Even Root was getting caught up in the heat of the argument, and he barked twice in warning. Barclay returned him to his Mark, saving him from unneeded stress. His friends did the same for their Beasts.

“I’ve known Runa my whole life,” Tadg snarled. Barclay had seen Tadg angry countless times, but none of them compared to how furious he looked right now. He clenched and unclenched his fists, and bright static crackled between his fingers. “She was my dad’s best friend. You think I don’t know her better than you do?”

“Think about it,” Shazi said. “You know how much Cyril and Runa hate each other. What do you think caused that?”

“Maybe it’s because Cyril is a slimy, stuck-up liar.”

Shazi crossed her arms. “Well, we know the whole story now. After Lochmordra’s attack, Cyril overheard me talking about… Well, I wanted Runa to sign my champion card of her.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, he said we ought to know the truth about her. Especially because we spend so much time with all of you.”

“What did he say?” Viola asked uneasily.

Hasu sighed, seeming to realize their secret was doomed not to stay secret much longer. “Cyril and Runa were apprentices together.”

“I already know that,” said Viola. “They were my father’s apprentices before he was the Grand Keeper.”

“But there was a third apprentice,” Cecily murmured.

Viola furrowed her brow. “Dad never mentioned a third.”

But Barclay had already suspected this, from when they’d overheard Runa and Cyril argue the day the other apprentices arrived in Munsey. “Who was the third?” he asked.

“His name was Audrian Keyes,” Cecily answered. “And near the end of their apprenticeship, there was some kind of disagreement—a fight. And Runa killed Audrian over it.”

The cave went quiet except for the crackles of the fire and the sizzles of Tadg’s static.

Barclay was still clutching the shell he’d practiced his Lore on, and he squeezed it so hard that its ridges dug into his palm. “No,” he said, letting his voice carry across the stone walls. “Runa wouldn’t do that.”

“But that’s what Cyril said.” Hasu’s voice wobbled slightly. “And I think he was telling the truth. He looked so angry.”

“Well, what was the fight about?” Tadg demanded.

Hasu gasped. “Why would that matter? Nothing is worth killing someone over! And Cyril said… he said they were all friends.”

“It’s a lie,” Tadg said, more firmly than ever.

“Then why doesn’t the Grand Keeper speak to her either?” Shazi asked.

“If the Grand Keeper really thought Runa was a murderer, he would’ve sent her to prison,” Barclay pointed out.

But Cecily shook her head. “Cyril said it was too complicated, that Runa claimed it was self-defense. And the Grand Keeper was worried about how it would look that his own apprentices fought one another.”