Page 105 of Where Angels Fall

Heavy steps echo down a corridor to our left. Then a man’s voice, close enough now that the sound crawls up my spine.

“... swear I heard something...”

Kai goes still in a way that makes him feel inhuman. A predator waiting in the shadows.

I cling to him, my arms wrapping around his neck.

The man’s footsteps pause. I can see boots in my blurred vision, two pairs. They are so close I can hear them breathing. My heart pounds so loudly I’m sure it’ll give us away.

Before I know what is happening, there is a flash of metal.

Hot liquid sprays over me as I hear the sound of metal against flesh. One of the men drops to the ground with nothing but a grunt before Kai is onto the next one. More blood soaks my skin, the copper scent clogging my nose.

This man chokes on the gash in his throat, clutching at it as if he can stop the blood from pouring out of him. It’s a wretched sound... and it satisfies me.

I’m too tired to care how that thought makes me feel.

But when I look into his dying eyes, I smile.

Kai moves again, running up the ramp the two men came from. It’s slippery and wet, mildew growing on all the surfaces, but his footing is sure.

Higher and higher we go, choosing every ramp or staircase that goes up. Even the air has changed into something less rotten. My heart thrums a hopeful beat.

Which makes realising we hit a dead end all the more defeating. The hope dies in my throat.

At the end of the corridor stands a thick steel door, its surface mottled with rust and peeling paint. My eyes zero in on the heavy chains looped around the handles and fed through a welded bracket on the wall.

Kai slows to a stop, and for a second, we just stare at it. So close. We are so fucking close; I can feel it. I know daylight is on the other side of that door, and I’m aching for it. Every second I spend locked in here is making me feel like a trapped animal. And I’m suffocating slowly.

I need to get out of this place. Now.

Kai shifts me in his arms and steps forward anyway, testing the chains with the edge of his knife, his hand moving with skill even with his ruined wrist. They rattle loudly, the metallic clank echoing down the concrete throat of the tunnel.

We both freeze, and Kai curses under his breath.

“This isn’t it,” I whisper, my voice weak.

He doesn’t answer. He presses his shoulder to the door, testing it with brute force.

The chains don’t budge. His jaw tightens, and this close, I can see the strain on his face. Sweat beads along his temples and his wrists are swelling badly now, the skin stretched tight and angry where he broke them. His fingers flex around the knife with his remaining strength.

“Kai,” I whisper.

He shakes his head once, already scanning the walls, the ceiling, the corners of the landing for another path.

“Kai,” I repeat, firmer. “Put me down.”

“No.”

“You’re hurt.”

“Kai,” I plead, my voice laced with urgency.

Finally, his eyes flick to mine, those dark, intense eyes boring into mine. I can almost see him thinking as he weighs our limited options. Then he exhales sharply and lowers me to the ground.

My good leg takes my weight first. Pain rips up through my thigh as the injured one follows. I grit my teeth so hard my jaw pops, refusing to make a sound. The concrete wall behind me is damp and cold, soaking through the thin fabric of my dress as I lean back against it.

I force myself upright, putting everything onto my good leg, as Kai steadies me until he’s sure I won’t fall.