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“It could be a booby trap,” Will warned.

“It’s not a booby trap,” Buffalo said. “I already picked it up and nothing happened.”

Zani studied it. She reached out with interest, then seemed to change her mind and jumped back. She couldn’t, or wouldn’t, touch it. She looked at it for a long moment with the same wary expression she had worn over the curse codex.

“I have no idea what that thing is,” she admitted. “And my wards are keeping me from touching it. You need to put it back exactly where you found it. And you must stop touching things!”

“But it feels important,” Buffalo said. “It called to me.”

“Cursed objects can do that sort of thing.”

“I didn’t say cursed. I said important,” Buffalo argued. He was not backing down. “What if the item is meant for me to find, and not you?” He raised an eyebrow at Zani. “Have you considered that? This thing has obvious environmental charms. Perhaps whatever is in it could lead to discoveries that could abate climate change, or a natural, renewable energy source that wouldn’t create more pollution?”

Will appeared at Zani’s shoulder and looked at the book. “I think Buffalo’s right about this one. We should consider bringing it back.” Will sounded uneasy but Amrita could not tell if that was because the item made him uncomfortable or if it was the look Zani was giving him.

Will shifted from foot to foot, avoiding eye contact with Buffalo, as well as Zani. “If Buffalo wasn’t supposed to pick it up, his wards would have stopped him, right? Leaving it here feels wrong, now.”

“All I know is that thing,” Zani pointed at the book, “doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, and I’m not interested in an unrequited romance with a relic.”

“Hear me out, Z,” Will argued. “Most of the things in this library are about to burn and be lost forever. None of them should be cool with being touched by any of us. But if they are, it has to mean something. It can’t be a coincidence that it had a problem with you, but not with Buffalo.”

Silence.

“We don’t have time to debate now,” Amrita said. “Let me carry it. I’ll hold on to it for a bit, if it lets me, and if there’s room in the bags when we’re leaving, we’ll decide then.”

Buffalo passed the book to her without any interference from either of their wards. Zani made a sound of disapproval, but she did not object outright to the plan.

“There’s one more chamber I’d like to search.” Zani began moving toward the door. She passed Will the last scone from Granny’s basket. “Keep up the carbs, William. We’re almost done. And then we’re outta here.”

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but this mission has gone a lot more smoothly than I expected it to.” Will was chasing the scone with a sip of smoothie from the thermos he had stashed in his robes. “I fully expected us to get stuck here for a few days, if not longer.”

“It has gone swimmingly, hasn’t it?” Buffalo beamed at Amrita. “Which is why I’d like to propose we take a smidge more time and go check out the pyramids. We’re here already and it seems like it would be a waste of time porting not to see them.”

“That’s against the Society’s mission policy,” Zani said.

“Yes, well, seeing as how we have the director of the Society right here with us, I wonder if there might be some way to bend the rules.” Buffalo tilted his head and winked at Amrita.

Zani’s eyes went wide with shock at this bold suggestion. Will placed his head in his hands, like he didn’t want to see what came next.

“We don’t have time to go see the pyramids, Buffalo.” Amrita shook her head slowly She felt like wringing Buffalo’s sturdy neck. Even if she had been so inclined to break the rules—and clearly she was, on a rather grand scale—an overt request like this was not the way to go about it. One had to be more nuanced. Subtle. There was always a way to make up an excuse to tack on a side quest. She’d been just about to suggest it herself. Something about a hunt for the rare, and now extinct, magical golden scarab beetles that could enter and exit even the most innermost chambers of the pyramids. She’d wanted to surprise Buffalo with the bonus assignment. But now that he’d made such a boldfaced suggestion in front of Zani and Will, any acquiescence would reek of impropriety and only serve to undermine what little authority she had left.

“Absolutely not.” She gritted her teeth.

“Not even an hour?” Buffalo angled. He was not used to not getting his way. “We’ve come this far already. We have the time. We might never have another opportunity. I don’t see what the issue is.”

“This is a mission, Buffalo. Not Spring Break.” Amrita was growing hot beneath her rogue’s cloak. It felt heavy. The odd tome she was still holding was beginning to feel heavy as well. The surface of it had changed. She could now see waves sloshing across the top. They crashed at the corners, and water appeared to cascade down the sides. But her fingers remained dry.

“I was hoping this mission could mix both work and pleasure.” Buffalo said it lightly, but it landed with weight. “Life doesn’t always have to be solely one or the other. We don’t have to choose. That’s what I’ve been trying to say to you for months.”

“I am aware of what you’ve been saying,” Amrita said. Her voice was still controlled. She was very good at keeping her personal feelings in check. She’d been practicing for thirty-seven years. And yet her words gave away her frustration. “What I would like, just once, is for you, of all people, to acknowledge that there are certain circumstances where what I want to do has to take a back seat to what we need to do.”

“I do understand that,” Buffalo said. His tone was heavier now. “I have understood it every single time you’ve cancelled our dates for the past year, Amrita, which has been almost every one of our dates. I am asking whether there is ever going to be a circumstance in which I do not have to wait.”

“You are not waiting now. You are here. You came. I wanted you here.” This was the truth. She had wanted him to be here. But now that he was and the mission was nearly complete, she wasn’t sure that bringing Buffalo along had been the right call. Aside from providing the muscle, he had only slowed the mission down.

“Did you really want me here?” He looked at her steadily. “Because from where I’m standing, you’ve been treating me like a child since we got to Rancho Cucamonga.” He paused. “Tell me how I can do better? How can I get you to trust me again?”

Trust me. The moment those two words were out of his mouth, Amrita felt the hot spark of a flare ignite in her belly. It shot up through her chest and out through her mouth, illuminating the small chamber with the angry red words that tumbled out in its wake.