“Dorran…”
“I know it’s foolishness. There are no priests to marry us. No one to care whether we were or not. But I just thought, perhaps…”
She wrapped her hands around his and held it against her chest as fresh tears spilt over. “It’s not stupid. Give me the damn ring.”
He pulled her tightly against himself. They were both laughing, giddy, and she thought he might be crying, as well, though it was hard to tell. He pulled her around so that she could sit in his lap properly, resting against his chest with his chin grazing the top of her head. He placed the ring into her hand. Clare threaded it onto her shaking finger. “It’s beautiful.”
“Hm.” He sounded happy. “It will be something to keep. To remember me.”
She shook her head. “I won’t need to. We’ll get out of here. We’ll figure it out. And when we get back to Winterbourne, we can be a proper team. Our own little family.”
Dorran didn’t respond. Uneasiness ran through Clare’s stomach. She leaned back to see his expression. “I’m not leaving without you.”
He blinked down at her, calm, loving, and sad all at once. “You will need a distraction to escape the tower. There is no other choice. At least, by doing this, I can ensure you get out of the city unharmed.”
“No.”
“It’s all right, Clare. I am content with this choice. Please… please don’t make saying goodbye any harder than it already is. I don’t think I can take it.”
She shut her eyes and clung to him. “I’ll make it as hard as I need to. You can’t force me to leave.”
For a moment, the elevator was silent. Clare could hear Dorran’s heart, beating too fast, under her ear. The crackling storm outside. The distant chattering of hundreds of hollows racing through the building.
Dorran took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It doesn’t have to be right now. You need time to accept it. I understand.” He rested his head on top of hers. “We still have a little time.”
She scowled into his shirt. Dorran seemed content to hold her and stroke her hair. He hummed under his breath, a slow, soothing tune. Clare sat still and let him enjoy what he seemed to believe was a victory. Her mind worked furiously. There had to be a way out. Something she’d overlooked. Some way past the hollows. Then all they needed to do was find a way to carry Dorran until they found a safe space with food and water for him to rest. There had to be something.
She ran her thumb over the ring then turned her hand into a fist. Dorran thought she just needed time to adjust to the idea. He also thought she was stubborn; he hadn’t seen anything yet.
Hollows screamed outside the elevator. Fingers returned to the door, scratching and prying. They stayed for several painful moments before their owners gave up and paced away. Clare wondered if there was anything left of Ezra. She had seen the creatures eat bones; by that point, he probably only existed as a stain on the carpet.
The building creaked around them. She couldn’t see the lightning, but she could feel the thunder. Her mind circled around their options for what felt like the thousandth time, hunting desperately. Their masks were lost in the office area. They could not reach the maintenance room to put out the power or Ezra’s laptop to turn off the recording. And the hollows would not leave for as long as it played. Maybe not even then.
Is Dorran right? Does one of us need to die to have any hope of escape? She squeezed her eyes closed. Then we will both die here together.
Dorran lifted his head. For a second, Clare believed he must have heard her thoughts, and prepared herself for another fight. Then he said, “What was that?”
“What did you hear?” She blinked against the harsh elevator lights. Time had slipped away from her, and her legs were stiff from sitting.
“An engine. I think.”
Clare frowned. Now that she was listening, she thought she could hear it too. Underneath the thunder and chattering hollows were sounds like an engine being revved. But that couldn’t be real; the city streets were impassable.
Then a car horn blared through the chilled air. That was unmistakable. Clare shot up, her pulse hammering, as she stared at Dorran. “Someone else came.”
His wide eyes stared back. “It doesn’t seem possible.”
“They must have heard the radio signal…”
The car horn sounded again, this time loud and long. The chattering in the building grew frantic. The driver was courting danger by advertising their presence so loudly.
The driver outside could probably see the unlocked window on the ground floor, she realised. With hollows running in and out of the building, the newcomer was looking for some kind of response from the tower’s occupants in case the building wasn’t deserted.
This is how we get out.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Clare faced the shiny metal doors, her heart hammering. Eight floors below them was rescue. Who, what, or how, she didn’t know, but they had no choice but to accept.
She pulled on Dorran’s arm, getting him to his feet. He felt cold. As he stood, a drop of blood ran from his nose. He wiped the back of his hand across it, smearing it away. Clare clutched his arm. “We have to get to them. I know you’re tired, but you have to fight a little longer.”
“I—”
“So help me, Dorran, you’re getting into that car, or else I’ll throw myself into a horde of hollows.”
He shook his head, a thin smile tugging at his lips. “Have I ever won an argument against you?”
“No, and you’re not about to start now.”
The car horn blared again, with a series of quick, sharp honks. The engine revved. Hollows had to be converging on the noise already. The stranger wouldn’t stay for long. There was no time for subtlety or strategy. Clare hit the button for the foyer, and the elevator started moving.
The ground floor will be full of them, and we have no masks or armour. Clare chewed her lip. Dorran found her hand and pressed it. Together, they faced the doors, and Clare took a stuttering breath. “I think we’ll just have to run for it.”
Dorran nodded. The hollows would know they were coming; the pinging elevator doors would make sure of that. But if she and Dorran kept their heads down and moved fast enough, they might still have some small element of surprise.
The car horn sounded again, and the noise held for several seconds. It struck Clare as a final attempt to make contact. A last warning. They were already out of time.
The elevator whirred as it came to a halt. Clare leaned forward, exquisitely aware that the next few seconds would save or ruin them. Dorran tensed at her side. She kept a tight hold on his hand, silently telling him to stay with her.
Slowly, agonisingly, the doors trundled open. Clare’s first glimpse of the foyer sent tremors through her chest. It was worse than she’d expected. Two dozen sets of eyes turned in her direction. One mouth opened in a piercing hiss.
There was no time to hesitate. The doors were wide enough, and Clare leapt forward. Dorran matched her pace. She stayed close at his side and put her head down and her arm up to shield her face.
Teeth locked onto her forearm. She didn’t try to recoil, but barrelled on, using momentum to push through. Arms grabbed at her legs. She stumbled. Dorran yanked her back up. She couldn’t see the windows, but she could remember which direction they had been in. Bodies were blocking the path. Too many. Far, far too many.