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The room was silent—the darkness breathing.

She moved slowly, freezing at the shuffle of a pebble ahead.

The rhythmic humming of the void sounded through the space. Lily’s heart flew to her throat.

Metal flashed. Its eyes lit up.

It came at her.

She pulled the trigger. A fine beam of light shot out of the rifle and made contact. The void howled, a noise that reminded her of the low bellow from a brass instrument. Its parts sparked, and Lily backed away. The pulse it emitted seemed to shake the ground with each beat of its heavy limbs as it came at her again. She fired. Again and again, until the sounds coming from it faded into the dark, and it collapsed in a final, ground-shaking heap.

She barely had time to breathe before something slammed into the back of her shoulder. She stumbled to the ground, landing on top of the rifle. She came to her senses as she was being yanked to her feet under the arm.

“Found the other one!” a man’s voice called over her. “Where’d you get one of—Oh.” His angered tone warped into a surprised laugh. “Turn the lights on. You’re gonna love this.”

Lily back kicked the man in the shin. His hold loosened enough for her to wiggle free, but he quickly grabbed her again and cocked her arm at an angle that forced her to still.

Another man responded. “Is he under control?”

“She,” the man gritted. “Move your ass and turn the lights on.”

With the flick of a heavy switch, the lights grew to life. They were dim, but Lily still squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she ignored the guards, eyes frantically combing over the space.

Aarin was nowhere to be found. No death stained the room either.

The man holding her grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head backward until she was looking at him. “It’s another Ashin.”

Her other arm was still free, but these guards were covered from head to toe in armor. Her touch wouldn’t do her much good here.

“And bonded to one of his rifles,” the other guard said. “Caiven won’t be too happy with that.”

“Not at all.” He trailed a rough hand down her side, snatching her pistol from her hip. He pressed the cold barrel to her cheek. “We’re more forgiving than Caspen. Now’s your chance to tell us what’s going on before we hand you over to him. Maybe he’ll go easy—”

The man fell silent. His grip on her hair and wrist slackened.

The guard across from them started—backing away a step. He reached for his pistol and fired behind her.

Lily jerked herself free, dropping to the floor and scooping up her rifle. It lit up in her hand, and without thinking, she pulled the trigger. The light seared through his helmet. He went limp and crumpled to the floor. A surge of dark purple aura swelled from his body.

Panting, she spun around, ready to face the guard and whatever was behind her.

The guard was still standing. Muffled gasps and gags came from behind his helmet as he clawed at his neck. What looked like a skinny black blade protruded from the base of his throat. Sticky blood trickled down the front of his armor. A sickening rip was yanked from the man, and he collapsed, his dying body quickly swallowed by his own necro aura. She took a cautious step back, raising her rifle.

“Lilith.”

Lily noticed Jarek then—standing behind the guard at the tunnel’s opening. When her gaze met his, he fell against the wall at the shoulder. Lacking his jacket, he gripped the top of his left arm, and the shadows encircling him drew tight to his body. He watched her wide-eyed, like he was waiting for her to say something about what happened.

Lily didn’t have the speech to do so. Relief flooded her as she traipsed around the guard, minding his departing soul.

“Are you alright?”

Lily hardly heard him, but she could feel the rifle slipping. Holes sprayed over his clothing, and purple speckled blood seeped between his fingers from the wound he was bracing.

More footsteps sounded behind him. Lily flinched, but only Croll appeared in the room.

“We need to leave,” he said.

She glanced at the other tunnel. “Aarin. The girls—”