Unlike many of the rooms she had been in since they reported their findings to the Egyptian authorities, this did not appear to be a jail. Prints of crocodiles basking on the banks of the Nile hung on the wall, and she spotted one or two of her own books among the hundreds of texts on the tall bookshelves before her. But high-backed leather chairs and the elaborate silver tea service set up on the desk made this no less of an interrogation.

"You say that you come from the past." Dr. Terek Mahmoud's voice had been deepened by decades of smoking, but he sounded no weaker for it. "Tell me, why should I believe you?"

"As I've told the police over and over again, I'm willing to give you any information that would help you confirm my identity. I've asked you to contact my colleagues at Oxford who might be able to remove any confusion, and you've refused." This was the first time Peeta had allowed any of his irritation to show through. She was impressed with his patience. She had reached that point nine days ago, approximately half an hour after they had been rewarded for alerting the appropriate authorities of the tomb's destruction by being deposited in jail cells.

She had begged for an appointment with Dr. Mahmoud. Her interactions with the director of the Supreme Council on Antiquities had been few and far between, but he had always struck her as reasonable, and he had an unparalleled knowledge on anything related to the eighteenth dynasty. If they had any hope of being cleared of wrongdoing, Mahmoud was it.

"What you say is impossible." Well, there went that last ounce of hope. Katniss wished she had enjoyed her last bath more thoroughly. She expected it would be a long while before she had the opportunity again.

Peeta barely avoided kicking over his chair as he rose. "Why would we –"

"You're right," she said. The two men looked at her in surprise. "It is impossible. People can't be frozen in time for decades. That goes against everything we understand about our world." Katniss' blood pounded in her veins as she met Mahmoud's eyes. Though she had at least outwardly managed to keep her calm this far, her words began to speed up. "But whether or not you choose to believe it, that's what happened. And instead of investigating what's down there, you're wasting time trying to convince us, the ones who experienced it firsthand, that we're ly –" At a flash in Dr. Mahmoud's face, Katniss swallowed the rest of the word.

"That we have misunderstood the situation or hallucinated the matter entirely," Peeta supplied.

Katniss nodded at his words. Much more diplomatic than she could be.

"And though we believe these events occurred in the manner that we have described many times over the last few days, we, I think quite reasonably, find ourselves with many unanswered questions." Peeta's gaze flicked over to Katniss, searching for approval.

"I certainly do," she backed him up, keeping her voice carefully even.

Peeta turned back to Dr. Mahmoud. "I understand your doubts, but you cannot disagree that this find could be of massive historical significance. I hope that you will allow Dr. Everdeen and I to assist the Supreme Council on Antiquities as you uncover Nefertiti's tomb. At least allow us to direct you to the exact locations of our respective dig sites so that your men know where to start looking."

Mahmoud struck a match to light his pipe, and the deep scent of expensive tobacco became even more prominent. He leaned back in his high-backed chair as he studied them, taking long drags from his pipe. Katniss counted beats of the ceiling fan, the only sound that broke the silence of the room.

The director blew a thick cloud of smoke up towards the ceiling before he straightened. "We leave in the morning," he said. "You will assist us in reversing the damage you have caused in this country."

Katniss had not realized how much tension she had been carrying in her shoulders until she felt them relax.

"Thank you." Peeta's voice held the same relief, and she could not entirely hold back a grin.

Even the military-grade tires on the Supreme Council's vehicle could not smooth out this road. Katniss held on tight to avoid being thrown out of the open cab as the car lurched over an enormous pothole, and after a terrifying moment spent airborne, she slammed back into her seat with a grunt.

Peeta didn't seem bothered at all by the bumpy ride. He stared out over the desert, entranced, and Katniss leaned over to appreciate the sight as well. She had made this journey from Cairo to Luxor so many times that she hardly saw the scenery anymore, but looking on it with new eyes, she was struck by the vibrancy of the desert, the way the sand sparkled as it reflected the sunlight.

"It's beautiful." She didn't realize she was speaking until the words were already out. Katniss caught herself. "Has it changed much?"

Peeta turned to her. "The landscape? No, I don't think so, though I've always made this journey by train or on horseback." He stuck his hand out of the car, feeling the air whoosh past his fingertips. "I wasn't aware enough to enjoy the novelty of the automobile ride last time."

