The walls of the Black Veil Clinic groaned, shuddering under the concussive weight of mortar fire, but I refused to look away from him. When the world ends, you don’t waste your final breaths watching the plaster crumble. You look at the only thing that matters.
There was no hesitation left in me. Not anymore.
The afternoon sun bled through the high windows of the treatment room, casting long, amber shadows across the floorboards like the final curtain dropping on a tragedy. Outside, the world was screaming. Kane’s forces had breached the perimeter, their boots heavy and relentless against the linoleum of the outer corridors. Gunfire cracked, sharp and terrifyingly close, punctuating the blare of the automated alarms. The medical wing was falling.
Yet, inside this room, the air was thic
