Jack’s heartbeat faltered again.
The monitor beside his bed spiked in frantic bursts, then dipped into terrifying silence. Silver light crawled over his chest like frost racing across a window. The geometric code pattern on Sophie’s scanner pulsed faster and faster, locking into a rhythm that did not belong to him.
Sophie whispered, “The sequence is stabilizing. His aura is collapsing.”
“Do something,” Beau growled, voice raw.
Sophie looked at me.
Only me.
“Lainey,” she said. “If you are going to dive into his aura, it has to be now.”
My throat tightened. There was no hesitation left in me. No fear large enough to stand between us. I crawled onto the side of the medic table, cupped Jack’s face in both hands, and pressed my forehead to his.
“I am coming,” I whispered. “Do not let go
