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She held up a sheet of translucent paper upon which she had traced the revealed design.It showed a series of interconnected chambers and passages arranged in a circular pattern around a large central space.

“When we overlay this with the sketch from Whitley’s journal”—McAndrew carefully placed a second transparent sheet atop the first—“we get this.”

Evander’s breath caught.The combined images formed a complete blueprint of what appeared to be an elaborate subterranean complex, with annotations in both Whitley and Chevalier’s handwriting.

“Cor blimey,” Shaw mumbled.“That’s a research facility?It’s enormous!”

Viggo lowered his brows.“Does the journal indicate its location?”

“That’s where things get interesting.I was just about to tell McAndrew and Comte Beaulieu what I discovered in the last hour.”Richfield’s eyes were bright with the thrill of discovery.“Chevalier’s notes referenced a connection to ‘the cradle of arcane learning’ and ‘foundations laid upon older foundations.’”

Coldness ignited in Evander’s chest and spread through his body when he recognised the words.

“The Royal Institute for the Arcane,” Leon mumbled hoarsely, the blood draining from his face.He met Evander’s gaze dazedly.“It was built upon the ruins of a magical academy destroyed in the Great Fire.”

A stunned silence fell over the room.

“So it’s been right under our noses all this time?”Shaw said, aghast.

“The audacity is breathtaking,” McAndrew admitted grudgingly.“It’s the last place anyone would think to look.And I bet the ambient magic in that place helped mask their activities.”

“The Institute covers a lot of ground,” Rufus said uneasily.“Can we narrow down this facility’s location in relation to the existing buildings?”

Richfield lowered her brows.“There were some strange numbers in Chevalier’s journal I couldn’t make heads or tail out of.Now that I think about it, they could be formulas for coordinates.I would need a blueprint of the Institute to verify them.”

Leon narrowed his eyes.“The Institute and the academy that preceded it date back centuries.It’s been expanded numerous times.There could be whole sections that aren’t on any official plans.”

“I know who might have a copy of the original blueprint,” Evander said in a hard voice.The enormity of the truth that had been uncovered made his stomach roil.

Or rather, the elaborate ruse.

It was becoming clear thatthe sacred place of learning he had long looked up to masked many abhorrent secrets.

“Can you find Quentin Inkwell?”he asked Shaw.“I wager he has a map of the Institute.”

The forensic mage nodded sharply and left the office.She returned minutes later with the Met’s only Occult Researcher.Inkwell looked his normal flustered self as he entered the office, his eyes large and bemused behind his enchanted glasses.

“What is this about, your Grace?”he asked anxiously.

Evander spotted the rolled-up parchment under his arm.“Is that a map of the Royal Institute?”

“Yes.Miss Shaw said to bring it.”

“Can we have it please?”Evander asked briskly.

Inkwell reluctantly handed him the map.

Evander spread it out on the desk.

“I need a protractor and a ruler,” Richfield said.

Evander went round his desk, opened a drawer, and passed her the tools.

Richfield checked the coordinates in Chevalier’s journal and made some complex calculations in her notebook.

Everyone held their breath when she began drawing lines on the blueprint.

“If I’m correct, these are the longitude and latitude.Which makes this final number depth.”She stood back and narrowed her eyes.“Based on my calculations, the principal entrance to the facility lies thirty feet beneath the Institute’s south wing.”