Page 35 of Not Her Day to Die (Star-Crossed #2)

T his day is endless–or has another day passed? Another rotation of the Earth.

Time is different below the surface with nothing to guide us in its passage.

But I know with certainty that I am exhausted. Bruised. Sore. Aching in places that keep reminding me of Darius, of how much he must be hurting and worried.

Unfortunately, there’s still more to do before I can rest.

We have to escape.

We quietly shoulder open the door of her prison, both of us whipping our attention up and down the hallway.

Before there was chaos outside, but now it is dead silent.

Too quiet.

“Nobody is here. What’s going on?” The question leaves my lips with my breath, but Luna still hears it.

“You said the FBI is on their way?” Luna asks.

Pushing a bit further out, I exit her cell. My nerves are shot and frayed, but I dig past them. Focusing my attention on the three pulsating purple strands.

The O’Brien brothers. They are nearly all overlapping now.

Hope fills my belly.

I hope they found each other .

A few flickering lights above provide just enough for me to make out all the way to the door to the outside. It is sealed shut.

All the other doors in the hallway are still closed too. And there are still faint sounds coming from inside, but outside of that this dungeon is mute.

“Yes.”

Luna walks out in front of me. “It’s too quiet.” She echoes my thoughts exactly.

She cranes her head up, and I follow her gaze.

The fans that had previously been moving were providing us air.

They are still now.

“They’re going to kill us all.” She whips her eyes to mine, and I can see the dread that settles in their depths. “Bury the truth. If the FBI is on the way, they need to cover up as much evidence as they can. And dead victims can’t speak.”

Understanding lands in my chest. Horror. “They’re going to suffocate us.”

We’re completely underground. There isn’t any air except for those fans.

And now they’re not moving.

The silence is louder than the whirring had ever been.

I twist around, stare down the line of hallways.

“They’re all occupied,” Luna confirms, matter-of-factly.

Tugging the key out of my pocket, I flash it at her. “We need to save them. All of them.”

Luna sighs and reaches up, rubbing her temples. “But what will that do? They’ve probably sealed us in here. That key might open the doors in here, but it won’t do anything with those leading outside. They’re thick, metal.”

Hopelessness filters through, but then the purple strands draw my attention. The three leading outside pulsate heavier, stronger. They remind me of my connection, of our plan, of the fact that the O’Briens will find us. They won’t stop until we’re reunited.

I know it with certainty.

“Our rescuers will come. We just need to get everyone ready to go.”

Luna doesn’t look convinced but she doesn’t argue. “Fine, unlock the doors and I will help them out. Some might not be able to walk on their own.”

With our plan made, I make my way to the first door.

While I know the O’Brien brothers will come for us, I’m not sure that it will be in time.