FIA
The shields held for three seconds.
That was all the time Valentine needed to move.
He bolted toward the back wall where a door stood half-hidden in shadow. His hand hit it hard, shoving it open before I could close the distance between us. The passage beyond stretched dark and narrow, leading deeper into whatever maze he had built beneath his house.
I followed.
The force lifted me forward, carrying me through the doorway fast enough that my feet barely touched the ground. The corridor blurred past, stone walls pressing close on either side, but I kept my focus on his back, on the space between his shoulders where I wanted to strike.
He moved faster than I expected for someone running.
Magic rippled around him in waves, propelling him forward in bursts that ate up the distance. He rounded a corner without slowing, and I caught a glimpse of stairs ahead, leading up.
He was heading for the surface. For the main house.
The thought settled cold in my chest.
