The herbarium doors hissed open.
Inside: rows upon rows of violet Wolfbone blossoms under sterile glowlamps, their petals curling like poisoned promises.
Lia moved soundlessly, the Level 3 card still warm in her palm. She slipped past the security node, trailing a small pouch of enzyme vials.
She stopped before the central cultivation tray. The blossoms here were young—bred from notes she'd scratched under a prison bunk.
*My work,* she thought bitterly. *Twisted into murder.*
She uncorked a vial. A single drop of neutralizing enzyme touched the soil—and the blossom withered within seconds.
One down.
Then a voice behind her: sharp, familiar.
“I knew you weren't asking for access to help me."
She didn't turn.
“You watched the bloom die," Karl said. “You sabotaged it."
“You mean re
