Page 100 of The Eagle's Vault

“What are you talking about?” Leigh asked.

“They were so stupid.” Isaac’s attention lay solely on the golden bird, mumbling to himself. “I told them the safe cracker wouldn’t drink the wine, and now look who’s holding the talon!”

“Isaac, snap out of it,” I said.

Leigh placed a hand on Isaac’s arm, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Bringing you to Rome was the right decision.” He blinked, his wild gaze settling on her, a disturbing certainty in his words. “I told them you were the key.”

Leigh took a half-step back. “What do you—”

Daniel began barking orders, cutting her off. “Leigh, put that folio back. Isaac, you too with that eagle. We can’t risk disturbing this place further.”

More dust rained down from the ceiling, a few rocks breaking away from the massive vault door. The room shook, an ominous growl reverberating through the underground chamber.

I channeled every ounce of Scarlett’s command voice. “We’re getting out of here. Now. This room isn’t stable, and neither is that door. If it collapses, we’ll be trapped in here.”

Isaac’s eyes snapped to me, his mania replaced with sudden clarity. “You’re right. We need to save the talon.”

Before I could appreciate him finally listening for once, Isaac lifted the golden eagle above his head and brought it crashing down onto the stone floor with a horrifying crack.

My head spun as Daniel lashed out at Isaac. “You goddamn fool! That was an irreplaceable artifact!”

Isaac just crouched there, clenching a shard of the broken eagle. Sure, I’d thought Isaac was a bit of a prick, but this was a whole new level.

As if he’d lost part of his mind.

Was it the curse the plaque outside had warned us about? Something in the stagnant air in here turning us all into fucking lunatics?

Frantic footfalls broke my thoughts, and my body relaxed. Rav and Jayce were back, and just in time. The sound of shattering pottery tore my attention from Isaac and the eagle.

I spun around in time for Enzo to plow into me, the two of us careening into the desk, smashing it. Daniel slumped against the shelves on the side, pottery shards surrounding him.

Goddamn it, how the hell had he gotten out of the zip ties?

Chunks of stone fell from the ceiling, dust filling the air.

“Isaac!” Enzo roared, his knuckles finding my jaw a second later. “Get the talon to safety.”

Chapter 39

Leigh

Isaacgrippedmyarm,his wild eyes flashing in the hazy, rock-dusted light. “We need to go, Leigh. Declan’s right.” He gestured frantically toward the door. “The exit Daniel mentioned. There’s a car there. We can use it once we’re out.”

My heart thumped against my ribs, threatening to burst through my chest. Declan, grimacing with effort, rolled on the floor with Enzo. His shouted curse filled the dusty cavern. Isaac wanted to run, to abandon them.

Dust choked the air, making it thick and hard to breathe. A wave of fear washed over me as more rocks tumbled from the ceiling. The crack of colliding stone mingled with the violence behind me.

I coughed, the taste of ancient dirt sticking to the back of my throat.

“The talon’s part of something bigger.” Isaac’s speech grew faster, his grip on my arm stronger than I’d expected he was capable of. “We could have saved Mom.”

A hollow pain unfurled in my stomach, like a silent scream. The raw, leftover ache of her absence bit into my chest.

Declan, my brilliant, puzzle-loving, safe-cracking Declan, was getting the shit kicked out of him.

Was I just going to run?

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