I looked wildly around and spotted Peter and Lochlan, crouched behind a horse-drawn wagon and gesturing frantically for me to join them.
“I got it,” I panted, handing them the crate. Peter took it with a greedy gleam in his eye, then I heard several screams from the warehouse.
An orange flickering light was growing from inside, close to where the office was located, and a horrible realization set in. The person running past me hadn’t been trying to hide. They were destroying all the evidence. And soon, anyone left inside would be trapped. If they weren’t released now, they’d be burned alive.
The prisoner who had been in the cell next to me ran past and I reached out to grab at his shirt. “The key! Where is it?”
“I don’t know. I left it. We have to get out. We have to get away,” he said in a rush, then tore himself away and bolted as the screams continued. I didn’t stop to think. I turned and ran back into the building.
“Gil!” Lochlan called after me. “Gil, stop!” But I didn’t look back.
The interior was mostly deserted. The Nightsworn were outside, still chasing down the slavers, and though many of the prisoners had escaped or been released, there were still several inside, cowering in their cages. The key I’d made lay abandoned on the ground next to one of the cells. I snatched it up, throwing a terrified glance over my shoulder at the burning office. How quickly would it spread?
I ran from cell to cell, unlocking each cage before dashing to the next, all the way to the very back of the warehouse. All the while, flames crept out of the office and began to consume the bits of fabric and straw littering the floor with a persistent, insatiable hunger.
“Go, go, go!” I screamed at the last prisoner.
In their haste to escape, they shoved past me so hard that I collided with a table. Stars popped in front of my eyes and a bottle crashed down over my head. A thick liquid seeped through my hair and down my face. I wiped my eyes clear and gave the room a final sweep.
Everyone was out. The windows were barred, but the path to the door was mostly free. I made to follow the prisoner I’d just released but found my body growing weaker and more sluggish by the moment. What was happening to me?
Each time I tried to move, my muscles refused to obey my commands. Smoke filled my lungs and stung my nose and myvision became foggy as the flames sent out plumes of blackened smoke.
I dropped to my knees and tried to stagger upright, but I could barely move. It was as though I was trapped in a nightmare, unable to escape and simply waiting for danger to consume me. Had I really hit my head that hard? My head rolled and I looked back at the table I’d struck. The dark red liquid splattered everywhere couldn’t be my own blood…could it?
Realization dawned.
The bottle that had smashed over my head had been filled with siren blood.
The same drug I’d used on Silas only a few weeks before was affecting me just as it had him. I’d never escape now.
“No,” I whispered, trying to force my mind to stay alert and force my muscles to comply. Was there any chance that the Nightsworn would search the building for any stragglers?
No, they had already abandoned it. I was going to die here.
I managed to crawl forward a few inches before collapsing completely, watching as the fire licked closer and closer. All strength drained from my limbs and darkness crept into the edges of my vision until there was a singular tunnel of sight left. I stared at the door, barely fifty steps away, and yet it felt like miles. I’d never find my family. They’d never know I died trying to find them. At least I would lose consciousness before I felt the agonizing pain of being burned alive.
A figure pushed their way through the smoke, running in a hunched position until they reached me. Without a word, the man scooped me up and ran out, still holding his breath to avoid inhaling the smoke.
Lochlan had come for me.
He ducked out of the blazing hot warehouse and heaved me into one of the wagons. Peter sat ready at the box seat, hands onthe reins, and the moment Lochlan and I were inside, he cracked the whip so the horses bolted away.
“You came for me,” I mumbled. The dawn’s early light should have been getting brighter, but instead, everything was dimming.
“I said I wouldn’t leave you there,” he said. He tried to get closer to look at my injuries, but I feebly pushed at his hands.
“Siren blood,” I choked out. “Don’t get…don’t get close.” I closed my eyes, too exhausted to do any more. I could only hope he understood.
Fortunately, he shuffled to put himself a little farther away but kept his hand on my lower leg.
“Stay with me,” he whispered.
CHAPTER 20
The next few days passed in a bleary haze as the drug slowly wore off. Each time I opened my eyes, day or night, Lochlan would be at my side, patiently tending to me. When he tried to talk to me on the first day after the escape, I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. My entire body felt like it was floating away and I couldn’t focus. The sensation of being out of control of my own body was a foreign and most unpleasant feeling that I hoped never to repeat.
On the third morning, I managed to sit up, and Lochlan immediately placed a hand against my back to hold me in place.
