POV: miranda

“How long have you been at it?” lyra asked, peering over my shoulder at the glowing runes.

“long enough to realize they are lying to us,” I said. My fingers traced the faint lines of the ward, now flickering inconsistently. “These wards… are old, but they are not stupid, they are confused.”

“Confused?” Lyra echoed. “wards are not alive.”

“oh, they are,” I said sharply. “They are alive to the law to structure, they obey hierarchy and right now… that ...