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“Indeed. The magic used to create the stashes repels the monsters.”

“Like here.” I thought back to my recent adventure in the Black Forest. “And at the Silver Shore.”

“Correct. The Silver Shore is also a secret stash.”

“And what lies inside the Silver Shore’s stash?”

Her aloof smile was back. “I cannot say.”

It had to be something important. Something big. The Silver Shore was enormous.

We’d found our way inside this Vault by essentially picking the lock. I wondered if the same could be done with the world’s other secret stashes. But could it truly be that easy? The visions I’d been sent basically told me how to get inside the Vault. I didn’t have any visions that revolved around the other stashes. Finding my way into those places would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“What is the purpose of the stashes?” I asked River.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s the same purpose of any stash: to hide things safely until they are needed.”

“Needed? For what?”

“I can’t say.”

Getting answers out of River was definitely a hit-or-miss endeavor.

“Did you make the stashes?” I asked her.

“No. I am merely using this one and a few others.”

“Who made them then?”

“I can’t say.”

“Can’t you say anything?” I demanded.

“I have said a lot.”

She had. I really had learned a lot of things from her, but they all felt like partial answers, truths with the good, juicy bits withheld, teasers meant to draw me in and make me want more. There was that manipulation again. I truly was growing tired of having everyone pull my strings.

“So you’ve brought me my brother.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Now what?”

“Now you will all leave this place. After that, it’s up to you.”

River made it sound like I had free will. I liked to think that I did. So why did it feel like I was dancing to someone else’s drum?

“Goodbye,” River said to Zane. Then she looked at me—or, more specifically, at my belly. “Protect the child.”

What kind of statement was that? Of course I’d protect my child. I’d protect her with everything I had.

“What do you know of my child?” I asked her.

She spoke with inhuman calmness. “I know that the universe will go to war over her.”

Just like in the vision Grace had sent to Nero.

“Even now, forces plot to exploit her.” She glanced at Faris and Grace.

Yeah, tell me something I didn’t know.

“A lot of people want to use her as a weapon,” I said.