Chapter 71: Chapter 71

"No."

Jess's whisper barely left her mouth before the stairwell door below them buckled inward again.

The impact echoed through the concrete shaft like a gunshot. Everyone froze. A second hit followed immediately after. Then a third. The steel screamed. Rowan's pulse hammered painfully against her ribs. Whatever was on the other side wasn't trying to be subtle. It was trying to get through. Fast. Corvin stepped in front of Rowan automatically while Malric moved closer to Jess. Lucien remained perfectly still, watching the damaged door several floors below with an expression Rowan did not like at all. Because it looked familiar. Not surprised, familiar. The door dented inward again. This time something appeared through the widening gap. A claw, long and black. Far too large to belong to anything human.

Jess made a strained noise somewhere between a prayer and a panic attack.

"Oh, absolutely not."

The claw vanished. For one brief second everything went still. Then the entire door exploded inward. Metal twisted violently as something enormous forced its way through. Rowan only caught pieces of it at first. Too many limbs. Too many joints. A body that seemed unable to decide what shape it wanted to hold.

Eyes reflected faintly in the darkness as the creature dragged itself into the stairwell.

Then another followed behind it. And another.

"Oh, come on," Jess whispered.

Malric swore. That alone was enough to tell Rowan exactly how bad things were. The creatures began climbing. Fast. Much faster than anything that size should have been able to move.

Their claws dug into concrete while they scaled the center of the stairwell like predators chasing prey through a forest.

Corvin's expression hardened instantly.

"Run."

Nobody argued. They turned immediately. Footsteps thundered through the stairwell as the group rushed downward. The sounds behind them grew louder. Closer. Rowan risked a glance over her shoulder. Bad decision. One of the creatures was already several floors higher than it should have been. Its body stretched unnaturally as it climbed. Black skin reflected faintly beneath emergency lighting while clusters of eyes tracked their movement simultaneously. She immediately looked away.

"Still behind us?" Jess asked.

"Yes."

"Don't answer that question anymore."

Another roar echoed upward. Closer. The creatures were gaining. Corvin grabbed Rowan's hand without breaking stride and pulled her forward faster. The bond surged warmly between them. Steady. Protective. She hated how much comfort she found in that right now.

"We're almost there," Lucien called from ahead.

"How are we almost anywhere?" Jess shouted.

"We've been in these stairs for six years."

Despite everything, Rowan almost laughed. Almost. The building shook violently. A crack split through one of the walls nearby. Dust exploded into the air. Somewhere below them glass shattered. Then Rowan heard something else.Not the creatures. Not the building. The whispering. Again. Only louder. The voices no longer sounded distant. They sounded excited.

Found her.

Found the bond.

A sharp chill shot through her body. Lucien stopped so suddenly everyone nearly crashed into him.

"What are you doing?" Malric snapped.

Lucien wasn't looking at them. He was staring downward. Toward the next landing. Toward the emergency exit. His expression had gone completely still. Worried.

The realization made Rowan's stomach drop.

"What?" she asked.

Lucien looked back at them.

"She's here."

Nobody needed to ask who. The temperature in the stairwell dropped instantly.Frost spread across the railings.Across the walls.Across the concrete beneath their feet.The emergency lights dimmed.Then flickered.Then dimmed again.And waiting on the next landing below them stood a woman with pale skin and gold eyes.The same woman from the reflection.The same woman from the monitors.Only now she wasn't trapped behind glass. She was real. And smiling. The creatures behind them stopped climbing. The entire stairwell went silent. Even they were watching her.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Well," she said softly.

Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"I was beginning to think you'd keep running."

Nobody answered. Rowan couldn't. Because the moment those gold eyes settled on her, something deep inside her chest reacted. Not fear. Recognition. The sensation hit so hard she physically staggered.

Corvin's hand tightened around hers immediately.

"Rowan."

His voice sounded distant. Like it was coming through water.

The woman smiled wider.

"There it is."

"What?" Rowan whispered.

The woman ignored the question.

"You hear it now, don't you?"

The whispering returned. Louder than ever. Not inside the walls. Inside Rowan's head. Thousands of voices speaking at once. Rowan squeezed her eyes shut. Instantly the city exploded across her mind. Not streets or buildings but energy. Conections. Threads stretching beneath Houston like roots beneath a forest. Millions of lives. Millions of choices. Millions of paths. All connected. All moving. And something enormous sleeping beneath them. Watching. Waiting. Rowan gasped and the vision vanished. She nearly collapsed. Corvin caught her before she hit the ground. Fear flashed across his face.

The sight shocked her more than the vision had.

The woman watched quietly. Satisfied.

"Interesting," Lucien murmured.

Corvin's gaze snapped toward him.

"This is your fault."

Lucien didn't argue. Which somehow made everything worse. The woman took a single step upward. Every creature in the stairwell immediately lowered its head. Not in fear. In obedience.

Jess noticed too.

"Oh, that's bad."

"Yes," Malric said quietly.

"Thank you for validating my panic."

The woman laughed softly. The sound echoed through the entire building.

"You always were difficult to find."

Her attention never left Rowan. Corvin stepped fully in front of her. The woman's smile faded.

For the first time, something cold entered her expression.

"Move."

"No."

The single word landed like a blade. Power rolled through the stairwell instantly. The lights burst overhead. Concrete cracked. The creatures shrieked. Yet neither Corvin nor the woman moved. They simply stared at one another.

Ancient. Dangerous. Unwilling to yield. And Rowan suddenly realized something terrifying.

The woman wasn't looking at her like prey.

She was looking at her like something she had been searching for. For a very long time.

The smile returned slowly.

"Now," the woman said softly, "let's discuss why you're still alive."