MAEVE POV
I was still frozen in front of Dorian, who stood by the laboratory door. Behind that door was my chance to extend my survival at this academy. But stepping through it also opened another risk—one I couldn’t begin to measure.
“I don’t have all night to wait for you in front of a door, Reeve.” Dorian’s voice snapped me out of my brief daze.
Our eyes met, and the silence between us grew suffocating. The intensity of Dorian’s gaze sent my adrenaline spiking—fear and caution tangling together inside me.
“I’m not going to bite you,” Dorian said as he opened the laboratory door. “Come in.”
I drew in a breath and walked past him. My steps felt heavy until I finally crossed the threshold.
The smell hit me immediately. A sharp chemical scent filled the air—something like metal and
