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A nd how can I let him continue breathing?

Vanguard’s gaze doesn’t waver from mine as I press my fingers so tightly into his jaw that my claws draw pinpricks of blood.

Even while my body was consumed with fire, I was aware that Vanguard didn’t call on his serpent power to fight back against Slade. He didn’t shift his form into that of a snake. He relied on a mere sword.

It’s clear to me that he wanted to lose.

Now that I’m certain Jonah is a creature of old magic, I’m also certain that Vanguard must be one, too. Where humans and shifters are easy to read, Vanguard and Jonah are much harder.

And—dammit—I have very little practice in breaking through a guarded mind because so few supernaturals can shield themselves like this.

Even so, I’m able to detect truth from lies in his speech, and what he says next is true.

“I needed a realm,” Vanguard gasps. “It wasn’t safe to speak openly in the field. We could be overheard.”

Slade’s brow furrows, and his grip around Vanguard’s neck increases. “You wanted me to create a realm?”

“Everything I do is observed and reported back to my master,” the serpent replies. “This is the only way I could speak freely.” He raises his eyes to mine. “Jonah fought me on this. He didn’t want to hurt you, Fury. But it was the only way we could think to trigger Slade to create a realm.”

“Jonah is old magic,” I say.

Vanguard grunts. “As am I. We are thousands of years old and have lost too many loved ones. If I had any other choice?—”

I don’t need his platitudes.

“What do you want?” I snap. “Speak clearly, or I will end you.”

His response chills me. “I have the bones.”

What? I knew he was looking for them, but to have found them already?

I draw a sharp breath but force myself to focus on Slade for a moment. “Please release him so he can speak freely.”

Slade considers me for a moment.

“Are you sure, Fury?”

“I’m sure.”

I may have tried to kill Slade, but I sense the trust he places in me.

His arms loosen around Vanguard’s neck before he steps back, leaving Vanguard to lurch forward onto his hands and knees. The serpent coughs into the cold powder before drawing himself back up to his knees.

Burn marks around Vanguard’s throat reveal how close Slade came to using his killing power—a dangerous possibility if it meant he’d break the assassin’s code.

Striker has risen to his feet and now approaches my back, his emotions closed off again, although he remains a few steps behind me and seems to be keeping Jonah in his sights.

The volcano man—which is what I’m going to call Jonah since I still don’t have an exact name for his power—shows signs of regaining consciousness, groaning quietly into the snow.

Vanguard leans back on his heels but remains kneeling in the ice, a non-threatening position.

“How many of the bones do you have?” I ask him.

“All three,” he replies, which is both a relief and a cause for concern because it gives Vanguard real bargaining power.

“My master doesn’t yet know that I found them,” he continues. “I have a very small window of time in which to act before he finds out.”

I narrow my eyes. “Act… how?”

“I wish to trade them,” he says. “I will give them to you, Fury.”

“In exchange for what?”

“Entry into the maze.”

Vanguard’s statement makes Slade tense.

My sisters told me about the secret realm known only as the maze . It’s an ancient place and impossible to enter. They said there was a whisper that, somehow, Slade and Hunter found a way in.

Vanguard’s gaze doesn’t waver from me, although he must be aware that Slade is the one with the power to give him what he’s asking for. “Get me into the maze, and I’ll give you the bones.”

I don’t need to look at Slade to read his emotions: he’s worried.

“What are these bones he’s talking about?” Slade asks.

“Do you recall the White Wand?” I reply.

Slade nods. “Striker destroyed it.”

I risk taking my eyes off Vanguard to turn to Striker, once again fighting the memory of the way he’d burned the bone against his heart.

My voice is strained as I say, “Well, it turns out there was more than one. In fact, there are three more.”

“Three!” Striker’s reaction hits me hard, a sudden rush of dismay and fear before he cuts it off. He knows firsthand the damage a single bone can do.

“I found out about them two weeks ago,” I say. “I heard that Vanguard was looking for them, so I decided to hunt Vanguard. The bones must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. They must be collected and destroyed at all costs.”

Slade shakes his head. “But to give him access to the maze is also dangerous. That place contains mythical creatures and magical objects that should never be freed.”

Before I can respond, Slade turns to Vanguard with a harsh demand. “What do you want with the maze?”

Vanguard’s voice is quieter, and I sense a sudden sadness drifting through his thoughts.

“I was there when it was first created,” he says.

“I was forced to leave behind something very important to me. Until I heard rumors that you had gained access to it, I thought there was no hope of going back. All I ask is that you get me in. My survival after that is up to me.”

“It isn’t your survival I’m worried about,” Slade says coldly. “It’s the damage you could do while you’re there. Or the creatures you could release into the world when you emerge.”

“Slade.” Striker’s voice is quiet. “A single bone nearly destroyed my friends, people I care about. Three could obliterate everything we’ve fought for.”

Slade’s jaw clenches. “So could any number of creatures that are imprisoned in the maze. If they were let out.”

“I agree, it’s a risk,” Striker says, taking a step forward and inhaling a deep breath before he continues. “Unless we go with Vanguard and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Slade’s eyebrows rise. “You’re volunteering.”

