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We followed the sound of water dripping against stone until we found an underground stream. The shallow current was a good sign. It meant we were close. According to the map, the treasure room was in this part of the cave. We just had to find a way in.

My boots splashed through the clear channel, and I dipped my hands into the cool water. A haze of dust rinsed from my fingers, and I cupped my palms with liquid to wash my face.

Gavin ran a wet hand through his disheveled hair, slicking back the strands. Water slid down his neck, disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt in a slow, distracting trickle.

I definitely wasn’t staring at him.

Until he caught me.

I cocked my head, feigning indifference and reached up to tighten the cord around my hair like the casual, unaffected partner that I was.

The faint twitch of his lips was his only acknowledgment before his gaze slipped away and he busied himself with checking his gear.

Get a grip, Nichols. The treasure is encased in gold, not six feet of muscle and an infuriating smirk.

With a low grumble, I dunked my hands back into the stream, but froze as a distant sound rose over the rush of water. It wasn’t a rumble like the cave collapse or the chitter of bats. It was melodic, almost dreamlike, as if someone was singing.

But as I looked around at the others, no one else seemed to hear it.

A new series of dark tunnels branched off in front of us. Behind me, the stream narrowed, spilling over a steep ledge into a cascading waterfall that vanished into the inky cavity. The far side of the cave was nothing but coarse stone, with jagged slabs jutting from the surface.

And that was where the sound was coming from.

I left the group to inspect the wall and study the uneven slabs. The singing grew louder, tugging at something buried deep in my mind. The tune was familiar, yet I knew I’d never heard it before.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the melody vanished, leaving me with a hollow ache in the pit of my stomach.

Cass wandered closer, hooking her thumbs into her wide leather belt as she pretended to survey the cavern wall.

“How are you holding up? According to Gavin, your hunt for the rune got a little… rocky. Pun absolutely intended.”

“Let’s see...” I gently dabbed at the cut on my face, checking to see if it was still bleeding. “Split lip, aching back, and I think I just heard music, so I’m pretty sure I took a boulder to the head. Otherwise? I’m grand.”

“I meant emotionally. But let’s circle back to the music. I don’t hear anything.” She tilted her chin, sending her blonde ponytail swinging. “Do you think it’s another trap?”

“It’s gone now. Probably just air whistling through the tunnels.” I shrugged. “Or maybe it was cave sirens looking to lure us all to our deaths at the bottom of the waterfall. ”

Cass snorted and leaned casually against the wall, her worn boots crossed at her ankles.

“It’ll take more than seductive cave sirens—which aren’t real—to lure someone’s gaze elsewhere.

” She bent forward, lowering her voice to a sly whisper.

“You can tell me. Did Gavin give you a ‘going-away’ present in a shadowy alcove?”

The sound I made was half scoff, half groan.

“First, never discount cave sirens. Where there’s water, there’s trouble. And second—” I jabbed a finger into her shoulder. “Stop meddling. I might be tempted. But I have pride. I’m not aiming to be another notch on his extremely sought-after belt.”

Cass slumped against the stone like I’d ruined her good time. “That belt’s been looking awfully pristine lately. Wonder why. But keep your pride, Marin. I’d trade mine in a heartbeat if Gavin ever gave the signal. You know it would be worth it.”

I blew out a long breath and kept my gaze fixed on the wall in front of me, otherwise, I might get caught looking again.

“It’s official,” I muttered. “None of you are treasure hunters. I’m surrounded by jesters.” I pointed to the slab over her head. “I think that’s the way into the treasure chamber. We need to go up.”

“Right, let’s bury our heads in the rock. Good plan.” Cass heaved a sigh and then called to the others. “Marin needs a boost!”

They joined us at the wall. The mood shifted as the focus snapped back to the treasure. I shook off Cass’s nosiness and refocused on the plan.

“You think the entrance to the chamber is up there?” Gavin made a disgruntled noise, eyeing the crude slabs like he questioned their integrity. “This wall is at least thirty feet high. We should keep searching.”

“No. Marin might be correct.” Reid flipped through the pages in his notebook and tapped one of his drawings. “See how the runes are positioned in the stone? There are two similar slots near the top of this wall. If you each place a rune in one of the holes, it could reveal the chamber.”

Gavin scraped a hand through his still-damp hair. His gaze ran up the rock face, and I could see him calculating the peril scale.

I nudged him on the shoulder. “Trust me, partner. This one's a two. And puzzles are my specialty. It’s why I’m here.”

Bowen nodded. “And I only hire the best. Let’s try this, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll keep moving.” He handed me a rune and gave the other to Gavin.

“You’re the boss,” Gavin said, aligning himself with the lowest outcropping. Even with the boost, I’d have to stretch to reach it.

Gavin’s hands circled my waist, firm and steady. The warmth of his chest spread across my back, caging me between him and the wall. His fingers flexed over my hip, and then he lifted me until my fingertips scraped the slab.

“A little higher!”

He shifted his weight, digging his heels into the dirt, and pushed harder. Sharp rock bit into my palms as I clamped my hands around the ledge. Then I hooked my boot over and pulled myself up. Almost like a reward, the elusive singing returned. Somehow, I knew this was the right path.

I knotted a rope around the narrow ledge and dropped the end into Gavin’s reach. He eyed it like a challenge. Rolling his shoulders, he backed up, got a running start, and scaled the ridge as if he owed the rope money .

Show-off.

My muscles burned from exertion, and by the time I'd made it to the final slab, the skin on my palms was scraped raw. Gavin maneuvered to a parallel outcropping about ten feet away. He placed his rune into the small groove while I did the same.

Except nothing happened.

