The largest key on the page got my attention. It was a copper key edged with green patina, the handle forming a heart around a crown.
My hand immediately flew to the key around my neck. It was the necklace Daddy had given my mother on their wedding day, which she’d passed on to me before I left for the Institute. I never took it off. I fumbled to loosen the clasp, and the key dropped from my neck, landing on the journal page.
It was an exact copy of the key Maddie had drawn.
There were no words on the page, no further instruction, but my heart began to pound as I realized the possibility of what this meant. The strange Elven gate Charlie and I had come across during the Darke Games had odd keyholes that had been scattered around it amongst the runes inscribed on the stone. I put together the information we had, and came to a conclusion.
Thesewere the keys to Forevermore. That’s why no one else had found the city before— because they didn’t have these keys, and therefore, couldn’t open up the portal. By a stroke of luck, I already had one key. All we had to do was locate six others, and I bet once we did that, the Elven gate would open, creating a portal to the lost city that we could venture through.
We weresoclose to getting answers. For the first time, it looked like Forevermore was within our reach.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlie
“I’m not gonna lie, you look like shit,” Marcus said when I met up with him and Kallie in the Villain’s Den after class.
“But we’re glad you’re out of the infirmary,” Kallie quickly added.
“Ow!” Marcus cried. I could only guess Kallie had slugged him.
“You should’ve seen the other guy,” I joked. Making light of the situation was the only way to handle it, because I was devastated otherwise. I touched one of the tender cuts on my face, and though it stung, it felt a hell of a lot better than before.
Oberi sighed and laid his chin on my knee. He got that way whenever someone brought up the fight club. Rishi tried to get him to play and kept running into my leg as he jumped at Oberi, but Oberi ignored him.
“I actually saw Deuce earlier, and he looked fine—ow! Would you stop that?” Marcus snapped.
Kallie blew a breath. “You never learn.”
I frowned. Marcusreallywasn’t helping.
A pair of footsteps rushed into the Villain’s Den— a woman’s, judging by the click of the heels. She breezed up to our table, and Ava’s raspberry scent surrounded me. I instantly noticed her unease through our bond, which I’d been trying to block earlier today. I didn’t want her to know how much the fight had really affected me. Now, though, I let her through, and my heart lurched.
Before I could ask what was wrong, Ava said, “The Lair. Now.”
I stilled for a beat, but Ava was already walking away. Oberi perked up and followed behind her. None of us said a thing as we scrambled out of our seats and followed behind her.
Getting to the Lair was easy now, since we’d been there so many times. Whatever Ava had to tell us must’ve been really important, because she didn’t say anything until we were safely inside where no one could hear us.
Kallie cast a privacy illusion around the Lair, as she always did. “It’s safe to talk,” she announced once the spell had settled.
“You guys arenotgoing to believe what I found.” Ava spoke fast, and she paced around the Lair frantically, her shoes padding sharply on the stone.
“What’s that?” Kallie asked.
I heard the sound of paper unfurling. “I foundthisin the journal Aunt Maddie left me, sewn into the leather binding. These seven keys have something to do with the prophecy, and I already have one of them.”
“Seven keys?” I asked.
Ava explained. “It’s a drawing of seven keys, all different sizes and shapes. It’s a clue to the prophecy. I’m sure of it; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been in that journal.”
“Can I see?” Kallie asked.
The paper rustled as Ava handed it over. “Charlie, you remember the stone gate we found— the portal to Forevermore— had seven keyholes, right?”
“Yeah, I remember.” My stomach sank. I wasn’t sure what any of this meant, but another clue was another step toward Ava’s demise.
“These keysmustbe the ones that will get us through the portal—” Ava said, but Kallie’s gasp cut her off.
