“Not that it matters, but I was actually starting not to hate you.” Emergency sprinklers flare to life above my head, dousing us as I head for the maintenance closet. The shelves are still pulled away from the wall, the vent we crawled through still hanging open.

“And I’m sorry.” I pant as I descend into the tunnels. The stone walls mute the shriek of the alarms. “You’re right, I should’ve said something sooner, but I knew you’d be pissed, and I was afraid you wouldn’t give me time to explain,” I say through a wheeze as we reach the bottom. I snap my lighter on and wave the flame in front of us, blinking away dust. “I tried to talk to Névé. Tried to get her to listen or just let us walk away, but Chronos was offering a bounty for our deaths, and Névé wanted the prize. Fleur tried to hold her back, but when Névé went for the kill, Amber had no choice but to defend herself. Névé’s death was an accident. But taking her magic to save Amber, Julio, and Fleur . . . that was my decision, and I take full responsibility for that.” It feels better, like a burden’s been lifted, to say it out loud, even if she can’t hear me. “So there you have it,” I say, adjusting her weight as I carry her deeper into the catacombs. “I’m an asshole for not telling you before, and I’m sorry.”

A crow swoops over my head and I follow it, almost certain I’m headed south. The bird flaps hard, darting back and forth across the blocked tunnel ahead, its wings beating in a blind panic.

I hold the lighter higher, illuminating an impassable wall of fallen rocks.

“No!” Sweat drips in my eyes as I strain under Kai’s weight. A cave-in.

A smaze tumbles back and forth, searching for an opening before disappearing through a paper-thin gap between two fallen stones. There has to be another way out.

I turn around, careful not to hit Kai’s head on the narrow walls as a tremor shakes the tunnel. Stones fall from the ceiling, pelting Kai’s back and my shoulder. I duck, dropping the lighter as a shower of rock crashes down in front of us. The tunnel goes black, the air thick with dust.

Easing Kai to the dirt, I feel around me for the lighter.

My hand closes over it, and with a snick, the cave warms with dusty light. The flame stays steady, not a single waver, as I hold it aloft. My stomach turns as I realize why.

No air.

The tunnel is completely blocked on both sides of us.

“Oh, shit,” I murmur.