Chapter 27

• Leila
• The floor beneath my feet trembled. A faint shiver at first, like a whisper of something wrong, then a roar that clawed up through the soles of my boots. Lucas and Darren grabbed my arms, their fingers digging into my flesh - Lucas's grip iron, Darren's desperate. We ran. The stairs buckled under us, steps cracking like dry bones, splintering into dust. A monstrous rumble chased me, a sound so deep it rattled my teeth.
• I didn't look back. Couldn't. Fear stitched my eyes forward, my breath ragged in my throat.