Quinn
Tobias looked furious as we stumbled back into the tunnels. The second I was steady, I immediately placed a hand over his chest. My magic permeated his lungs in a wave of blue, searching for any sign the gas affected him.
“Of course it was a trap,” he hissed as lightning flashed across his irises.
I raised my hand against my own chest after I was convinced Tobias was safe, double checking I hadn’t inhaled anything dangerous. Then I moved to the bruising around my throat, healing it enough so I could breathe without it hurting me. “He knew, somehow. Our attackers didn’t trigger it…we did.”
Tobias was shaking—with rage or fear, I couldn’t tell. He walked away from me, fists clenched tightly against his sides.
I internally kicked myself for being stupid enough to get captured in the first place. “We need to go get backup.”
“By the time we get back through the tunnels, it won’t matter.” Tobias’s shoulders slumped. He drew in a fortifying breath that I found myself mimicking. When he turned around, I nearly flinched at the lack of emotion on his face. “Though we don’t have a better choice.”
I wanted to hit something…preferably a certain scientist with a god complex and an uncanny ability to stay one step ahead. “Maybe we’ll be able to get back through the mirror once the gas is gone…”
Tobias merely jerked his head at the mirror. The edges of the glass had already hardened, like a lake freezing over, its entire surface dimming as the stillness swept inward. We had seconds until it would be impossible to pass through…and no way to stop it.
“We don’t even know where that room is.” Tobias’s toneless voice grated on my already fraying nerves. “There were no windows, no hint that we were still in this city…” He nodded at the tunnel that brought us here. “We should go back before our friends worry.”
It was definitely too late for that.
“We should check for a passage through to the Enclave first,” I argued, unwilling to give up yet. “If we can at least figure out how he’s sneaking in, this won’t entirely be a loss.”
“If we get backup, it’ll be faster than only the two of us searching,” Tobias countered stonily. “Besides, Silvius likely knows exactly where we are right now. We need to leave before we’re ambushed again.”
I hated this. Absolutely hated going back empty-handed almost as much as I hated the emptiness in his voice. We had been so close to finding Silvius, so close to everything not resting on my ability to produce a cure.
We could have finished this tonight.
My voice broke as I whispered, “I can’t just…give up.”
Tobias’s eyes softened, the mask he was hiding behind cracking enough to glimpse a flicker of something real. “We tried, Sagray. Sometimes things don’t go our way, but that doesn’t mean we give up. Far from it.”
I wanted to scream, or cry, or both. Instead, I trudged back down the tunnel. Tobias’s light footsteps barely echoed behind me, but I knew he was close enough that if I reached back, I could grab his hand.
The light started to fade the further we walked away from the mirror. My clothes, sopping wet from the downpour earlier, were freezing by the time we reached the stagnant water in the tunnels, its level noticeably higher than before. Only darkness lay ahead.
Tobias’s magic danced around me as if he had sensed my thoughts, those familiar balls of light bobbing next to my face. They spiraled almost excitedly around my arms and torso before leading the way forward.
I didn’t look back.
?
We trudged through the water in silence. I had long since started to shiver, the warm rain a distant memory. The steady drip of water had become more urgent, the summer storm bringing the unpleasant smell of brackish water along with it.
I was so lost in thought—caught between self-condemnation and replaying every single thing I could have done differently—that I nearly jumped out of my skin when Tobias took my hand.
“Are you okay—”
His hand clasped over my mouth, pulling me back against his chest with a small splash, just as his lights went out. Only one faint ball of light lingered between us, barely enough to cast Tobias’s face in shadow.
“Shh,” he breathed against the shell of my ear. “I don’t think we’re alone.”
He was right. The low murmur of voices ahead were barely audible above the sound of the rushing water, but whoever it was blocked our path. They were too far away for me to feel their heartbeats, but I doubted their appearance now was a coincidence.
We had three turns left if I remembered correctly.
Three more turns until I could get out of these damn tunnels, walk home in the rain, and wash off the grime and defeat of today.
Anyone standing between me and a warm bath were about to find themselves regretting every one of the decisions that put them in my way.
Tobias removed his hand from my mouth, moving it to my waist now that I had gone quiet. The warmth of his fingers against my lips seemed to linger.
Low voices echoed down the tunnel, louder now. Tobias squeezed me more tightly against him.
“We need to get closer,” I said under my breath. Close enough for me to determine how many of them there were and then incapacitate them. Maybe we could still get some of the answers we came here for.
Tobias silently drew his dagger. His other hand dropped down to clasp mine tightly as we prowled forward as silently as we could manage. I tensed at every slosh of water, the runoff from the storm now rising over my knees as I reached out with my blood magic…
There were only two of them. I pressed two fingers into Tobias’s palm, knowing he would understand my meaning.
They would be easy enough to subdue, even without using my magic. Either Silvius had gravely underestimated us, or they simply had unfortunate timing.
No matter what, I couldn’t let them get close to Tobias.
If they had a virus meant for him, there was still a chance they could administer it mid-fight—which meant I needed to keep them as far from him as possible.
My blood pounded in my ears at the thought of Tobias losing his memory like his sister—except without an anima bond to keep his mind safe.
The roaring got louder, its crescendo breaking into my dark thoughts as I realized it wasn’t inside my own head.
Tobias had gone utterly still beside me. “Quinn…”
The wave of water hit us before I could draw another breath.