They were closing in.

We’d never be able to outrun them. Especially not since I was already wheezing and stumbling. I tripped over my own foot and went sprawling in the dirt. Kieran reached down to haul me back up.

“Wait, don’t,” I said. I recognized the nick in the oak near my head, right near the root. At first glance it wouldn’t have been noticeable, at second it would have looked like a deer or a coyote had rubbed up against it. But I knew what it was.

Safety notch.

And sure enough, when I clawed through the undergrowth, I found the wooden handle, carved to look like an exposed root covered in moss. The actual door was just a chunk of wood and it was painstakingly covered with mud and leaves that camouflaged it even after it had been opened.

“Are you nuts? Get up!”

Instead I pushed into a crouch and yanked at the handle. It opened to a deep hole with a rope secured to the side and dangling down to the bottom.

“Let’s go,” I told him, sliding in feet first. The rope burned my hands. Kieran followed, the door shutting with a thunk above our heads. Darkness swallowed us as my feet hit the ground. Kieran landed beside me. I reached out tentatively to run my hand over the walls, feeling dirt and roots as thin as hair. The dirt gave way to Kieran’s shoulder.

“Um . . . sorry.”

I could hear his ragged breathing, and my own breath burned in my lungs. There wasn’t much space to maneuver. I shifted away, hit the wall behind me. Shifted again and my hip bumped his. His hand closed over my arm.

“Wait.” His voice was husky. I heard him rummaging. I wondered if I should be worried about Hypnos powder. But it didn’t make sense for him to drug me after he’d helped me get away.

Unless he wanted the bounty for himself.

I was close enough that I should be able to hit some vital organ with my foot or my fist. If he was unconscious while I was under the effects of the Hypnos, he couldn’t take advantage of my hypnotized state. There was a click and I launched myself at him. His arms closed around me, and we hit the wall with enough force to rattle my insides. My teeth cut into the inside of my lip. I tasted blood.

A blue glow from the light stick he’d broken filled the cramped space.

He hadn’t been reaching for Hypnos after all—he’d only been trying to find us a light source in his belt.

“What the hell?” He grunted, rubbing his bruised knee. I was pressed against him, chest to ankle. I struggled, leaning back. I didn’t have any strength left. My angry leap had sapped the very last of it. I sagged a little.

“I thought you were going for the Hypnos powder.” His eyes were very dark in the weird blue light. His eyebrows nearly snapped together, he was glowering so deeply.

“I’ve been trying to save your life.”

“Um. Thanks?” I tried a smile, then decided on just glowering back. “Look, it was an honest mistake.”

“If you say so.”

He still hadn’t let go of me. When he released his hold, I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked. I could hear the concern in his voice, under all that irritation. “Are you hurt?”

“Bloodchange.”

“What . . . right now?” He might have just possibly squeaked.

“In about two days, actually. Happy birthday to me.”

“Isn’t it supposed to make you get stronger?”

“Sure,” I said drily. “If it doesn’t kill me first.”

“We can’t stay here.”

“The tunnel leads to another safe room.”

“They won’t stop searching for us. They’ll comb the whole forest.”

“I can’t run anymore,” I said apologetically. “I just can’t. Pull that lever there, by your head.”

He pulled it down and then leaped back out of the way when a gate swung closed, blocking access to the tunnel.

“This way,” I told him, literally dragging my feet. He came up beside me, putting his arm around my waist to help me. “I’m okay,” I muttered.

“You’re practically green. Except for the lovely bloodshot eyes, of course.”

“Oh.” My vanity twinged. I knew it was stupid; I had way bigger problems. But I still didn’t want to look like a haggard, disgusting mess around him. He was warm against me, and I felt chilled and was trembling with it suddenly. The damp of being underground didn’t help. My teeth chattered. I just needed to get to a corner where I could collapse. Kieran half carried me down the passageway. It smelled like mud and green and water, dripping somewhere we couldn’t see. The tunnel widened and then we were in a round chamber with flagstones on the ground and a narrow bed in the back corner. There was a chest I knew was filled with blankets, matches, and various other supplies, including a thermos of blood. There was another gate, locked with an alarm system. The red light blinked like an eye. Kieran helped me to the bed, then stared at the alarm as I leaned over to pull blankets out of the metal chest.

“Can you get that open?”

I shook my head. “The grate you closed in the tunnel and that door there are both automatically wired to stay locked until sunset.” I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain why.”

“I had no idea any of this was down here. It’s like an old-time war bunker.”

“It’s been here for at least a hundred years. It helps us get around and stay out of the sun.” I leaned back on the blankets, yawning. “And since we’re constantly being attacked by snipers and warriors and idiots, I guess it kind of is like war.”