The next morning came with grey skies and a thin mist hanging low over the towers of the Magnus Halls.
Vell didn't bother today. He didn't eat breakfast, didn't have tea, didn't take notes for the lessons to come.
He stood near a window by the eastern halls, where groups of students in twos and threes walked by, along with a few faculty members.
His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
Sonder walked up beside him, also staring out the window.
She looked tired, which was unusual.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, though he thought it should have been the other way around.
Vell turned from the window. "No, not wrong. Just decided."
"Decided what?"
"About the Halls. The research. I've given it time, more than most would, I think. But I don't believe there's anything here that can help us," He dropped his voice. "Not with what happened to the queen."
She frowned. "Nothing?"
Vell sat down on a stone bench. It was decorated with patterns carefully carved into the surface, but there was no reason to admire it now.
"Nothing solid," he said. "Some theories. A few unsettling possibilities. But no proof. No direction worth chasing. Nothing I could bring back and say this is how it happened."
She sat down, watching him. "So what now?"
Vell exhaled. "We stay until the end of the term. That's only a few more weeks. After that, we go back. To the elven friends."
She hesitated. "And tell them you found nothing?"
"I'll tell them the truth," he said simply. "The Magnus Halls are full of knowledge, yes. Just not the kind they need."
"Does that mean you'll stop looking?"
"No. Not entirely. I'll keep digging while we're here. Maybe something will still surprise me. But I don't think we'll find it in the books."
She didn't answer right away. Her fingers tightened slightly around the hem of her sleeve.
"Sonder… we did what we could. No more was asked of us. We were never meant to be the saviors of the Kalandir. Not me. Not you. They could only ever save themselves. Do you understand?"
She nodded.