our captive again and touched her shoulder. My gaze met hers, and if looks had the capacity to burn, I’d be a cindered mess on the floor right now.

I smiled coldly. “You will head back into your bedroom and continue reporting to Seryn Morrisa. You will not leave this house, and you will remain within the boundary of your bedroom and the guest bathroom facilities up here. You will go nowhere else and will say nothing to Seryn or anyone else about our presence here or anything that you’ve seen or heard while we were here today. You will not do or say anything to make Seryn suspect we were here today. You will not answer any of my aunt’s questions should she ask them, and you will not perform any sort of magic, no matter how minor, until I release you. Understood?”

That last bit was only said out of courtesy. It didn’t matter if she understood or not, because it played no part in her being forced to obey.

She swallowed heavily and said, “Yes,” in a faint, quivering tone.