“I am.” Striker looks at me, and his thoughts break through to me clearly now.

I have to destroy those bones. I won’t let them control and hurt my family. We fought too hard for our freedom to ever be oppressed again.

And then, to my surprise, I feel his question in my heart: Will you come with me, Fury? Will you make sure I don’t succumb to the power within the bones?

“You won’t,” I whisper as I consider the determination in Striker’s expression. “But I will come with you.”

Slade looks from Striker to me with a faint crease in his forehead, but it seems it isn’t about our silent conversation. “I can’t agree to anyone going to the maze without discussing it with Hunter first.”

I sense a lie in the way he implies that Hunter is the one he has to speak with. His worry for his family tells me there are others who will be affected by this turn of events, although I’m not yet sure who and how exactly.

Vanguard hasn’t moved a muscle, despite watching our interaction carefully. Jonah, too, has pulled himself up to his knees but stays where he is. The volcano man’s wounds have visibly healed, although the blood splatter remains on his clothing. His face is pale, and his shoulders are slumped.

His remorse and regret hit me in waves, so strong they can’t be concealed from me.

He’s trying to figure out how to tell me he’s deeply sorry for the pain he caused me, but he’s also telling himself that now isn’t the time. There are more important issues than his need for forgiveness.

Despite Slade’s declaration that he will need to discuss it with Hunter, he’s looking at me. “It’s said that only the reckless or the desperate will enter the maze. What is the truth of all this, Fury?”

His question is broad, but even so, I understand what he’s asking me. After all, if Vanguard is lying about having the bones, then there is no need to risk exposing the maze to him.

“The serpent shifter is telling the truth,” I say.

“There is something very precious to him in the maze, although I don’t know what it is.

He does have the bones, as he claims, but he won’t retain possession of them for long.

It is as he says: His every move is watched, and his master will do anything to gain possession of the bones. ”

“We can’t delay,” Vanguard says, his voice betraying the urgency he’s controlled until now. “I’ve kept the bones concealed, but my master has a way of uncovering even the most well-kept secret. We need to go tonight.” He rises to his feet. “We need to go now.”

I narrow my eyes at him. I don’t know where the maze is located, but I’m certain it isn’t in New York City. “If we leave now, will you take us to the place where you hid the bones first?”

Vanguard shakes his head. “No need. They’re hidden at the entrance to the maze.

As I said, I was there at the maze’s creation, so I know where it is.

It’s getting inside that has defied me all this time.

I’ve put the bones in a place they can’t be reached, except by the rare few.

Even my master would find it difficult to retrieve them, although he would find a way.

If I summon my warlock, he can transport us to the maze immediately. ”

“It isn’t that simple,” Slade replies sharply. “The maze needs a key, and I don’t have it with me.”

His voice is smooth and controlled, but I hear both a lie and a truth when he says the word “key,” which I sense is somehow connected to his reticence to make a decision without discussing it with his family.

Vanguard looks at Jonah, and I sense their own rising desperation.

“What would it take to get this key?” Vanguard asks.

“Time,” Slade replies bluntly. “At least until dawn. There are moving pieces that can’t be hurried.”

“Damn,” Vanguard mutters beneath his breath. “As soon as you remove the realm, I will be expected to report back to my master. Even now, he may have figured out the truth?—”

I interrupt Vanguard with a question to Slade. “How far can you extend this realm, and for how long can you sustain it?”

“As far as I need,” Slade replies. “Why?”

“Now that I know Vanguard has the bones, I don’t intend to let him out of my sight. Can you extend the realm to a place where your sudden appearance won’t cause an issue—so you can exit it without detection—but leave us within it?”

Slade chews his lip. “Technically, yes, but I’ve never tried it before.” He grimaces. “There’s also a possibility that when I leave, the realm will contract and kill you.”

Lovely.

“It’s a risk we need to take,” Striker says from behind me.

After a moment of consideration, Slade nods. “Okay, then. I know a place. Follow me.”

Vanguard scoops up his sword. Striker and Slade keep both Vanguard and Jonah in their sights, walking to either side of them, while I bring up the rear.

As we walk, the realm changes around us, the air warming and the ground becoming grassy. Finally, we reach a set of wooden bench seats, past which the realm becomes glassy for me to look at. It appears to stretch further into the distance, but I identify this as an illusion.

Slade’s expression becomes remote before he refocuses on us. “From here, I’ll be able to step out into a busy nightclub, and from there, I can easily get myself where I need to go.”

I take note of the way he speaks vaguely. He won’t want to give away any details about his life that he doesn’t need to. I imagine he’ll have a helicopter waiting—the same one he probably used to travel to New York City from Boston. It will no doubt get him home faster than he can fly.

I snag his arm. “Can you please get a message to my sisters to let them know I’m okay?”

“I will.”

With that, Slade disappears while the realm remains.

I wait a moment for anything untoward to happen, but the realm remains fully functional around us.

Turning, I find Vanguard stepping off to the side, where he finds a seat, while Jonah has taken a knee in front of me, his head bowed.

“I’m ready for my punishment,” he says.