Chapter 29 · Untitled Chapter

"Amy!"

No answer. Blackness swallowed her voice, along with the sound of my own fall.

Wet stone slammed into my hands. I dug in, claws scraping for purchase, but the shaft offered nothing. Amy was human. She couldn't slow herself down. She couldn't survive this drop.

I twisted in the dark and hit bottom hard enough to crack the ground.

Pain flashed through my legs, then vanished.

Amy didn't move.

"Amy! Talk to me!"

A weak groan came from the far wall.

I pushed up and waded toward it. Liquid climbed past my boots, warm and slick. The smell hit first—old blood, thick enough to coat my tongue.

"Qin?" Amy called.

"I'm here. Don't move."

"Wasn't planning to."

I found her wedged against the stone. Her dress clung to her body, soaked through. Blood ran from a gash at her temple and disappeared into the black pool around her waist.

Her hand was pressed to her ribs.

"Can you stand?" I asked.

"I can try."

"No. Wait."

I crouched beside her and touched her shoulder. Her skin was cold. Her heartbeat hammered against my fingers.

"Tell me what hurts."

"My side. Every time I breathe.