(Ruby's POV)
The boat rocks gently beneath us, but I can't relax.
Something is wrong. I feel it in my bones, the way I felt it the night Kai's men came to the manor. A coldness creeping up my spine. A whisper in the dark.
Nicholas is beside me, his eyes closed, his breathing slow. He needs rest. We all do.
But I can't stop thinking about the tunnels. About the things we left behind. About the body we never found.
Kai's lieutenant fell. But Kai himself was never in that town. He was never on those cliffs.
Where is he?
"Ruby."
I look up. Liam is standing over me, his face pale.
"We need to talk."
I follow him to the bow of the boat. The wind is cold, sharp.
"What is it?"
"Anya got a call. The prison transfer. Kai never arrived."
My blood runs cold. "What?"
"His men intercepted the convoy. Killed the guards. He's gone."
"Gone where?"
"They don't know. But there's a tunnel beneath the manor. One we didn't find. Anya thinks he's hiding there."
