Hadrian helped her out of the mouth of the alley. This side of the street was much better than the other, but the people who had escaped were now being targeted by awaiting Red Masks. Blasting them with the black smoke bombs or using magic to hurt them. It was a war zone, and Clover had no magic. Hadrian barely had enough to get by. Certainly nothing like Kerrigan or Fordham.

“Scales,” she coughed out.

“There.” Hadrian pointed to a grate back in the alleyway.

They pushed back out of the way of the Red Masks. Hadrian rested her against the building wall and then pried the grate up to reveal the sewer system beneath the city.

“This isn’t going to be fun,” he yelled over the explosions. “I’ll go first, then you lower yourself, and I’ll catch you.”

She nodded because speaking hurt too much. She didn’t know if she had enough strength in her arms right now to lower herself down. But if she didn’t, she’d die. Hadrian dropped into the sewer tunnel as if he’d been doing it all of his life. She went to a place in herself where pain no longer existed. She shut a gate over the pain and then crawled down to the grate. Her body shook with exertion as she put her legs into it and then slid the cover back over part of the opening, hoping it was enough to conceal where they’d gone.

“I’ve got you,” Hadrian yelled up.

And then without letting herself consider what else might be down there, she fell into the sewer.

Hadrian’s arms came around her tight, and this time, she couldn’t stop herself from screaming.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair.

He set her on her feet and then hustled down the sewer with no light to guide them. The street above them rattled, sending dust and the gods only knew what else raining down on them. She coughed again as fear that the tunnel would collapse seized her.

“Here,” Hadrian said.

He was shaking. She realized that he’d been keeping it together for her. But fear and pain lanced through his face.

What he’d found was a small break in the wall big enough for the two of them to huddle together, unseen in the tunnel. She didn’t care how he’d found it or if he had known it was here all along. The only thing that mattered was safety.

Hadrian sat down first, holding his arms out so that he could cradle her in his lap. He put his arms around her, hugging her tight against his firm body. Both of them could barely breathe. Her body was catching up with her. Everything was shutting down.

“How’d you know this was here?” she whispered, her voice hoarse.