Chapter 41

Penny's heart was racing. Xavier didn't even have to say anything. She already knew they'd found something important.

His eyes were locked on the symbol. "This was Rinaldi. I know it was."

There was a sharp determination in his voice, and she wasn't sure whether he was certain or just desperate. She'd seen his face as that wooden elephant had tumbled down into the crater below. And she'd felt the loss deep inside her, in places she hadn't realize could still feel at all.

But that feeling was fading again, lost beneath the beating of her heart. She knew that wild look in Xavier's eyes. And she wasn't sure she was ready for what would come next.

Xavier's hand skimmed over the plank, his fingers following the same invisible line hers had just drawn.

"There has to be something here." He looked up and down the rail. "Another clue, or..." He knelt down, looking underneath.

Penny dropped down beside him. She wasn't sure what they were looking for. Xavier had said that they were looking