“Move!"
The shout rattled through the corridor.
Karl staggered into the lab, one hand gripping his chest. His breath came ragged, uneven. The pulse monitor at his belt flashed crimson.
Guards scrambled after him. “Sir, sit—"
“I said move!"
He slammed a fist against the reinforced glass of the lab door. The vines of Wolfbone samples quivered under blue lights as he collapsed against the exam table.
Then—another voice cut through the panic.
“Get out."
Lia.
The guards froze.
She knelt beside Karl, already rolling up his uniform. “Scalpel. Clamp. Saline," she ordered, calm as stone.
The soldiers looked at each other.
“Now," she said, cold.
One handed over the thoracic kit. Another mumbled, “She's a prisoner."
Karl gasped, fingers clutching her arm. “Don't—"
“Shut up," she whispe
