“Perfect timing.”
“That’s the plan.” She stopped at another junction and checked a small slate she’d pulled from her pocket. “The patrol should be passing the eastern checkpoint in thirty seconds. We’ll wait here.”
I moved beside her, close enough to see the slate’s display. Security feeds. Camera angles. Patrol positions. She’d hacked into Tarsus’s system.
“When did you do this?” I asked.
“Months ago. Flinx got me access.” She zoomed in on one of the feeds. “There. Krelaxian guard, eastern corridor. Right on schedule.”
We watched the guard pass through the frame and disappear.
“He’ll circle back in eighteen minutes,” she said. “That gives us enough time to reach the office wing and verify the secondary route.”
“You’ve been planning this escape for a long time,” I said.
“Two years.” She turned left, then right, navigating the maze without hesitation. “Every route. Every contingency. Every possible complication. I’ve mapped all of it.”
“Why wait so long?”
“Because rushing gets you killed.” She stopped at a maintenance panel and pulled it open. “I needed resources. Contacts. The right timing. You don’t escape from someone like Tarsus by running. You escape by being better prepared than he is.”
Smart. Methodical. Exactly what I’d expected from her.
Footsteps echoed from the corridor behind us.
Heavy. Multiple sets. Not the scheduled patrol.
“Move,” Carys said immediately. She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a maintenance shaft I hadn’t noticed. “Inside. Now.”
The shaft was small. Cramped but manageable for two if they pressed close.
She pushed me in first, then squeezed in after me, pulling the access panel shut behind her.
Darkness.
Complete darkness except for the thin line of light around the panel’s edges.
The footsteps grew louder. Closer. Two guards, maybe three. Speaking Krelaxian standard. Something about a system alert in this sector.
Carys pressed against me. Necessary. Unavoidable. The shaft was too small for any distance between us. Her back against my chest. My arms around her to keep us both stable. Her breathing quiet but rapid. Adrenaline. Fear. The same response I was managing in my own system.
The guards stopped right outside the panel.
“False alarm,” one said. “Environmental sensors malfunctioning again.”
“Should we report it?”
“Not worth the paperwork. Just reset the system.”
Metal scraped against metal. They were opening a nearby panel. Checking systems. Taking their time.
Carys’s heartbeat was a heavy thud against my forearm. I could feel every beat. Every breath. The warmth of her through the thin fabric of her shirt.
My fangs ached.
Vinduthi response to close proximity. To adrenaline. To the combination of threat and attraction that made my instincts war against my control.
I focused on staying still. Staying silent. Staying professional.
