After some minutes of travel that felt simultaneously eternal and instantaneous, they finally emerged from the shadows in front of a familiar but imposing structure.
The journey was unusually fast, even by her father's standards.
Ashenway Castle rose before them like a mountain of stone and power, its towers reaching toward the sky with the authority that only centuries of unquestioned dominion could grant. Luna had been here before, but always under more ceremonious circumstances. Never in what was clearly an emergency situation.
"Stay here," Sirius ordered, his voice loaded with an authority that admitted no questioning. "Some of Selphira's most trusted guards will watch over you while I..."
He stopped abruptly, as if he were about to reveal more information than he considered appropriate.
"While father what?" Luna asked, but she already knew she wouldn't get a direct answer.
"While I attend to some matters," Sirius finished evasively. "It's important that you remain here."
