Hearts At Stake - By Alyxandra Harvey Page 0,46

were very dark in the weird blue light. His eyebrows nearly snapped together, he was glowering so deeply.

“I’ve been trying to save your life.”

“Um. Thanks?” I tried a smile, then decided on just glowering back. “Look, it was an honest mistake.”

“If you say so.”

He still hadn’t let go of me. When he released his hold, I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked. I could hear the concern in his voice, under all that irritation. “Are you hurt?”

“Bloodchange.”

“What . . . right now?” He might have just possibly squeaked.

“In about two days, actually. Happy birthday to me.”

“Isn’t it supposed to make you get stronger?”

“Sure,” I said drily. “If it doesn’t kill me first.”

“We can’t stay here.”

“The tunnel leads to another safe room.”

“They won’t stop searching for us. They’ll comb the whole forest.”

“I can’t run anymore,” I said apologetically. “I just can’t. Pull that lever there, by your head.”

He pulled it down and then leaped back out of the way when a gate swung closed, blocking access to the tunnel.

“This way,” I told him, literally dragging my feet. He came up beside me, putting his arm around my waist to help me. “I’m okay,” I muttered.

“You’re practically green. Except for the lovely bloodshot eyes, of course.”

“Oh.” My vanity twinged. I knew it was stupid; I had way bigger problems. But I still didn’t want to look like a haggard, disgusting mess around him. He was warm against me, and I felt chilled and was trembling with it suddenly. The damp of being underground didn’t help. My teeth chattered. I just needed to get to a corner where I could collapse. Kieran half carried me down the passageway. It smelled like mud and green and water, dripping somewhere we couldn’t see. The tunnel widened and then we were in a round chamber with flagstones on the ground and a narrow bed in the back corner. There was a chest I knew was filled with blankets, matches, and various other supplies, including a thermos of blood. There was another gate, locked with an alarm system. The red light blinked like an eye. Kieran helped me to the bed, then stared at the alarm as I leaned over to pull blankets out of the metal chest.

“Can you get that open?”

I shook my head. “The grate you closed in the tunnel and that door there are both automatically wired to stay locked until sunset.” I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain why.”

“I had no idea any of this was down here. It’s like an old-time war bunker.”

“It’s been here for at least a hundred years. It helps us get around and stay out of the sun.” I leaned back on the blankets, yawning. “And since we’re constantly being attacked by snipers and warriors and idiots, I guess it kind of is like war.”

“Am I a sniper, a warrior, or an idiot?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“Well, thanks very much for that.” He frowned, glancing around. “If the Helios-Ra find the opening, we’ll be trapped in here.”

“They won’t find it— it’s really well camouflaged. And there are ways around the alarm if we really need them. But we don’t yet.” I tried to call my parents but my cell phone wouldn’t work. “Low battery,” I muttered. “Figures.” I looked at him. “What about your phone?”

“If I turn it on now, Helios will activate the GPS chip.” His voice softened. “So I guess we just wait.”

My eyelids were so heavy. I had to assume I could trust him not to stake me if I fell asleep, because I wasn’t going to be able not to fall asleep for much longer. And he’d proven himself trustworthy enough for a nap. I heard him rummaging in the chest and then the scratch and hiss of a match being lit and the wick of a fat candle catching. The artificial blue glow faded to candlelight. The smell of melting wax crowded out the damp.

“Are you scared, Solange?”

My eyes popped open briefly. He was watching me carefully, seated on a folded blanket on top of the chest. The flickering light glinted off the edge of the goggles loose around his neck and the snaps on his cargo pants and the metal under the scraped leather of his combat boots.

“Scared of what?”

“Being a vampire.”

I glanced away, glanced back. He was still looking at me, as if there was nothing else worth contemplating in the world.

“Sometimes,” I whispered truthfully. “Not so much about being a vampire—that’s