I run my fingers over the rim, listening to the hum of magic there, letting it flow into my own blood until the hat and I share the same song beneath our skin. Even though I can’t sing to beckon the magic like Willow can, I still hear the melody of it. I let my skin, my blood, my bones all sing the same tune until we are indistinguishable. Then I ask for what I want—a way to win. When I dip my hand into the rim, I let it sink as low as it will go, ignoring any fear lingering around the edges of my mind. It will give me what I need. My fingers brush icy metal so cold it stings. I release a little of my own magic to warm it, and then it’s mine. I pull my hand out of the hat.

A brass key reflects a thousand times in the mirrors. The head is an intricate design, depicting a solitary knife in the center. Vines of roses and a single snake twist around the knife, growing out in five loops surrounding the center design. The key’s teeth are unnaturally sharp.

I am the only one who didn’t bleed into the hat. I hold the key out for the others to see.

Nadine’s answering smile is grim. “At least we know who it likes.”

Ethan looks away with a scowl.

And then the dark fog takes us again.

When it rolls away, we stand in a field of golden grass long enough to brush our knees. Nothing else exists besides the blue sky, the blistering sun, and three wooden boxes. The one on the left is flat and horizontal, like a coffin, with a curving snake cut out from the sides. The one in the center is upright and narrow, with a key carved out of the top. The last is square, with a hundred little slivers carved out to make a blooming rose.

The door or lid in each opens at once.

The grass rustles in the breeze, a faint, mocking chorus.

“I bet there are snakes out here,” Nadine says. She glances at Ethan. “Besides the obvious two.”

I snicker.

Ethan glares before heading to the box on the left. “I could use a nap.”

The snake still curls around his wrist, fangs secure in his skin, which has turned black around the bite. Perhaps he intends to get in his box and just lie down and die.

That might be nice for the rest of us.

Still, I say, “Stay alert,” as he climbs in.

He sneers at my concern for him.

Nadine opens the cubed box and steps inside, giving me an encouraging nod as she sinks in and shuts the lid.