Barclay was shocked into silence. He’d just been complaining to himself that his assignment was impossible, but it would be that much harder if he was hurting from an old injury, too. And if he’d been less focused on himself and paying better attention to Shazi, he might’ve realized that her leg was bothering her as soon as they reached the shore.

“We can sit here for as long as you like—then we’ll go back to the Guild House,” he told her.

She looked at him gratefully. “Thanks. And thank you, too,” she told Root, who wagged his tail happily.

“Can I ask you something?” Barclay hoped he wasn’t about to spoil the moment. “Why are you so hard on Viola? I thought you used to be friends.”

“Friends don’t run off without telling you,” Shazi said fiercely. “They don’t just leave without saying goodbye.” She sounded no less pained than when she’d told Barclay that her leg was bothering her. It must’ve hurt to wake up one morning and realize your friend was gone.

Once Shazi regained her strength, they walked together to the lighthouse, where they were surprised to find Viola and Hasu already waiting for them.

“Barclay! Shazi!” Viola called, waving them over. After they sat down, Viola leaned across the table, her voice hushed. “You’ll never guess what we found in Orla’s apartment!”

“What?” Barclay asked.

Viola reached into her bag and pulled out a leather-bound box. She opened it, revealing a pile of loose parchment, scribbled with maps of the Sea.

“It’s the papers Tadg was trying to find. Conley Murdock’s maps to the Isle of Roane!”

ELEVEN

What is this place?” Hasu whispered. In the near darkness, she clutched Shazi with one hand and Barclay with the other. Her grip was so tight that Barclay’s fingers had gone numb and tingly.

“This is Maedigan Cove,” Tadg answered.

Viola strengthened her light Lore, sending it sweeping across the beach in a shimmering, golden dome. After finishing their punishments, the seven apprentices had followed Tadg to a far corner of Munsey. The sand here was uneven and rocky, and the water of the small bay sat eerily still.

“I don’t like this,” Barclay said. “You remember what happened last time we snuck out.”

“We’re not sneaking out,” Yasha reminded him. “We told Ansley and Lifen where we’re going.”

“And it’s not like we can talk about my dad’s papers in the Guild House,” Tadg said. “We still don’t know why Orla kept them secret.”

“You don’t think Orla is hiding something, do you?” Viola asked.

“I doubt it. Orla has been High Keeper here for over a hundred years. But I do think she must’ve had a reason.”