Page 181 of Seeking Shadows

I press my forehead against hers, squeezing my eyes shut as a sharp, suffocating ache takes hold of my chest. I can’t lose her.

I don’t know how to exist without her.

“Stay with me,” I beg, my voice almost breaking.

And then—footsteps.

My head jerks up, my body going rigid. The door creaks open, and a silhouette stands against the dim hallway light. My muscles coil, my heartbeat thudding in my ears.

Long, curly blonde hair. Wide blue eyes.

She freezes. I freeze. The shock is mutual.

“T-Taylor?” My voice comes out hoarse, disbelieving.

She blinks rapidly, like she’s seeing a ghost. And maybe she is. Maybe I am. She looks different. Harder. But then her eyes flick to Mia in my arms, and something shifts. Shock turns into steel.

“We’re getting you out of here,” she says, stepping forward.

“We?” I echo, confusion flickering through me.

And then something moves from the shadows.

My stomach drops.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t fucking find my sister?”

Seth.

Mia stirs at the sound of his voice. A rush of adrenaline jolts through her, but she’s too weak to do anything more than mumble his name.

“You focus on them,” Taylor tells Seth, her voice clipped and precise. “I’ll meet you outside.”

Seth doesn’t respond, just steps past her and punches a code into the basement lock. The door opens with a metallic click, and he grumbles under his breath.

“I hated this place.” His sharp eyes flick around the room, disgust curling at his lips. “Can’t believe he brought you back here.”

Then his gaze lands on Mia, and something dark and unreadable flickers in his expression. He looks her over with clinical precision, scanning her body, calculating.

“We don’t have much time,” he mutters. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I nod and try to stand, but my body betrays me. My legs buckle, and I stumble. I’m fucking useless.

Seth sighs, already moving. “You’re going to have to walk, Zane. I need to carry Mia—she’s barely conscious.”

“I will,” I promise, forcing myself upright. “Mia comes and goes. She’s weak.”

Seth curses under his breath. “What the fuck happened to her?”

“They’re starving her,” I say, my voice hollow. “Trying to push her past her breaking point. They want her to kill me.”

His jaw clenches. “Fuck.”

He scoops Mia into his arms like she weighs nothing. His grip is firm but careful. Protective. His eyes flick to mine, and I expect the usual sharpness, the usual bite. But what I see there instead is something else. Something raw.

“I’m not leaving you here to die,” he mutters. “Because that would make her sad.”

Then his voice drops lower, colder. “But I’m not making you my priority, either. Hold on tight, because if they come for us, I’ll choose Mia.”

---