The cave didn’t reveal its secrets.

I glanced down at Reid, but he scratched his head and dove back into his journal, flipping the pages as if the answer was hidden inside.

Gavin leaned against the rock and rapped the rune with his knuckle as if it were sleeping.

“That was anticlimactic. I expected more of a show after all that pillar nonsense.” He feigned a heavy sigh. “Cave puzzles can join the long list of things that have let me down over the years. So what’s the plan?”

Good question. The steep drop made my vision blur as my brain caught up with my daredevil climb. I blinked away the dizziness and faced the wall. There had to be a clue we were missing.

The others all had their various strengths, but I excelled at solving puzzles.

I noticed the things most people missed and had a knack for remembering the tiniest details.

I also had a mind full of random knowledge, everything from topography to history.

It wasn’t much help in hand-to-hand combat.

I’d never felled an opponent with a well-timed geographical fact, but it was a literal gold mine when faced with a mystery.

I smoothed my hand over the stone, noting the gritty texture. It was discolored, too. This section of the wall was lighter than the rest of the cavern. However, there weren’t any obvious markings, and no more ledges to climb .

The faint music hummed in my ears, taunting me to discover its origin.

Moving the light slowly across the wall, I paused when something familiar caught my eye. The shadows. I angled the beam until the weathered grooves cast shadows in a pattern I recognized, well, almost.

“Look, this shadow pattern is the same as the one on the pillar. Except for right here.” I placed my finger against the smooth stone where there should have been a deep groove.

“Great! More peril. I’ll keep an eye out for more of those swing blades.”

“You mean your nose. So if you smell something burning, we’re in trouble.”

I chewed the bottom of my lip and pressed my thumbnail into the stone, feeling the slight give. It’s sandstone. Just like the pillar. I reached for the knife sheathed at my waist. The metal glinted in the light as I lined up the tip to face the wall.

Gavin chuckled softly. “Beauty, brains, and a blade? Marry me, Mare.”

My scoff blew dust in my face as I slammed the dagger into the rock. “There are easier ways to steal my share of the treasure.”

“Maybe. But none of them bring out your scowl-dimples.”

“I don't have scowl-dimples!” I sucked in my cheeks to prove my point, completely ignoring the way his tone had dipped into something more knowing. Goosebumps rose like a warning. Now was not the time to imagine Cass’s shadowy alcove scenario.

Forcing myself to focus, I steadied my hand and dragged the knife through the porous stone, creating a long groove similar to the one I’d seen earlier .

A soft click sounded, and a portion of the wall crumbled, revealing a narrow tunnel. I aimed the light down the shaft and cringed at the tight, cobweb-infested passage. Lucky for us, it wasn’t too deep and appeared to open up on the other end.

“We’re going to have to crawl through here!” I shouted to the others, hitching my leg over the edge of the smaller tunnel and wriggling inside.

Gavin pulled himself up behind me and braced his fists on the opening. “Our very own tomb. How cozy. I don’t remember this being on the map.”

Pebbles bit into my skin as I inched forward on my hands and knees. The shaft was so narrow, Gavin was going to end up with scuffs on his shoulders, and there definitely wasn’t enough room for his ego.

“Quit complaining. You’re just jealous I found the secret tunnel. It’s okay. We can’t all be masters of our craft.”

Gavin barked a laugh that seemed to fill the tight cavity. “Says the woman I once had to cut free from a tangle of vines after she fell off a jagged beam.”

“Because you tripped me.” Stifling a grin, I ducked beneath a massive spiderweb. Gavin wasn't so quick. He cursed when the sticky threads caught him in the face.

“Tripped— saved you from a dangerous predator lurking in the trees—same thing. But sure, let’s go with tripped.”

I dug my toes into the ground to scoot further. “I’m not a damsel, Gavin. I saw the serpent, I was just—”

“Flailing your arms?” he said, smug. His voice brushed the hairs on my neck.

Blast this cursed tunnel of forced proximity. He’s way too close to me and the truth.

The passage narrowed abruptly. I angled my body sideways to squeeze through the gap.

Gavin grunted behind me.

“Are you stuck?” I drawled. “Need me to save you?”

“No.” Rock scraped along his shoulder with a dull drag. “This tunnel was built for pocket-sized treasure hunters. Not thieves of a different scale.”

His chest pressed against my back, just for a moment, but it sent a jolt straight down my spine. I bit the inside of my cheek and kept moving.

“You followed me,” I said, my breath shallow.

“I always do,” he murmured.

We crawled in silence a few more paces, the weight of his words clinging to the stone, making the passage feel even tighter.

Finally, the tunnel opened up and dumped us into another chamber.

I angled the light along the perimeter of the room, noting the iron sconces lining the wall.

The others followed us inside, one by one, and Bowen struck his flint, lighting the torches until firelight illuminated the chamber.

It looked vast at first, but the ceiling hung low, and the air shimmered with sticky heat, with nowhere for it to go.

I wiped my sleeve across my damp brow and took it all in.

Swaths of Cass’s favorite fungi clung to cracks in the cavern, casting a soft purple glow that undulated like tentacles in the shadowed corners. Twisting vines dotted with ruby-colored blooms draped from chipped pillars and crisscrossed the floor, resembling ropes poised to snag unwary feet.

The room was scattered with giant statues and open sarcophagi. White sand pooled around their bases and spilled across the tiles toward towering ceramic urns. They were as tall as I was and encrusted with glittering jewels, standing at the four corners of a raised altar.

Ghostly shadows danced along the marble slab, its surface holding a golden chest that glinted in the firelight.

My breath caught in my throat. We’d found the fabled treasure.

Incantus was real, and it was ours.