Page 26 of Fallen Flame

Most of the doors were closed, and the low voices that had filled the common room earlier had faded as everyone turned in for the night. A strip of light shone beneath one of the doors near the end of the hall, but otherwise, the place had settled. The old floorboards creaked under my boots, and somewhere behind one of the walls, the pipes groaned as someone shut off a shower.

I should’ve gone straight to my room.

It had been a long day. I was ready to shut my door and sleep for a few hours. Instead, I stopped in front of Lark’s room.

I told myself it was because Wrecker had put me in charge of her. Checking on her before I went to bed was part of the job. Nothing more than making sure she was where she was supposed to be and didn’t need anything.

That was all.

I lifted my hand and knocked twice.

No answer.

I waited, listening for movement on the other side of the door. Nothing shifted. No footsteps crossed the room. No voice called out, telling me to go away or come in.

That was strange. Lark never seemed to miss an opportunity to talk.

I knocked again, harder this time. “Lark?”

Silence.

My shoulders tightened, but I forced myself not to jump to the worst possible conclusion. She could’ve fallen asleep. It had been a long day for her, too, and she wasn’t used to waking up early. From what she’d said that morning, anything before ten qualified as cruel and unusual punishment.

Maybe she’d crashed. That was probably all it was.

I leaned closer to the door, trying to hear her breathing through the wood, but the hallway was too quiet. The lack of sound pressed against me, feeding the unease already crawling up my spine.

“Lark,” I called louder. “If you don’t open this door, I’m coming in.”

Nothing.

I counted to five.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

I tried the handle and it turned easily. The door swung open, and I stepped into the room.

Darkness filled the space. The curtains were closed, blocking the light from the parking lot, but enough glow came in from the hallway to show me the bed.

Empty. The blankets were thrown back. Her pillow was dented, but she wasn’t there. The bathroom door stood open, and the light was off.

“Oh, shit.”

I crossed the room in three long strides and checked the bathroom anyway. Empty. I pulled open the closet even though there was no reason for her to be standing inside it.

Nothing.

My pulse kicked harder. “Lark!” I stepped back into the hallway and looked toward both ends. “Lark!”

A door a few rooms down opened, and Mason stuck his head into the hall. His hair was rumpled from sleep, and he looked like he’d been dragged out of bed two minutes after falling into it.