He must have some greater plan, some reason to have lured me here. And yet, I’d already weighed the risk when I decided to give chase; I’ve already made my choice, regardless of what I might step into on the other side of that door.

I don’t like any of this and I wish I wasn’t alone. I wish Kael was here. I wish Ward was Ward. I wish Arryn or Riley or Cami or anyone could be standing with me right now.

They’re not. I’m alone.

But hopefully not for long.

I keep some distance between me and the building as I pull the phone from my pocket, relieved to see it doesn’t require a password. Riley told me to hit the speed dial, but I have no idea who that might connect me to—a SCARS contact, no doubt. I need people here who I can trust, not some camouflaged unknowns, so I’m wary about making that call. But since I never learned Kael’s number and Cami’s phone is back at Lengard, there’s only one person I can think of who Riley will already have programmed into his contacts.

She’s right near the top of his list, and I don’t hesitate to touch the icon beside Arryn’s name. It takes a second before it starts ringing, my brow furrowing when the sound echoes not only from the speaker at my ear, but also from inside the building in front of me.

The building Vanik and Ward ran into.

Ice floods my veins as I end the call, hoping I misheard, hoping it’s just a bizarre coincidence. My hand begins to shake as I hit the icon again and wait for the ringing to start once more.

When it does, I slam my finger onto the red disconnect button, trembling all over as I walk forward on stiff legs. Some small part of me is aware enough to approach with caution, to hide in the elongated, deformed shadows that stretch across the ground like living creatures. But another part of me is paralyzed by what I’ve just heard. By what it could mean.

Twice. The ringtone sounded from inside the building twice.

I edge closer to the hulking structure that, despite having been recently rebuilt, still looks as if it’s centuries past its time. The wooden slats and boarded-up windows make it seem like something from a horror movie, and it’s to one of those windows that I move, sighting a gap I can peer through. The glass is smeared with grime—but not enough to keep me from seeing what I already expected to find.

I was right.

But I was also wrong.

Because what I find is even worse than I imagined.