We step through and immediately I can feel the cool shift of the air. The night was warm above but down below it’s chilly and slightly damp. I hug my cloak closer and move toward the others so I don’t jerk on the rope. The tunnel seems larger than before, which surprises me, but perhaps I misremembered it in my awe at being in Old Prell. Gwenna flicks on the lantern atop her staff—as she’s navigator this time—and holds it aloft, looking around.

My heart flutters in my throat once more at the sight of the glory of the ancient city. Of the toppled columns and the broken cobblestones beneath our feet, and the lichen that grows over everything. What I wouldn’t give to wander through all the tunnels and just drink it all in. Kipp pulls out his blade and eyes the tunnel behind us, taking a step forward and then patting his belt, frowning. He turns to Lark and then makes a gesture.

“Flags. Right. We forgot our flags,” Lark says. “To mark our place.”

“No flags tonight,” Mereden points out, tugging the hood of her cloak over her tight curls. She has no cap over her head this evening, because we felt it would be too obvious if we ran into anyone else in the guild. “Just ask Magpie.”

“The guild would have flags down here anyhow,” I say, touching a series of glyphs carved into the wall. It looks familiar, but it’s hard to tell for certain. “To ensure no one else digs in a spot that’s under investigation. Are we sure this is the right place?”

“Hmm, let me check. Wait right here,” Magpie says.

She turns and heads down the narrow tunnel, and then bends over. There’s something glowing in her hand, and she draws a line across the tunnel floor with it, leaving an iridescent mark on the stone. “Sorry, Lark.”

“Sorry for what?” Lark asks, pushing back to where her aunt is.

We move along after Lark, trained to walk together, and when she heads for the chalk line, she’s immediately thrown backward, as if she’s run into a wall. With a yelp, Lark stumbles, caught by Mereden and myself. I gasp in shock even as Lark struggles to her feet.

Magic.

Something’s not right.

“What the fuck is that?” Lark demands, dusting off her jacket.

Magpie holds up the chalk from her spot on the other side of the line. “Magic, of course.” She turns to the portal master. “You can send him down now.”

I approach the chalk line, cautious. The closer I get to it, the more my hair stands up from my nape, the air humming around us. I poke the butt of my staff against the chalk line, only to have it jerk violently backward in my grasp.

“It’s a spell,” I tell the others.

“No shit,” Magpie says. “And you the great scholar.”

I ignore her, turning to the others. “The chalk must produce an entrapment spell. We can’t break free without her rubbing the line out on her side.”

Lark struggles out of Mereden’s grasp and surges forward again. “What the fuck, Aunt Magpie?”

Magpie spreads her hands in mock apology. “I told you not to tie in with them, Lark darling. But you chose them over me. That’s fine. I’ll drink a bottle in your name.” She turns her head as the portal shimmers and two new men come through.

I gasp, stunned, as Barnabus arrives to stand at Magpie’s side, one of his soldiers close by him and holding a crossbow. “What’s going on?”

Barnabus smirks at me. “I made your teacher a better offer, that’s what’s going on.” He holds his hand out and Magpie drops the chalk into it. “Do you like my new toy?”

“If I say no, does it change anything?” I’m furious at him, of course, but my old training kicks in and I stiffen my back, putting on my bored-holder-lady expression, the one I wear at every social gathering. “You need to let us go.”

“I don’t need to do anything.” Barnabus tosses the chalk between his hands, then lifts it into the air, admiring the carved handle that holds the delicate piece of chalk in place. “Though it is rather fortunate that one of my other teams located this just yesterday. It makes holding you captive far too easy.”

“Is that what this is, then?” I ask, drawing myself up indignantly. “A hostage situation? Let the others go and you and I can figure out the problems between us.”

Barnabus just rolls his eyes and flips the chalk (and holder) once more, unbothered by my demand.

Lark takes another step forward to the barrier, only for Kipp to pull her back again. “Why are you doing this, Aunt Magpie?” She’s clearly heartbroken. “I don’t understand!”

“How do you not understand?” Magpie snarls, her expression full of venom. She gestures at Barnabus. “He’s paying me a great deal of coin, and I need security! The guild is going to remove my contract with them unless my team graduates this year, and I’ll lose my commission. And we all know your Five won’t pass the tests. There’s no way.”

Lark flinches. I just glare at our teacher. Former teacher. She’s sold us out.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Magpie rolls her eyes. “At least with this lordling’s money, I can drink myself to death without worrying about keeping a roof over my head.”

“It’s not all about you.” I tell myself to be calm and collected, even as my hands curl into fists. “How can you betray Hawk like this?”

“I’m not betraying him! I’m looking out for me. The two have nothing to do with each other!” She focuses her angry gaze on me. “And you. You spoiled, foolish twit. Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to get my spot in the guild? Do you know how many years I suffered through bullshit before anyone took me seriously? You can’t saunter in as some rich girl and expect the same treatment just because you’ll suck a Taurian’s cock. It takes more than that to be a damned guild master!”

I gasp at her words, stung. This is the person I idolized for so long? “I looked up to you!”

“Then that’s your mistake,” Magpie says. “All I’ve ever wanted was to get paid.”

Barnabus clears his throat. “Are you ladies done jabbing at each other? Because I’d like to talk with my fiancée.”

“I’m not your fiancée,” I retort. “You can’t force me to marry you.”

“I know this, seeing as how you hooked yourself to the first male who glanced in your direction. A Taurian, Aspeth? Truly?” He looks revolted. “Was a human cock no longer big enough for you? Is that it? You have to go for something a little more titillating?”

“You’re both horrid and disgusting. Hawk is worth ten of you.” I flick my fingers at them. “Both of you together.”

“Yes, well, you’ll be pleased to know I’m no longer interested in marrying some bull-man’s leavings.” Barnabus pockets the chalk and its magical holder and pats his clothing, reassuring himself that it’s in place. “In fact, you can stay married to him for all I care. I’m willing to let bygones be bygones…so long as you give me the artifact ring you found.”

I go still, because of all the demands I thought he’d make, I’d somehow forgotten about the artifact ring. How is it that he’s imprisoned us in the tunnel without stealing it for himself first? How is it that he hasn’t figured out that I’m penniless and he doesn’t need it to take over Honori? Or does he just think I’d steal willy-nilly from the guild? That might be the most insulting part of this, that he doesn’t know me at all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The ring,” he enunciates, his voice echoing off the narrow stone walls of the tunnel. “The one you found in the tunnel. Magpie told me all about it.”

I shoot a dirty look at my teacher, and Lark makes another outraged noise. Magpie ignores both of us.

“I want the ring,” Barnabus repeats again, pointing at the floor. “Take it off and kick it over here.”

Something doesn’t add up. “Why not come and take it, coward?”

He sneers at me. “I’m no fool. Your maid told Magpie all about the curse.”

Curse? What is he talking about?

In that moment, Gwenna steps on my foot. “It’s true,” she says to me. “I told Magpie all about how it can’t be transferred to another owner without permission once it’s been worn. That the runes on it are quite clear about that.”