But he’s already out the door and I choke on my words. I slump down on the floor and lean my head against the wall. Is this how it’s always going to be? Am I always going to be locked up?

“Sometimes people will fear you, what you can do,” Monarch says. “That’s why we have to keep you who you really are hidden until the time is right.”

I glance around, even though I know the voice was in my head. “And when will that time be?” I call out, listening to my voice echo through the tunnel.

Time slips away, I lay down on the ground, like a lonely soldier, resting my eyes to prepare myself for whatever comes next.

I’m woken up by the sound of low voice and the pitter-patter of footsteps.

“Are you sure she’s just asleep?” A guy’s voice, soft and mysterious.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Aiden said the silver didn’t kill her.”

I slowly lift my eyelids and slide my hand over a sharp rock.

“But sometimes it just takes a while, doesn’t it?”

“No,” he says. “And wishing she was dead isn’t going to make this easier.”

I wrap my fingers around the rock, the edges cutting into the palm of my hand as I scoot it toward me.

“Yeah, but do you know how many times she saved my ass while we were out raiding?” he says. “She’s not a bad person.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Footsteps approach me. “We all know how this works—once they turn, there’s no going back.”

“That’s not true—there was Xander. Besides, I can’t see her choosing to turn into one of them.” A hand lightly touches my shoulder. They go to roll me over, but I’m on my feet and have them flipped around before the other one can react. It’s Greyson, who I have trapped in my arms, his fiery red hair giving him away.

“Who has the keys,” I say, pressing the sharp rock to Greyson’s throat, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough for him to know I will if I have to.

The other guy, with dark golden hair and piercing brown eyes backs away with his hands up. “No one does, okay.” His heart is all over the place. He’s afraid, which makes it difficult to tell if he’s lying.

“Tell me where the keys are or I’ll kill him.” What’s frightening is that I’m not even sure if I’m lying.

Greyson thinks I’m telling the truth. His heart’s slamming against his chest. “We don’t have the keys, Kayla. I swear we don’t.”

Aggravation builds. Do I have it in me? Can I really shed the blood of a human, just to save myself? “Dammit.” I drop the rock and shove Greyson away from me.