I stare at the door long after Lucian disappears through it, my pulse pounding in my ears. The alarms outside haven’t stopped. They bleed into the walls, vibrating through the floor beneath me, sharp and constant like a scream I can’t quite hear.
I push the blanket off my legs and sit up straighter. My ribs protest, and there’s a dull ache in my shoulder, but something’s wrong. Something’s happening.
The blinds over the window shiver from a tremor outside. I stand, wobbling slightly, and shuffle toward them, dragging the IV pole beside me. I pull the slats apart with shaking fingers and freeze.
Smoke. Black, thick, and curling up into the pale sky like a serpent.
It’s close.
I can’t see the source—just a bloom of fire-colored haze rising from the east side of the city. Not far. My bre
