The file she’d stolen felt heavier with every step, the weight of a thousand secrets digging into her ribs. Every breath she took seemed to echo off the cold stone walls.
She pushed forward, skirting piles of broken chairs and torn banners. Daxton had its hidden corridors, its burial grounds of history and lies and she was the only one left to navigate them tonight.
She thought of Rivers and his last glance, it was fierce, protective, tired. She wondered if he’d make it out. She wondered if he’d ever forgive her for dragging him deeper into the fire. But she had no time to doubt. Every second she lingered was a second she might lose everything.
A noise ahead stopped her, a whisper of movement that didn’t belong to rats or wind. She shrank against the wall, heart hammering. The file clut
