Chapter 7 · The Wrong Door

The door's already cracking when I hit it.

Not the right door. I know that before my shoulder even makes contact. The wood splinters under my weight, and I'm through, stumbling into a corridor that's too narrow, too dark, and definitely not the vault Mira said she'd be in.

"Shit."

Kael's right behind me. His hand catches my elbow, yanks me back before I can take another step.

"That's not—"

"I know." I shake him off. My pulse is hammering. The mark on my wrist burns cold. "She said third level, east wing. This is east."

"This is a trap."

"Then she's in the trap."

He doesn't let go. His grip tightens, fingers pressing into the bone of my wrist. "You don't know that."

"I do." I meet his eyes. They're hard, flat. He doesn't trust this. He doesn't trust me. "The third bell. The killer said third bell. That's now. That's this reset. If we don't move, she's dead."

"If we move, we're dead."

"So we move fast."

I pull free and start down the corridor. He swears behind me, low and vicious, but his boots hit the floor a second later. He's following.

The air here tastes wrong.