Adam POV
The only sounds in the cabin were the frantic crackle of the cedar logs and the ragged, wet hitch of Aurora’s breath. Time was a predator now, and hypothermia was closing its jaws. I moved with a forced, clinical precision, but the cold, logical operative of the Hive was losing ground to the raw, biological instincts of the man I was becoming.
I reached for the first layer of her clothing. The fabric was already stiffening, the lake water crystallizing into jagged needles of ice that threatened to tear her skin if I wasn't careful. I had to remove everything. Every wet thread was a siphon, pulling the last of her life-sustaining heat into the freezing air.
My fingers, usually steady enough to perform field surgery or snap a Nova’s neck, trembled as I worked the buttons of her
