POV: EMBER WELLESLEY.
The lights were too bright. The kind that made you feel like you were being seen down to the bone.
**Ember** sat on the edge of the lab bed, her sleeves rolled up, arm bare. **Augustus** moved efficiently, attaching a pressure cuff to her bicep while a nurse prepped the equipment.
The needle glinted under the lights.
**EMBER (quietly)**
“Tell me again this will help him.”
Augustus paused. His voice softened just enough.
**AUGUSTUS**
“We don’t know everything. But your blood reacted with Julian’s markers when we tested the first vial. Not just stabilized—*reversed* damage. Whatever’s in your system… it’s fighting the poison.”
**EMBER** swallowed. Her other hand rested over the slight swell of her stomach.
**EMBER**
“It’s not just me, is it?”
Augustus
