“That’s what we’ve been doing,” Tessa says. “For hours.”

“But we’ve been taking turns trying to solve it. Maybe we all need to touch it at the same time.”

A ripple of optimism pulses through the circle as we each lay a palm against the silky surface of the box. For a moment, everything is still.

And then, beneath our fingers, the bone begins to move.

The box opens like a flower blossoming.

The top separates into individual segments, slender pieces that alternate between moving forward and moving back. At the same time, the sides divide and fall away. The slices at the top of the box rotate downward and weave between the others. It happens slowly, and we all gape, mesmerized. When the bone finally stops moving, it resembles a basket more than a box. Resting at the bottom is a velvet pouch containing a small set of bones and a single parchment folded in thirds and tied with a slender leather cord.

Tessa is the first to thaw enough to move. She lifts the document and places it on her lap.

“What does it say?” Jacey asks, her voice full of the same reverence I feel.

Tessa doesn’t answer right away. Her eyes roam over the page, her expression changing from excitement to dismay.

“What?” I ask. “What is it?”

“Our first task is here.”

“Yes,” Talon says carefully, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “We knew it would be, right?”

“I mean that we aren’t going to another town. We’re staying here in the capital.”

Disappointment seeps into me like cold. I hadn’t realized until this moment how much I was looking forward to exploring Kastelia. And judging from their heavy sighs and downturned expressions, the others feel the same.

My thoughts go to Rasmus—the bodyguard Norah said I’d need if I left the premises—and guilt worms through my stomach. I can only think of one reason why we’d have to remain at Ivory Hall while all the other teams get to travel to other parts of Kastelia.

“It’s probably my fault,” I say softly.

Beside me, I feel Bram tense. “Why would you say that?”

I tell him what Norah said about me leaving the grounds.

“No,” he says, “if she hadn’t made provisions for you to participate fully, she just would have excused you from the games.”

“But if I weren’t in your group—”