“Darby has all the time in the world to wait for one of those weaker moments.”

He rolled his eyes. “Enough. What did Cynwrig want?”

I chuckled softly but didn’t push it. “He asked me out to dinner. I told him what Nialle’s note said about the oracle, and he said he’d make a few calls and try to track her down.”

The toast popped, so I placed it on a plate and gave it to him, along with a knife and a jar of marmalade—the only decent spread he had in his pantry. The man lived like a monk—at least he did here. I’d seen the fridge in his office, and it was packed.

“Meaning she does exist?” he said.

I popped in two bits of bread for myself, then leaned back against the counter and crossed my arms. “He was under the impression she’d died fifty years ago.”

“Interesting.” He smeared marmalade over the toast and then took a bite. “Before I started cataloguing, I did a quick Google search for our would-be Tywyllwch thief.”

“Peregrine Stace? Did you find anything?”

“According to news reports, she was released on bail pending trial and subsequently disappeared. A body was found two months later in a Conway boarding house room, and they believe it was hers.”

My eyebrows rose. “Believe?”

He nodded. “Decomposition was so bad they’re still searching for dental records to confirm identity.”

“Did she use her own name to check in?”

“Yes, but there were no security cams to confirm it was her, and she paid cash rather than using a credit card.”

“All rather convenient, don’t you think?” The toast popped, so I put it on a plate and then spooned on marmalade. Lugh might like it smeared, but I preferred to actually taste the stuff. “It also doesn’t say much about the hostel’s cleaning roster—or the people she was bunking with—that decomposition got so bad they’ve resorted to checking dental records.”

“They have a few individual single-person cabins at the rear. She was staying in one and asked not to be disturbed.”

“Still doesn’t explain why no one investigated the smell.” I took a bite of toast. “When did all this happen?”

Amusement touched his eyes. “Guess.”

I contemplated him briefly. “Not long after Jalvi accessed the Myrkálfar records for the Tenebrous hoard?”

While the light elves had been responsible for looking after the now missing Éadrom hoard, the dark elves guarded the Tenebrous one. Agrona’s Claws had apparently been a part of it, but the dark elves had no record of how or when they’d disappeared. It wasn’t a recent event, however.

I had no idea which of them guarded the third hoard. Maybe it was a joint effort.

“Got it in one,” Lugh said.

I frowned. “She can’t be an elf with that surname, though, so how would she be connected to the search for the Claws?”

“She might not be. She might simply have been employed to steal the book. The news reports did imply she had a long and shady history.”