Chapter 22 · The Hunter Trial

Drake's phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

I watched him stare at the screen like it might explode. We were still in the crypt—my blood was doing its job, keeping the silver from eating him alive, but his hand shook when he swiped to unlock. The Guild insignia flashed bright. Incoming call. Vera Cole.

He didn't answer.

"She knows," I said. My voice came out flat. I was so tired I couldn't even feel scared anymore. "Gregor probably sent word the second he left."

Drake killed the call. Two seconds later it rang again. Same name. He powered the phone off and shoved it in his pocket.

"We have maybe an hour," he said. "Lucas said three hunters crossed the border. If Vera's calling, that means she's mobilizing a full sweep team."

I leaned against the stone wall, legs still shaky. Feeding him twice in six hours had left me hollow. The crypt smelled like old blood and incense. My mother's heart sat in its reliquary on the altar, dark and shriveled, the thing that was supposed to kill us both if I crushed it.

"So we run," I said.

Drake looked at me.