He moved back, giving Winnie room to maneuver the pieces as she saw fit. “The more I think about, the more I feel this is the type of world my aunt Zohra would thrive in,” he remarked. “She used to have these things she messed around with on her hand all the time. They are called Turkish puzzle rings. There’s this really morbid story behind them—”

But at the mention of the puzzle rings, the ground beneath them gave a sudden, violent tremor. “Um, what was that?” Winnie gasped.

“I’m not sure, but maybe the game is trying to tell us to hurry,” Ahmad said.

Another piece slid neatly into place. “Almost there,” Winnie said, her expression thoughtful, her tongue peeking out from between her lips. “Gosh, this Architect guy doesn’t believe in easy wins, does he?”

“As flattering as the compliment is,” a familiar voice broke in, sounding petulant and impatient, “that unfortunately isn’t one of my projects. I suggest you put it down right now.”

Ahmad and Winnie whirled around. There were the Architect and the MasterMind, both looking peevishly hot and a little more rumpled than usual.

“You again?” Winnie exclaimed. “Look, fair’s fair. We’ve followed your rules and done your weird challenges. We win!”

“You don’t understand,” the MasterMind burst out. “That box—”

“Holds the last challenge, we’ve got it.” Winnie crossed her arms. “So you need to step aside and learn how to be a good sport.”

Ahmad leaned in to slide the next piece in place. Faster than he would have expected, and surprising both him and Winnie, the Architect darted in and smacked it to the ground, nearly shattering all the work they’d accomplished.

“Hey! Lord Amari, that’s going too far!”

“If you would both just listen, I wouldn’t have to go that far.” The Architect glared at Winnie when the girl reached for the piece. “Yes, you’ve completed the challenges—hooray for you, sorry but I didn’t arrange for confetti in time. But now it’s time to stop. Right now. You’ve done what I needed from you.”

“Not until that box is finished, we haven’t,” Ahmad countered. “Look, isn’t this what you wanted from us? This seems underhanded.”

The MasterMind stepped forward. “Look, I’ll handle this. That challenge you finished? That was the last challenge. You won. We’re not happy about that, but we’re willing to admit when we’re beat.”

Ahmad’s brow furrowed. “But the Minaret—Madame Nasirah said she had a meeting with you and the challenge would be the last one.”

It was the MasterMind’s turn to look confused. “That annoying piece of errant code is still around? No. This—”

At a harsh look from Lord Amari, she clamped her lips shut. After a moment, she burst out again, “Look, we can’t tell you why, but you—oh, you’ve finished it.”