Page 354 of Hidden Depths

“Then we take the stairs.”

“No.” Mom caught his arm. “They have the key. If they reach the gate⁠—”

“They already opened it.”

“Only the first gate.”

Silence fell.

Ward’s face hardened.

“There’s another one?”

“Yes.”

“What happens if they open it?”

Mom looked at me.

“I don’t know.”

“You said Grandpa showed you this place.”

“He showed me the first gate. He told me the second must never be opened.”

Nathan stepped closer.

“What exactly did James say?”

Mom closed her eyes, searching her memory.

“He said, ‘If anyone ever finds what lies beneath Blackwater, they won’t only own the Sinclair name. They’ll own every family that helped build these islands.’”

A bullet ricocheted from the wall.

Ward returned fire.

“We’re out of time.”

He pointed toward the staircase.

“Nathan, take Elanore and Storm to the cliffs. Ben and I will stop them at the second gate.”

“No,” Mom said.

Ward looked at her.

“You’re injured.”

“And I’m the only person here who knows how to close the first gate.”

Nathan’s jaw tightened.

“You’re not going deeper.”

“Nathan—”

“No.”