Page 78 of Claimed In Darkness

But before she can?—

Footsteps appear.

Fast. Unforgiving.

A dozen, maybe more, echoing through the ruined corridor outside.

The High Council’s guards.

We are out of time.

I grab her wrist, pulling her forward, dragging her into motion even as my body fucking protests.

"Move," I snap.

She doesn’t fight me.

She just runs.

As we tear through the shattered ruins of the vault, as the shouts of our enemies grow louder, as my body shakes, still bearing the scars of my father’s touch?—

I know one thing for certain.

My father won’t take this lying down.

27

NAIRA

The only thing keeping him standing is me.

Zephiran leans too much into my side, his body pressing against me as we move through the underground passageways, breath hot and ragged against my neck.

His body shudders with every step, his muscles trembling, the curse still eating him from the inside out.

His father’s mark lingers in his bones, his skin, his soul.

It’s like a sickness clinging to his flesh, like a second shadow curling in the dark.

And despite every warning in my head, despite every reminder that this man is a monster, that he is the reason I’m here, the reason I can never go back?—

I hold onto him.

Because if he collapses, I know damn well he won’t get back up.

The tunnels are damp, smelling of wet stone and old blood, the stench of the city’s filth seeping through the cracks above us.

We’re running on borrowed time.

The High Council’s dogs will be sniffing us out by dawn.

We need somewhere to hide.

Somewhere to breathe.

But right now, the only thing I care about is keeping Zephiran on his feet.

If he falls, he might not get up again.

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