The water was cold and dark, but Voren didn't hesitate. The moment he caught their scent cutting through the night air, sharp and wrong, he moved. Not up. Not toward the surface where they'd be waiting.
He pushed deeper, cutting through the current with long strokes, letting the water swallow him whole. He knew these waterways better than most people knew their own backyards.
Every tunnel. Every hidden outlet carved into the rock walls below. He came up on the far side, fingers gripping wet stone as he hauled himself through a narrow passage and climbed until his feet hit solid ground again.
He was a good stretch away from where he'd gone in.
What he didn't count on was the sound of footsteps right beside him.
Not Seraphine's.
He pressed flat against the rock face and held his breath, scanning the darkness. That's when he caught movement in the distance, a cluster of figures tightening around Seraphine like a noose.
