This — this was why Zelda shouldn’t have left. Rowan was sure of that now. It felt like old routine, bouncing ideas off of someone else. And someone with a mind as brilliant and capable as Zelda’s belonged in the field. Rowan wasn’t too sure about her position, but it wasn’t something she was ready to confront yet. She just wished Zelda was back.

“The foundations…” she echoed, her eyes wide as she deposited another light on the floor of the plan. “What an odd choice for a wizard to do. Why would he want to cast something like that?” His motivations were hardly pure, but Rowan couldn’t help but wonder why some of the people they encountered did what they did. Her thoughts were interrupted by the baby’s cooing again, and she looked down to realize that the child had inched her hand up from where she was holding him around the waist and grabbed her thumb. She laughed softly, indulging him and leaving him to his devices. She’d made sure she wasn’t wearing any jewelry when she headed on over to the Sanditon.

“How did I miss that…” Rowan murmured to herself, waving her wand to make the schematic slowly rotate in the air. “I could have sworn I checked.” At least she thought she did…

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