moments.”
“You’re a narcoleptic?”
“In so many words.”
“What words would you use?”
His brown eyes stared blankly. “Those I guess.”
A narcoleptic monkey-sprite. This was a new one for me.
There were no windows since it was far below the surface, the only door being the one we came in. What the hell was I going to do? How would I escape? Think, Zoey. Think! The fan kicked on, pushing air down on me. My gaze went up, searching the air vent. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?” Sprig replied.
The air had to be pumped down here. My hope locked on the idea if the vent moved the air to all the rooms below, it would lead to the surface.
“This way,” I shouted and leaped on the counter and pointed at the ceiling panels.
“Ah, got it, bhean!” He clambered up the cupboard to the ceiling.
I scaled after him. Slipping into people’s houses from an open top-floor window had once been my specialty. My tiny, limber nine-year-old frame could get into any snug or high place with no problem. My body had developed since then. My ass was a lot more rounded, my boobs more defined. I loved them, but it did make it a little harder to crawl into small spaces.
“Zoey, come out now. You have nowhere to run,” Sera screamed.
The door shuddered again as an impact hit lower. Sera’s foot. I had been on the receiving end of her kicks many times. Her legs were tiny but powerful. She bruised my ribs a lot during training. Don’t get me wrong—I had gotten her back—but deep down I knew I held back. When I would feel the blissful level of excitement pumping into my veins, when I wanted to tear her apart, I would walk away. This type of fighting was never allowed on DMG’s mats. Daniel would never have condoned it. And I had never wanted him to see the dark version of me.
I pushed my foot off the last shelf of the cabinet and hit at a ceiling panel, exposing the open rafters. Sprig jumped up, gripping one of the metal braces. I crawled behind him, lifting myself to the supports. Wiring, metal beams, and insulation filled the space like an obstacle course. I had barely put the panel back in place when I heard the door splinter. Please, door, hold a little longer. I needed a bit more time to get out of this space before they figured where I went.
Sprig bounced from beam to beam, chirping and chattering like I had seen monkeys do on the Discovery Channel when they got riled up. “Shut it,” I whispered hoarsely, following his lead toward the far wall.
An opening cut into the wall went up to the surface, bringing fresh air to the underground sections. My trail to freedom. The metal vent stuck out of the wall enough so I didn’t have to go in where the fan circled around like blades of death. I unhooked a panel on the side, letting it fall open. Sprig’s nails dug into my jeans as he climbed to my shoulder and then leaped to the outlet. Fae of any kind had always been the “enemy,” but in a matter of minutes, I had come to feel an alliance with the monkey. It was nowhere near fondness or even compassion but more a convenience—we’re in this together kind of feeling. I assumed the moment we got through this predicament, things would change. We would go our separate ways, and he would deal with finding safety on his own.
It took me a couple of tries before I jumped high enough to get the majority of my upper torso into the opening. The sharp metal stabbed into my abdomen. My fingers scratched for any kind of traction, and my legs swung violently underneath me. A trickle of sweat trailed down my forehead into my eye.
“Come on. Hurry!” Sprig bobbed around me anxiously.
I grunted and pulled myself up into the space. My legs slipped, and I crashed to the floor near the vent. All I wanted to do was lie there and pant like a dog, but I had no time. Sera and Liam were far from dumb. If they got into the room and figured out where I went, they would know where I was going. Even with all the work to get out, there was a good possibility in the end they would be standing by the ground flue and lead me right back to where I started.
Rolling over, I got on