Page 48 of Claimed By Blood

Mercifully, we’ve left the stinking water of the sewers behind and this latest tunnel is dry and slopes upward. The foul smell remains, but it’s less severe than it was. I’m certain we’re going the right way—or at least, the way Samuel wants us to go—because every time we’ve reached a fork, or junction, there’s been another small arrow etched into the stone to guide us.

“Your trackers are showing a position outside the town limits, and you’re headed towards the desert,”Finn confirms, and I sigh in relief at the sound of his voice. I’m not alone, and that more than anything proves to my subconscious that this is nothing like the coffin.“According to the official government sewer plans, the tunnel you’re in doesn’t exist.”

How much work would it take to create a tunnel system like this, without anyone knowing? Surely that’s beyond the purview of any single immortal.

Unless Samuel wasn’t alone.

What if we were wrong? What if our brother wasn’t out here just surviving and hiding? What if… what if he was thriving?

“We haven’t considered something,” I whisper, almost to myself. “What if Samuelhassired other vampires?”

It was just an excuse I made up to pacify Cain without him inflicting any punishment on Morwen and delaying our trip, but it’s a real possibility. Several centuries alone and on the run would make anyone lonely.

Heck, he might even have a family. One we’ve accidentally put on Cain’s radar.

Why did I not consider that before I opened my big mouth?

“Out here? In the sunniest place on earth?” Morwen scoffs. “It would be difficult to keep newborn vampires alive.”

Silas isn’t as dismissive. “What better place to do that than in a tunnel system no one knows about?”

“If this is an ambush, we won’t know it until they’re on top of us,” Frost complains. “My nose is useless down here.”

“Everyone keep your guard up,”Gideon orders.

Great.

Frost moves, righting himself so he’s walking protectively in front of me, rather than crawling on the walls. I want to bristle at the move, but I can’t. Because although I’m close to full strength, I’m not quite there yet. Plus, with his wall climbing, he has a unique advantage in these close quarters.

It only takes a few more minutes for him to come to a stop, putting my already frayed nerves further on edge.

“Dead end,” he says.

I lean around him, trying to confirm it for myself by peering into the darkness.

“Did we miss a turn?” Silas asks.

“No.” Vane’s denial is absolute.

“Turn back,” Morwen says. “If Samuel comes for us now, he has the advantage. We’re like fish in a barrel.”

I shake my head, pushing past Frost to run my fingers along the tan bricks. “This can’t be it.”

Somehow, the extra wall is only adding to the sense of claustrophobia which has been plaguing me since I first set foot in this sewer. My hands tremble as I run my fingers between the bricks, searching for a trigger. A loose stone. Anything.

Samuel excelled at hiding in plain sight, perhaps it’s a secret door of some kind?

“Eve, we should go,” Frost suggests. He’s trying to keep his tone gentle, but it’s obvious that he’s just as on-edge as everyone else.

“Wait, just give me a few seconds.” I press at random bricks, hoping to feel one give way, or something.

Frost rests his hand on the brickwork above us, sighing like he’s about to give me an ultimatum.

Only to fall forward as the circular wall in front of us spins on its end like a coin, revealing only pitch blackness beyond. Even my eyesight can’t pierce it. Whatever the chamber is, it must be immense.

I take a step forward, only to pinwheel back as the floor disappears.

“That’s a steep drop,” Frost mutters, his hands falling to my waist, holding me in place as he shuffles around me. “I’ll check it out. Wait here.”

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