When Flint promised he knew how to enter the Chamber from the outside, Ki never would have imagined where the door would be.

  In the back of her mind, she had always been aware that there was a door outside. How else could the thieves get in? On the other hand, she had no clue how widespread or not the knowledge was. The Forest of the Dead was widely known as the place where the Chamber dumped the corpses of their lost ones. Logically, Ki had assumed that was where the entrance was as well.

  Flint’s sly little smile told her all she needed to know. She was wrong once again.

  “They really don’t tell you anything do they?” he teased. “Geez, this is why you Guards need saving. You’re all far too ignorant.”

  Ki pouted. “As if you know much more than me. The whole thing is one big, frustrating mystery to us all!”

  “But I’m a lot better at piecing things together than you are.”

  “If I may,” one of the volunteers spoke up--a tall brunette girl named Emma. “Is it true that the Master really tells you nothing when you become a Guard?”

  Ki frowned as she walked, avoiding Flint’s gaze. Their footsteps against the dirt path that led away from the town provided ample background noise, enough to keep her grounded in the moment. She thought back to the Chamber, to her time as a Guard. It had only been a few weeks since she left, but she felt like the details were slipping through her fingers like sand in an hourglass. She couldn’t recall her arrival as a Guard, she couldn’t recall anything before that time. She could only remember having always been there.

  And yet, something in her mind told her that wasn’t right. She had been somewhere before the Chamber and the Vault. Why she had been snatched from that life and had forgotten it, she didn’t know. 

  She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yes, it is. He really tells us nothing.”

  “That’s… awful.” Emma sighed. “Not to sound lame, but ignorance really isn’t bliss.”

  Laughter burst from Flint’s lips as he elbowed Emma’s side. “You say that yet forget what it is we don’t know. Perhaps ignorance would be bliss when it came to the Vault.”

  Emma’s face hardened, her hazel eyes narrowed. “And you would stay in ignorance then?”

  “I can never be ignorant again,” Flint said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I know too many things, and have too many theories about what I don’t know. All I want now is my escape.”

  A shiver traveled down Ki’s spine at his words. She shook her head and locked her gaze on the path below her as she walked. Flint had mentioned freedom before. He claimed it was his reason for wanting to see the Vault in the first place. Ki couldn’t help but hope that he was right, that there was freedom beyond the Vault.

  Because if there was no freedom within the Chamber, and no freedom outside the Chamber, it had to be locked behind the Vault.

  And if there was no freedom to be found behind the Vault doors, Ki didn’t know what she would do then.

  But she did know Na had gone into the Vault. Whatever awaited her there, Na would be a part of it as well.

  The sun had sunk below the forest in the distance by the time they arrived at the end of the dirt path. A lake stretched before them, wide enough that the other shore remained hidden from view. Still waters lapped against the edge, mirroring the brilliant colors of the sky above. Pale blue, fading into orange, pink, and red hues as the day came to a close. Ki stared at it in awe, her breath stolen from her lungs. Flint had told her of the lake, and she had seen it in the distance before, but she had never been this close. Much like everything else in the world, it struck a sense of wonder in her.

  Yet it rang with familiarity and brought a painful ache to her chest, an ache that screamed of longing for something. Home, perhaps?

  But where is home?

  “It’s here.” Flint stepped forward, the water lapping at the toes of his boots. He swept his gaze over the lake. With a subtle gasp, he lifted his arm to point to a small wooden cabin a few feet away near the lakeshore to their left. “Over there.”

  One of the volunteers adjusted her glasses, peering at the cabin. “Are you sure? It looks--”

  “Unassuming?” Flint tilted his head in her direction. “Exactly. My father told me there was a legend surrounding this cabin and this lake, a reason for why it holds the door to the Chamber. I don’t remember exactly how it goes. Something to do with murder, probably.”

  Ki shot him a pointed glare, desperately smothering the fear that rose to the surface in her mind. 

  He spread his hands innocently. “What? That’s what he said. Doesn’t mean it’s true. All I know is this is the place where he entered the Chamber. This is the place where all those others were last seen before their bodies turned up in the Forest of the Dead. No one knows why, but this is how it is.”

  “Who’s to say there’s any rhyme or reason to it?” Emma muttered. “It is the Master’s design, after all.”

  Ki blinked, turning to face her. She had to tilt her head back slightly to meet Emma’s eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  No one offered her an explanation, nor even a moment to process Emma’s words. Emma herself brushed it off with a smile before making her way towards the cabin around the muddy lakeshore. The twelve other volunteers followed her, though some cast apologetic glances back at Ki. She stiffened under their gazes, curling her fingers into fists at her sides.

  “Come on, Ki.” Flint nudged her forward. “You’re not backing out now are you?”

  She didn’t bother to answer. She strode forward, soon pushing her way to the front of the volunteers. Her steps came so fluidly, she almost forgot she was the one making herself move. There was no anxiousness, no nervous pausing. She reached the cabin steps first, staring up at the porch. The wood creaked and groaned beneath her as she climbed the steps. 

  The door to the cabin loomed over her, despite being not much taller than she was. A lantern hung beside it, but the candle had been reduced to a mere stump of wax with no wick left to light. With the sun gone behind the trees, darkness hung thickly over the cabin, giving it an eerie, unsettling feeling. 

  Drawing in a deep breath, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

  Darkness swallowed her, yanking her inside. She gave a yelp and the scene of the cabin dissolved, replaced by the familiar void-like appearance of the Chamber.

  She stumbled forward, her heart pounding in her chest.

  There was no light, yet it was easy to see. There were no floors or walls to be seen, yet the Chamber always resembled a long hallway to her. At the end, far in the distance, she could see the large, ornate doors to the Vault. Three figures lingered in front of it, barely distinguishable from so far away.

  Ki drew in a deep breath and looked back. There was no sign of the cabin door, but her volunteers emerged into the Chamber one by one. Flint came first, his bow in hand and an arrow nocked against it. Emma followed him.

  “So, this is the Chamber?” Flint breathed. 

  Ki nodded. “I hope you all know what you’re getting into.”

  “Of course we do, Ki. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t come.” Flint made his way forward, loosening his pull on the string of his bow. “We will enter the Vault, no matter what it takes. You will find Na, and we will find the truth.” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. “And may the truth set us free.”

  Ki looked towards the Guards in the distance. None of them had moved yet, not even Ti. She didn’t dare to feel relieved quite yet, but it was a tip in their favor if the Guards had yet to notice them.

  “Alright,” she said. “Then let’s storm the Vault.”