It wasn't hers—this one had come from outside, piercing and resonating through the bones of the decaying building like a threat. Her breath hitched in her throat.
Someone else was present.
Someone who shouldn't be.
She faced Kai, blood still dripping down his side, his skin pale, his face half-obscured by pain and half-glassy with something more sinister—pleasure like he'd won something from being alive and surviving her.
"No," she whispered to herself, panic flaring like a match in gasoline. "Not yet. Not like this."
Her fingers moved fast, wrapping the ripped fabric tighter around Kai's wound. Her other hand was already fishing for the keys in her jacket.
Another noise—closer. Boots? Voices?
Ryn's pulse roared in her ears. The rooftop wasn't safe anymore. The world was closing in.
She yanked Kai up, gritting her teeth as he groaned in pain.
"Get up. We're leaving. Now."
