The Alien's Equal (Drixonian Warrior #7) - Ella Maven Page 0,30

of terror. “Whatever,” I muttered, brushing the hair out of my face that had come loose from my tie.

The doors slid open, and with only a few dim solar lights placed at random intervals as our guide, we took off down a dank hallway. The Kulks didn’t start patrolling the halls until sunup, so we had to move, and fast.

I remembered Frankie and Val recounting their imprisonment underground, and it’d sounded like a terrifying experience. But being here was miles worse than I could have imagined. I felt like I was in a horror movie. We passed a few doors and glass-walled rooms full of instruments and tools which seemed designed for nothing short of torture. I had been so big and brave volunteering for this mission but faced with the very real danger of what could happen if we got caught, I could barely breathe.

This wasn’t a movie or a video game. This was real life. These were enemies who wanted to grow their future servants in my womb. They wanted to destroy my friends and the family I’d managed to become a part of on this crazy planet.

That was how I found the strength to continue to run, even as sweat dripped down my temples and my lungs burned. Even as my pack slammed against my back with every stride until I felt like I’d be one massive bruise. I wasn’t confident in many things about myself, but I was stubborn, determined, and knew my way around tech. I could do this. Nero and I could do this. We made it this far. All we had to do was reach the hub. Only a little farther now…

We ran for what felt like hours, but was probably only forty minutes. We descended several stairs plus another elevator. Only then did Nero slow down and pull out his tablet. Consulting a map on the screen, his lips moved as he talked to himself. Then his head shot up and he pointed to a door off to our right. “That’s it.”

The key didn’t work on this door, but Nero pulled a small cylinder out of his pocket and held it up to the lock on the door. He pressed a button along the side. There was a pop, and then the lock started smoking before the latch clicked and the door swung open.

Okay, now that, I didn’t know about. “Seriously?” I whispered in awe. “That’s awesome.”

He grinned at me. “I’ve been working on this for a full cycle.”

I fanned myself with an exaggerated wave of my hand. “Okay, James Bond. We’ll talk about your gadgets later. Let’s move.”

“James Bond?”

“Just get inside.”

I was still grinning when we pushed open the door. But as soon as I saw what was inside, my smile vanished. White noise roared in my ears, and I had to brace my hand on the doorway, so I didn’t crumble into a pile of despair.

The room was empty. Bare. Not even a chair or a speck of dirt. Just…nothing.

My legs gave out and my knees hit the floor on a thud. Nero didn’t move, his eyes staring blankly into the room as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Nero,” I gasped out. “What... Where is it?”

His chest heaved and he whipped out his tablet. His fingers flew across the screen as he scanned it, nubbed brows lowered over his stormy eyes. I managed to pull myself to my feet and began to walk the perimeter of the room. I ran my hands along the stone walls, hoping for a miracle like a secret passage or something that would take us where we needed to go. But there was nothing. Just blank walls, bare floor, and us.

“I don’t understand.” Nero tore his fingers through his hair. “The signal is coming from this area. None of this makes sense.”

“Is it on another floor?”

“There’s nothing above us. This hallway is a lone offshoot from the main tunnels…” His fang dug into his lip. “We have to get to the surface. We can’t get stuck down here at sunup. If the signal is detectable, it must be somewhere, and so it must be the ground floor of the main building.” He turned to me. “It’s here, Justine. We’ll find it.”

I nodded, unable to speak because I didn’t feel the same confidence he did.

By the time we were out of that room and racing back the way we came, we only had a brief amount of time before the sun rose and the