The arena lay not too far past the wall.

After checking to make sure Rodric hadn’t posted any guards, we ducked toward it. There was just enough light to see by.

A thick bolt secured the gates I’d left the arena from just a handful of days before—I shuddered at how little regard I’d paid the people clinging to those bars then. Maybe they hadn’t been looking to me just for water. Maybe they’d been looking to me for hope.

Dimic knelt down in front of the lock and stared through the keyhole. After a few seconds of consideration, he pulled up his thin shirt to reveal various sizes and shapes of metal. He pulled one out and shoved it into the lock. After a few moments, there was a click and the bolt retreated.

The hinges groaned against the sand trapped in them as we moved inside. I led the way down the tunnel, past the prep room.

The tunnel was cool and quiet. Our feet scraped against the sand-littered floor.

I stopped at a heavy wooden door. Again, Dimic selected a tool and went to work. This door took slightly longer, and he put more effort into shoving the metal into the lock.

I couldn’t help casting glances down both ends of the tunnel, but no one appeared.

Once we entered, I was as blind as they were in our pitch-black surroundings. I’d never been in the tigers’ tunnel before. I kept my hand on the wall, where every few feet there were deep grooves. Claw marks.

I tried to gauge how far through the city we’d moved. We were probably between the southern and eastern well. We were sloping up, which was a good sign. We were getting closer.

Sooner than I expected, a light appeared. It silhouetted the doorway in front of us, the one leading to the tiger trainers’ prep area. My breath caught at the chance someone was in there at this hour.

I slowed my approach and crept toward the door, trying to keep my footfalls softer than those Cion made.

Peering through the tiny window in the door, I saw ropes and the long poles used to control the tigers lining the walls. A table sat in the corner. Bits of leftover meat dripped blood onto the floor. A long stretch of the small room sat empty, presumably so the tigers could be walked through.

“It’s empty,” I said. I tried the latch, and this door was unlocked.

I snuck into the room and heard the others follow. We moved quickly to the door across from us and threw it open.

Despite the two torches lit on either end of the room, I shivered in the cold.

Both tigers leapt up at our appearance.

Dimic jumped and plastered himself against the wall opposite the cages. Cion stared at the tigers, as though he were finally getting to come face to face with an enemy that had always stalked him unseen.

The closest tiger launched its claws at the bars. Cion didn’t flinch.