Chapter 26 · Run While the City Goes Dark

Ronan's hand closes around my wrist before I can even breathe.

"Move."

His voice is his own again, but barely. The red light still flickers under his skin, pulsing in rhythm with something I can't see. The altar behind us groans, and chunks of stone start dropping into the pit below.

I don't ask questions. I run.

He pulls me toward the service tunnel on the east side of the chamber, the one we passed on the way in. My boots slip on the wet stone, and I nearly go down, but his grip tightens and yanks me upright without slowing.

"Ronan—"

"Don't talk. Just move."

Behind us, Silas is shouting something, but the words get swallowed by the crack of stone splitting open. I risk a glance back and wish I hadn't. The altar isn't just cracked anymore. It's opening. Something dark and wet is pushing through the gap, and it doesn't have a shape I can name.

Ronan shoves me into the tunnel first. It's narrow, barely wide enough for one person, and the walls are slick with condensation. The air smells like rust and old blood.