Elma POV
The door didn't open.
I stopped breathing, my hand still wrapped around Xander's, watching the healer's fingers tighten around the blade hidden in her apron. On the other side of the wood, I heard Julie's voice, too bright, too fast, the way people talk when they're trying to sound like they have nothing to hide.
"You're not supposed to be down this corridor," a man's voice said. Flat. Bored. A guard doing his rounds, not one of Derrick's.
"I got turned around," Julie said. "Looking for the linen stores. This whole wing looks the same in the dark."
A pause stretched long enough that my heart climbed into my throat.
"Linen stores are two floors up," the guard said.
"Don't I know it now," Julie said, forcing a laugh. "Long night. Everyone's on edge. I'll head back up."
Anoth
