Page 87 of The Eagle's Vault

I couldn’t open the vault for these men. Whatever was inside, whether or not it was a genuine Roman standard, anything which someone had hidden away centuries ago didn’t belong with treasure hunters. Or whatever Fenix was. Giovanni had said they were collecting specific artifacts. But for what?

Time to be smart, Leigh. Delay just the right amount. Ask questions. Ponder.

Enzo had said we had hours.

I focused on the photos again, a whole series of them which hadn’t been there when we retrieved it from Cassaforte. One of them snagged my attention.

Something.

Something off.

A rough image of the apostles, all crowded together, but in the corner… “A dodecahedron. That doesn’t belong. Wrong time period.”

Daniel nodded. “I found that fresco this week.”

“That’s not pre-third-century artwork.” I looked at him, noticing the darkness around his eyes, likely a healing bruise. “And you think it’s related to the vault?”

“It must be. Why would someone other than the vault’s builder inscribe that down here?”

The three-dimensional shapes weren’t it. They weren’t what had caught my attention. I held the photo up and pointed to a faint scrawl under the feet of the apostles. I said to Enzo, “Do either of you have a phone I can use?”

“For what?” he asked.

“I just need to take a picture.”

Pavel’s eyebrow rose in Enzo’s direction. It didn’t matter what he thought. It only mattered if he gave me the phone.

Enzo stood and handed me a smartphone. “Pavel’s trigger finger is faster than any call or email will connect.”

“I know.” I snapped a picture of the photograph as he sat back down, flipped the image horizontally, and zoomed in. “There. See that?”

Daniel leaned closer. “Mirror writing.”

“A code from da Vinci?” asked Isaac.

“Some people think he wrote in reverse as a secret code, but I subscribe to the theory it was simply because he was left-handed.” It made sense. That way, he wouldn’t smudge ink as he wrote. But these words were etched into the fresco, then painted over so they stood out. Was I wrong about that theory? Was it really a code? “Either way, I still can’t read it.”

“It’s in Italian.” Daniel’s gaze rose to meet mine, his gaunt face growing paler. “It says, ‘Turn Back.’”

Chapter 34

Declan

Ihurriedthroughthedarkness, my tiny red light only enough to keep me heading straight. My toes and shoulders pinged off rocks and walls as I ran. Why was Leigh down there? What was she doing?

“Jayce,” I hissed. “I need more intel.”

My phone buzzed with another message from her, and I slowed enough to read it.Isaac, Daniel, and two burly guys who don’t look happy.

“What the hell is she doing?” Did she get so angry with me she went straight to her brother? Or did she… no, she wasn’t working with Fenix all along. Isaac hadn’t played us all to ensure she was in Cassaforte with me.

But the way she’d interacted with Giovanni Ferraro. She didn’t flinch when we talked to him. Had everything else been an act?

I stumbled and took a turn too sharp, careening into the wall. All the air flew out of me.

“Declan, slow down.” Scarlett’s command held a hard edge. “I can see on the display you’re moving too fast.”

“Tell me what she’s doing, dammit.” It was just doubts, nothing more. Leigh had been hurt and confused when I told her about the duplicate plans for the Codex case. If she’d known about it, if she’d been behind it, she wouldn’t have reacted like that.

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