Kieran:
I didn't move until I was sure the footsteps outside had disappeared.
Only then did I tighten my hold on her wrist and tug gently. "Come on," I whispered.
She didn't protest, didn't even hesitate... just followed. Her feet was light and careful against the cold stone floor. We passed through the hidden latch and descended into the narrow tunnel that ran beneath the Academy buildings.
The space was damp and silent, lined with old stone and scattered with faint traces of dust and spiderwebs. Even the smallest sound was echoing like a whisper of ghosts.
I felt her pulse hammering through the fragile bones of her wrist. It was fast. Wild.
Was it from the cold or the fear?
Her fingers were trembling slightly in my grip. She must have been freezing. The temperature in these tunnels was always lower than anywhere else on campus. And she wasn't even wearing proper clothes to keep her warm, just a sweater and a cloak too thin for the biting wind outside.
Dammit, Evaline.
