The library was an absolute delight; a cabinet of curiosities that yielded secrets I didn’t even suspect were being kept. In the course of the first book whose index I consulted, I discovered that there were such things as shapeshifters. That brought me up short for a full ten minutes, as I greedily consumed the associated chapter.

“I do not think that tome has anything more than basic lore,” said Joan lightly, steering me back to our purpose. “There are far more ...