Chapter 18 · Inez Makes the Call

Inez's phone buzzed three times before she even pulled it out.

She didn't look at the screen. Didn't need to. Only one person had this number on lockdown, and only one person would call right now.

Silas.

She pressed her back against the cold stone wall, breathing hard. The tunnel behind them was still echoing with his laugh—low, patient, like he had all night to wait them out. Mara was staring at Ronan like she wanted to rip his throat open. Ronan looked halfway to dead already, one hand pressed against his ribs where the seal had cracked open.

The phone buzzed again.

Inez answered.

"You're running out of tunnel," Silas said. No greeting. No pretense. Just that calm, matter-of-fact tone he used when he already knew he'd won.

Inez swallowed. Kept her voice flat. "What do you want?"

"The route. The one you found three days ago. The one that cuts under the council hall and comes up near the old chapel."

She went still.

How the hell did he know about that?

She'd been careful. She'd pulled the records herself, late at night, when no one else was in the archives.