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Indy and I stared at each other and responded at the same time. “Plan?”

“Don’t tell me you came all the way out here without a plan?”

“Could we see the site where you discovered the artifact?” asked Indy.

“Sure,” Nikos replied, “but we didn’t find it at the site. It was at the hot springs. Come on.”

As we walked past the taverna at the end of the port, the scent of lemons, garlic, and grilled meat made my stomach growl, and I realized we hadn’t eaten anything all day. “Can we get a bite to eat first?”

“Levi! Stop thinking about food all the time,” laughed Callie. “I’ll cook for you tonight, okay?”

“Fine, I’ll try not to faint in the meantime,” I grumbled, and Indy laced her fingers through mine as we began trudging up what appeared to be the Stairway to Heaven. Seriously, there was no end in sight to these steps. When we finally made it to the top, the view of the port below was fucking spectacular—whitewashed buildings, bright blue-green water, and boats bobbing in the waves—made me forget about the grueling climb.

We continued along the hilly plateau—a sort of moorland with dried grasses and windswept trees, listing to the side. In the distance, an enormous ruin stood out against the setting sun. I’d heard a thing or two about this ancient temple—things that had gone down there that I shouldn’t have been privy to, and wouldn’t have been if I’d opted out of the group chat with Callie and Olivia.

An enormous wolfhound was waiting for us under one of the trees. “Is that your buddy Argos?”

“That’s him.” Callie patted her leg and the huge beast came loping over. “He’s the one who dug up the treasure.”

Callie slipped her hand through my arm as Nikos and Indy continued walking ahead. Leaning into me and batting her eyes, she asked, “Are we friends again?”

“We were never not friends, Cal,” I said. “I was angry that you’d kept your meeting with Indy a secret.”

“I know. I debated telling you, but I thought I’d let the universe do its magic, and it did!”

That single phrase was enough to set me worrying again. Yeah, it had worked magic this time, but it was also capable of doing the worst. It hadn’t been very kind to me so far.

“You all right there, bud?” Nikos called out, and I realized I must have been standing stock-still like a statue for god knows how long.

I tried to shake off that sinking sensation, the pull of the abyss, and caught up to them.

“He’s hangry,” Indy explained, but she too had a concerned expression on her face.

“What did you say to him?” Nikos asked Callie.

“We were talking about the magic of the universe,” Callie explained.

“Her favorite subject, besides food and romance books. Magic.” Nikos nudged Indy. “It’s because she’s a witch, you know.”

“Really?”

“She hasn’t accepted her powers yet, but she’s getting there.” Callie laughed at Nikos’s comment and shooed him away, then roped her arm through mine again. There was no more talk of magic. But the seed had been planted firmly in my head, and I couldn’t shake it off.

As we headed down a rocky cliff into a hidden cove, Callie told us about how she’d been at the thermal springs early that morning.

“Argos likes to keep guard, but this time he was seriously distracted by something in that reedy area over there. Oh—” Callie slipped on the rocks and Nikos caught her.

He looked disdainfully at her shoes. “She’s always wearing the wrong shoes.”

“No, they’re the perfect shoes for this outfit. Not so great for scaling rocks, but I’m a pro at it now.” She wasn’t lying. She was as nimble as a mountain goat in those shoes, but Nikos was clearly on edge. “Anyway, if I do twist my ankle, I know a great doctor. Does house calls and everything.”

Nikos was right to be worried; the terrain was tortuous. One wrong step and . . .

“You can let go now, Levi. I’ll be fine.” I didn’t realize how hard I was gripping Indy until she tried to pry my fingers from her arm. Reluctantly, I released her but made sure to stay a step ahead so that if she fell I could catch her.

At last, we arrived at the thermal springs; there was a slight odor of sulfur in the air and the rocks around it were bleached white. There was a circle of umbrella pines that offered some shade off to the side.

“Wow, I didn’t see this one the last time I was here. I went to the big spring on the north side of the island,” Indy said, bending over to test the water with her hand. “Oooh, that’s warm.”