The rhythmic, steady beep... beep... beep... of Leo’s re-stabilized monitor was the only sound left in the shadowed corridor of the ICU. The two Vane shifters lay unconscious and bound under the watchful, yellow eyed gaze of Thomas’s backup detail, leaving the private room locked in a heavy, suffocating stillness.
Chloe remained on her knees by the metal railing of the gurney, her forehead resting against the cold iron. Her chest heaved with ragged, trembling breaths as the sheer terror of almost losing her brother finally broke through her academic armor. The heavy black canvas jacket Julian had wrapped around her was soaked through at the shoulders, smelling of winter rain and the bitter, sharp tang of the ammunition he had discharged just feet above her head.
A large, heavy shadow fel
