I held my breath as she deliberated, releasing it only when she nodded and relaxed against me. Her acceptance eased a bit of my guilt, but now all I could think about was getting out of this creepy tunnel as fast as possible. I picked up the pace, bypassing Nevaeh, Akeno, and the twins. My long, purposeful strides carried me to Sebastian and Caspar, the latter shouldering a rather large pack containing most of our pilfered weapons.
“As soon as we’re above ground, I need to heal Reagan,” I said, interrupting their hushed conversation.
“We might not have time,” Sebastian warned, doing a double take when he saw her in my arms. “None of us know what’s up there. We need to get as far away from Nathra City as we can.”
“She can’t shift and we need her,” I argued, playing to his logical side. “A lion is awfully handy in a tight spot,” I added, trying to coax a smile out of Reagan. No such luck.
Sebastian opened his mouth but snapped it shut when he sensed a change in the air the same time I did. “Do you smell that?”
Caspar inhaled deeply. “Freedom.” He flashed me a broad grin. “We’re close.”
None of us dared speak as the tunnel abruptly ended at a ladder leading topside. Faint light filtered through a grate above.
Sebastian motioned for the flashlights to be switched off, then whispered, “Akeno,” miming what he wanted the spy to do. We held our breath as the quiet man ascended the ladder like a wraith and peered through the grate’s metal slats. He held up two fingers. Two more guards, then.
I relinquished my hold on Reagan and set her beside Nevaeh. Before we could strategize how to take the guards out, the rumble of a man’s voice reached us. “Yes, sir. I’m sealing the grate now.”
I swore and lunged for the ladder, but Akeno was one step ahead of me. With a grunt, he heaved the grate upward. Metal met flesh. The guard swore, keys jangling as he stumbled back. A woman shouted—more like yowled—and swept a clawed hand toward Akeno. Still holding the grate, he used his arm to deflect the blow, hissing when her pointed nails tore through his shirt and skin.
I practically climbed over Akeno and snatched her wrist before she could retreat. There was only one thing I could do. She let out a feline cry as I yanked her into the hole, releasing my grip when gravity took hold. I didn’t have time to feel bad as her body thumped to the concrete below. I clambered over Akeno to tackle the other guard, but it was harder for me to knock him unconscious—the crystal’s strength was practically seeping from my pores. But I made quick work of smashing his phone; Mordecai’s name winked out.
After a quick scan of the small box of a room—containing little more than a desk and computer—I hoisted the grate all the way open so the others could climb out.
“Caspar. Help me.” I gestured at the unconscious man, then the hole. He got my drift as I shuffled the prone form to the grate, where he then lowered the man to rest next to his hopefully-still-alive partner. I might still hate most shifters, but I didn’t want to kill them all like I once had. Some of them were okay. I caught a glimpse of blue and black hair as Reagan leaned against the room’s white concrete wall, her loyal best friend at her side. Some were more than okay.
Reagan clutched at her stomach and I frowned, clenching my teeth as I rushed to finish my task. With a final grunt, I slammed the grate home and used the guard’s keys to secure the lock.
“That won’t hold them for long. More will be on the way,” Sebastian warned, peeking through the dirty blinds of a window.
“What’s out there?” I asked, curious but too focused on Reagan to check myself.
There was a lengthy pause, then, “Darkness. No artificial lights. Just a hint of road and trees. It’s . . . beautiful.”
As the others joined him, cautiously peering through the blinds, I used the distraction to approach Reagan. She looked up at me through glazed eyes, all bravery stripped from her face. I tried to remain calm for her sake, even as my heart raged at seeing her in so much pain.
“I’m going to take it away,” I told her softly, so she couldn’t hear my anger. “As much of it as I can.”
She swallowed, her head dipping slightly. That was all I needed. Nevaeh stepped away to give me space as I gently placed my hands on Reagan’s slender shoulders. I swept my thumbs over her collarbone and closed my eyes, blocking out the room and focusing on her—only her. She silently trembled beneath my touch. I pulled her to me, resting my forehead against hers. There was no time to carefully ease my healing magic into her, so I let it gush from my veins and into hers like a surging river, tightening my grip on her when she gasped.
Foreign liquid, mixed with what I could sense as Genesis Crystal, flowed through her. My magic burned it away, inch by painstaking inch. After a few minutes, sweat beaded my upper lip and trickled down my spine, a sign that my magic was running dry. A hand grasped my shoulder and I loosed a low warning growl.
“Tarik, man,” Micah said. “We gotta go.”
I tried to shake him off, only to feel a grip on my other shoulder. Probably Malachi. Just as I was about to chew them out, Reagan laid her hands on my bare chest, effectively silencing my words.
“I’m okay, Tarik,” she said, the huskiness of her voice free of strain. “Really, the burning is all but gone. I’m okay. You can let go.”
Never, my mind vehemently whispered. Accustomed to being at odds with my inner demon, it was strange how in sync we were today. Apparently every part of me now agreed that Reagan was my girl and we weren’t to be parted from her. Which was why it took a monumental effort to peel my fingers off her skin and give her a few inches of breathing room.
Who’s the stalker now? my inner demon jeered.
Shut up.
But I couldn’t help smiling when I saw that my ministrations had erased the pain-filled lines on her face.
“Can one of you girls drive that thing?”
I pulled my gaze from Reagan to Sebastian, who was pointing at something out the window.
“I bet I can,” Caspar piped up as we moved to join them. Alarm bells went off at that.
“Not happening. You’ve never driven a day in your life.” Sebastian stepped aside so I could see what they were talking about.
“Yes, I—”
“Video games don’t count.”
A huff. “Now you just sound like Tarik.”
Squinting through the gloom, I spotted a long, white vehicle parked outside, and I was betting the keys inside my pocket could make it run.
I turned to them. “What if we flew?”
Sebastian shook his head. “It’s at least forty miles to the coast according to the map. Besides the evening of the Safehouse attack, most of us haven’t used our wings in years. You think we can make it that far?”
Caspar snorted. “Why fly when you can drive? Seriously, guys, let me—”
“Enough already, you sound like children. I can drive the cargo van.”
The words, quiet yet decidedly confident—and spoken by someone who was not Caspar—had our undivided attention. Nevaeh held her hand out to me with an expectant look on her face.
I fished the keys from my pocket and dropped them into her waiting palm. “Done.”
She grinned and slipped through the door like taking her first step of freedom was no big deal. We cautiously followed her, first Akeno and the twins, then Sebastian and Caspar, the latter calling, “Fine, but I get the other front seat!”