I tell Oliver and the others to step back.
I need to see what's inside. With my own eyes. The answers Boris said I'd find here—if they exist, they exist past this door, and I'm not asking anyone else to walk through first.
A small hand grabs mine.
I look down.
Lola has my fingers. Hard. A grip I haven't felt from her since the first weeks, back when she still thought I might disappear if she stopped checking.
I meet her eyes.
She shakes her head. Slow. Side to side.
'No.'
I don't bother hiding the confusion on my face.
"If Uncle goes in there," she says, almost too quiet to hear, "you don't come back."
Her voice cracks on the last word.
It's been a long time since I've seen this version of Lola. The version that knows something the rest of us don't.
She was right every time danger closed in during the battle royale. She was right about the gatekeeper, and she knew exactly where to head after the Tide Worm before I even had a clue.
