Everything was still ringing.
Anais couldn’t hear her breath. Couldn’t hear the others. All she could hear was the sharp, high-pitched whistle cutting through her skull like broken glass.
She blinked, trying to focus. Dust was still falling from the ceiling. The lights were flickering again, most of them out. The floor underneath her felt cracked, uneven. The pod the capsule had been plugged into was completely shattered.
Cassian lay face down a few feet away, motionless.
Dahlia was slumped against the wall, blood on her lip, breathing shallow. Her hand still clutched a knife.
And Maris—
Maris was kneeling in the center of the room.
Motionless.
Her eyes were wide, blank. Her chest rose and fell, but the wires that had pulsed across her skin were gone. Faded. Like they were never th
