Chapter 1
Cora's POV
The club is dragging everyone out to a tomb Blair Whitmore's family dug up in Egypt, and nobody asked if this was a good idea.
She even brings some so-called expert along. Everyone crowds around the dark opening, practically shaking with excitement.
I'm the only one who tries to stop it.
"There's a mechanism in there. It's dangerous. We shouldn't go in. We need to report it to the antiquities authority first."
They just laugh at me.
"God, Blair, you're unbelievable. Untouched site like this and you just land it."
"Right, and some people never say two words all semester and now they want in on the action."
My palms are sweating. They don't know I come from a family of manuscript conservators. I grew up surrounded by dead languages and schematics for ancient mechanisms. What nobody else can read, I read clearly.
The stele at the entrance is carved with Egyptian hieroglyphs, and the warning is not subtle:
Whoever enters here will lose their soul to the void, and their bones will turn to dust.
"Everyone, look at this. My dad's company dug this up in Egypt a few days ago. I checked, it's not even in the Egyptian antiquities records."
Blair Whitmore, president of our university's history exploration club and the only daughter of some local real estate tycoon, yells to the group, chin tilted up, decked out in some custom expedition jacket.
"Blair, this is insane," some guy next to her says, eyes lit up. "We get exclusive footage out of this, we're going viral on campus for sure."
A girl next to him chimes in, her tone sharp. "Exactly, Blair basically runs this club. Unlike some people who never say anything all year and suddenly want to ride her coattails."
She glances at me when she says it.
My name is Cora Vance. I've never been anyone in this club, just background noise. The only reason I'm standing here is that Blair wanted to flex her influence as president and made attendance mandatory for this "secret bonding trip."
But I can't look away from that stele. None of them can read it, but I can, and that warning isn't there for show.
I force myself to take a step forward.
"That stone, it says there's a mechanism inside. It's dangerous. We really shouldn't go in. We should report it to the antiquities authority first."
The clearing goes dead silent. Everyone stares at me like I grew a second head.
Blair lets out a sharp laugh. "Cora, are you serious right now? You're the girl who had to copy someone else's paper just to pass finals. You think you get to lecture me?"
"I didn't copy anything. That was a misunderstanding."
"Shut up." She cuts me off, rolling her eyes. "I hate people who pretend to know things they don't. You can't even read that gibberish. Stop trying to scare everyone."
She turns to a middle-aged man standing beside her in a khaki field vest.
"Dale, I paid you a small fortune to be our Egyptologist. Tell this idiot whether the tomb is actually dangerous."
Dale looks me over like I'm not worth his time.
"This kid doesn't know anything. I already surveyed the site. Sure, it's remote, but the energy here is incredible. Whatever mechanisms used to be in there stopped working ages ago. You're all safe with me leading the way. And Blair here, she's got good fortune written all over her. Whatever's inside that tomb, it's meant for her."
Blair's chin goes up another inch.
"You hear that? Cora, you're just some hick who's never seen anything outside this town. Of course you're jealous I found something this good."
The two friends beside her pile on.
"Seriously, if you're scared, leave. Don't ruin this for everyone."
"The expert already said it's fine. Who are you to argue?"
I watch them, so pleased with themselves, and something in me goes cold and quiet. I warned them. They don't believe me. There's nothing else I can do.
"Fine. If you're all going in, I'm not." I turn to walk back the way we came. I can't win an argument and I definitely can't win a fight, so I leave. That's the only trick I've ever learned.
I barely get one step before Blair grabs my wrist, hard.
"You think you're just going to walk off and report me? Let me be clear. You're going in whether you like it or not. You ruin this for me, I'll make sure you can't survive another semester here."
She waves a hand and the guys close in around me, shoving me toward the entrance.
"Let's go. Dale's leading the way. We're not leaving here empty-handed." Blair swings her flashlight around, grinning, and ducks into the dark opening first.
Someone shoves me from behind and I stumble into the cold, damp passage. The dark swallows me whole. I already said my piece. Whatever happens next isn't on me anymore.
"Keep quiet in there. Keep running your mouth and see what happens." The guy behind me shoves me again.
I clench my fists, keep my head down, and follow them in.
