Page 67 of Down Comes the Night

In this cramped entryway, Hal was too close for comfort. Over the clinical, cold smell of the tunnel, he smelled earthy, like strong-steeped tea and petrichor.

“Charming.” Una sounded disappointed—and unconvinced, as if she knew there was more to find. “Let me be clear with you. I’m well aware that Wren Southerland is here. She broadcasted that information to the queen herself before she left. These things tend to go smoother with cooperation.”

“And I’m completely certain she’s not here.”

The sounds of their argument and their footsteps passed overhead and toward the grand hall. All at once, relief surged through her. She bonelessly leaned against Hal, her head tucked into the space between his neck and shoulder. He tensed, a shiver running through him.

And then, after a breathless moment, he sneezed.

Even smothered, it reverberated through the tunnel—through her very bones. As she jerked back, his eyes were wide and apologetic, and it was the most innocent he’d ever looked while awake.

The world above grew deathly still, deathly silent.

They were both going to be arrested because Halsneezed.

Una let out a humorless laugh. “I’ll be back with a warrant. I’d strongly advise you to wrack your memory before then.”

“But—”

“Ready the horses,” Una said to her companion. “I’ve seen enough.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Captain?More had changed in Wren’s absence than she’d thought.

The front doors slammed shut. Wren stayed in the comfort of the darkness until sensation came back to her fingers. Until her heart promised to remain encased in her ribs. Until her fear bled gradually into despair. Una had moved on—had been promoted without her. And if she couldn’t open that door or prove Lowry was responsible for the disappearances before Una returned, both she and Hal would be carted back to Danu to face trial.

Wren slowly climbed the ladder. With every step, her dread mounted. It wasn’t kind, and it wasn’t fair, but if there was anyone easy to blame, it was Hal. As they passed through the tapestry and into the grand hall, she rounded on him. Framed by the window, Hal stood before a stretch of navy sky. Snowfall dappled the dim moonlight streaming in behind him. As lovely as ever, she thought bitterly—especially with that suppliant expression.

“What was that?” she hissed. “You could’ve gotten us both killed.”

“Your hair,” he said helplessly.

It was so completelyridiculous,her anger felt overblown. She deflated. “Great. Justgreat.Now the Queen’s Guard knows we’re here.”

His eyes sparked with frustration, but his voice remained as cool and smooth as glass. “All they know for certain is that someone was in the basement. It’ll take time to process the warrant. By then, we’ll have discovered how to open the door.”

“Howmuchtime? If they’re staying in town, we’ll have a few days. Maybe a week at most. We still have nothing.”

“Tomorrow—”

Before he could finish that sentence, Hannah, who had been seething by the front door, hurtled toward them like a runaway train. Wren had half a mind to crawl back into the tunnel.

“Care to explain what the hell is going on?” Hannah thrust a creased paper toward her. Printed in bold capital letters across the top wasWANTED: WREN SOUTHERLAND. Beneath it, a sketch of her face stared back at her. Fear struck first, hard and sudden as a slap to the face.

“You’ve been sneaking around the house and breaking curfew,” Hannah continued. “And the other day, when you went downstairs to investigate that sound, you left all your books open. I didn’t mean to look, but…”

Wren rested her face in her hands.

“That medicine… It was antitoxin, wasn’t it? I didn’t want mention it because you promised to tell me, and I trusted you. Now I don’t know what to think. What does this mean? That all my staff—they weremurdered?” All the fury in her voice suddenly shattered. What remained was despair.

“I’m so sorry.” Wren hated that she was too much of a coward to meet Hannah’s eye. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“So you were just going to, what? Avoid it forever and let me live my whole life in the dark? Cross your fingers and hope it didn’t happen to me, too?”

“It wouldn’t have happened to you. Ipromise. If there was any risk of you—”

“How can you be sure?”