I gather my courage and lift myself to my feet. I need to read those bones, see what paths they represent. Maybe then I’ll know what Latham is planning.

The need to get back to Latham’s shop is restless inside me—a hungry beast that will attack unless fed.

I take a deep breath. “I’m going back inside, but the rest of you should go back to Ivory Hall. I don’t want you to risk getting in trouble.”

“Not a chance,” Jacey says. “We’re staying.”

I try to argue, but none of them are having it. Talon agrees to stay outside and keep watch, while Jacey and Niklas follow us into the shop.

Even though I’m prepared this time, nausea still swims up my throat when the bookcase swings open.

Behind me, Jacey sucks in a sharp breath. “It’s like a workshop devoted to evil.”

I steal a glance at Niklas. His face has gone pale and tight. His gaze is fixed on a table shoved against the wall. It’s overflowing with Mason-made items—huge flutes, intricately carved boxes, weapons. My eyes settle on a sword and the blood freezes in my veins. I’d know that weapon anywhere. I’ve seen it a thousand times in my nightmares.

It’s the sword that kills me.

My throat closes.

Bram touches my shoulder. “Tell us what you need.”

I need Latham dead. I nearly say the words out loud, but I suppress the impulse.

“I’m going to try to read a few of the bones.”

“Do you need blood?” Tessa holds out her hand. “You can use mine.”

“No.” A lump forms in my throat.

“But how will you—”

“These bones are intensifiers.”

Tessa lifts her eyebrows. A silent question.

“Forbidden magic,” I explain. “Because Latham killed my gran violently, they’re especially powerful.”

A shadow falls over her face. She doesn’t ask how I know or if I’ve ever used such an abhorrent thing before, but I wonder if she’s thinking it.

I pull one of the glass jars from the shelves and twist open the lid. Latham has placed the two halves of the fractured bone so far apart that they haven’t begun to knit together yet. He must not want them to heal right away. The realization raises new questions that crowd my mind like cobwebs. But I have to sweep them away if I have any hope of focusing on the task ahead. Carefully, I remove both halves of the bone and lay them on a velvet cloth in front of me. A fist closes inside me as I notice that the edges are charred. Latham has already used these in a flame reading.

I cover the bone with my palm and close my eyes.