The point on the map split into three.
One mark remained over the submerged sanctuary. The second moved west along a route that did not exist on any nautical chart. The third appeared inside the Witch Realm itself.
Amelia was the first to notice.
"That one is here."
Kael followed the silver line toward a region of hills south of the palace.
"What is there?" Sylphie asked.
Irelia answered without consulting any records.
"An underground storage facility for dangerous artifacts. It has been sealed for twenty years."
Kael looked toward the capsule where the Cradle's first creation remained imprisoned. The body's red pupils were now complete, and small white lines moved beneath its skin like roots searching for an exit.
"It brought something."
Liza approached the glass.
"Not inside the body. In the blood."
Kael understood.
"The body was an anchor."
Mariel closed her remaining eye.
