Chapter 10 · The Door Her Father Hid

"How much further?"

Adrian's hand stays locked on my shoulder. Guiding me through the dark. His grip's firm—not rough, just certain. Like he knows I'll bolt the second he lets go.

He's right.

The tunnel smells like wet concrete and something dead. My arm's still burning under my sleeve. Those silver marks won't stop glowing. Every hunter in the city felt that pulse. Rachel felt it.

She knows what I am now.

"Another block," Adrian says. His left arm's already healed. The bone I heard crack three floors up—gone. Just smooth skin and that silver mark twisting up to his elbow. "Your father built this route thirty years ago."

I stop walking. "Don't talk about him like you knew him."

"I did know him." Adrian turns. His eyes catch the faint light down here. Red edges in the dark. "Lynn, we need to keep—"

"You killed him." My throat's tight. "I saw it. The bond showed me. So don't stand there and pretend you were friends."

He doesn't deny it.

That's worse.

"He asked me to protect you," Adrian says quietly. "With his last breath. So that's what I'm doing."

"I don't want your protection." I shove past him.