The car bucked underneath them, and Katniss was sent flying towards him. Strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her still as the car rumbled over the rough patch of gravel. "And though I'll argue that every Egyptologist ought to travel to Luxor on horseback at least once, automobiles certainly have their advantages."

Katniss hoped he couldn't see how her cheeks pinked as she slid back into her seat.

"What area have you been excavating?" Between the wind and the gravel beneath the wheels, Mahmoud had to shout for his words to reach the back seat. Hopefully, that meant he hadn't overheard their earlier exchange.

"It's about a mile and a half south of here." Katniss pushed herself up towards the front seat. "See that ridge?" She pointed out towards an imposing natural rock formation. "We'll have to hike down to the tomb itself. Right over there is about as close as we can get without going into the valley."

Mahmoud relayed her instructions to the driver in Arabic, and they parked in the shade of the tower. Katniss hoisted her pack – thankfully, the authorities had given it back to her when she insisted she would need the map inside to find the exact location of her dig, even if it wasn't exactly true - onto her back and jumped out of the car. Something in her neck popped as she stretched her arms up above her head. After spending six hours in the car, she was grateful just to stand up for a while.

"We have no time to waste." Mahmoud pointed down into the valley. "Show us the way."

"Right. Come on, then." She started down, Peeta only steps behind her.

Katniss had first visited the Valley of the Kings at nineteen, and in her annual visits since, she had come to think of the necropolis as a second home. Though the valley held its underground secrets tightly, the scenery itself was beyond familiar - or at least it had been. Though she was only halfway down, and she could barely spot her dig site in the distance, Katniss felt something off.

"Stay close," she murmured to Peeta, quiet so Mahmoud and the driver, who had fallen behind, could not overhear them.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Waiting for Mahmoud, whose breathing had already become labored from the exertion of their trek, Katniss took a long moment to survey the environment. On the surface, nothing seemed out of place, but an odd tension burned in the air.

"We're getting close," she informed the others. "Due north, two hundred yards. You can just make out where the stones fell." Katniss traced the outline of what had been the entrance to the tomb with her fingertips.

The other three squinted in the direction she pointed, but she saw no flashes of recognition. Katniss dug into her pack and pulled out her binoculars. She peered into them and spent a few seconds adjusting the focus before she offered them to Mahmoud. "Do you see the rock pile?" she asked.

The director scanned over the area. "Yes, there - ah yes, very good." He studied the spot intently through the binoculars. "Is there anything else the council needs to be aware of before we begin our excavation?"

She shook her head. "We've told you everything we know."

"Good. Back to the car, then. With some luck, we can be back in Cairo before nightfall."

"I thought you might have a team assembled and prepared to start digging," Peeta said to Mahmoud.

"I do, but I needed to know the precise location of Dr. Everdeen's dig site before we began." There was an edge to his voice that did nothing to ease Katniss' nervousness. The man finally returned her binoculars with a broad forced smile.

"Where are they? Surely it would be best if Dr. Everdeen could explain how she reached the entrance, so they don't encounter the same traps."

"No, no. I will relay the location to them later tonight. Hurry now. I want to rest."

Ever obedient, Katniss started up the hill again at lightning pace. Peeta stayed hot on her heels, and they had quickly left Mahmoud behind.

"What's he hiding?" Peeta asked.

"I don't know, but I feel it too." Katniss glanced behind them to make sure Mahmoud and the driver were out of sight. "Cover me for a moment."

Peeta nodded in reply, and she hurried toward the ledge. From here, she had a clear view of much of the valley. Katniss carefully studied the landscape, cataloging every peculiarity. To the south, she caught a strange glint of metal. She pawed frantically through her bag for the binoculars, dropping the pack to the ground as soon as she located them. Already, she was directing them toward the source of the reflection.

"Found something?" Peeta's voice was quiet.

"I think I might have found Mahmoud's team." She refocused her binoculars, revealing a convoy of eight trucks, the largest of which sported an all-too-familiar red emblem on its side.

"Nazis." The word felt like a curse on her tongue, and in some ways, she supposed it was. Katniss lowered her binoculars and blew a loose piece of hair off her forehead. "I hate these guys."