Page 99 of Land of Shadow

“I’ve already got a convoy forming up. Should be here tomorrow, noon at the latest. We can take everything.”

“Refrigeration?”

“Yes.”

“Liquid nitrogen?”

He nods. “We’ve already requisitioned all we can get our hands on out of Alexandria.”

“How’d you know I’d agree?” I ask.

He stares down at me, hawkish and stern. “I didn’t survive in the military this long without being a decent judge of character.”

“Oh.” I don’t know how to respond to that. “One more thing. I’m not going.”

He turns his head to the side a little, as if he isn’t sure he heard me correctly. “Come again?”

“I can’t leave. It’s … complicated. But I’m staying. Everyone else, though, they’ll be on that convoy. I’ll explain it all to them. They’ll go.”

“Will they be enough?” he asks.

“Without me you mean? Yeah, of course. They’re the best and brightest. I’m just the nepo-baby.” I shrug.

“I doubt that last part.” He scrutinizes me a bit more, then averts his gaze. “Get it sorted, Doctor.” He turns and strides away with that perfunctory manner of his.

I stare at the lab doors and wonder how the hell I’m going to convince them to leave. We’re so fucking close. Iknowmy blood has what we need to engineer a cure. If only we had time to fully analyze it.

“Fuuuckk!” I whisper yell and press my forehead to the warm window.

I need to speak to Valen, to find out what Gregor?—

The lab doors slam open, and Aang dashes out toward the atrium.

“Aang!” Evie follows him, sprinting to catch up. “Aang, stop!”

Gretchen wheels out of the lab, her face red.

“What is it?” I run up to her.

“Idrine. Here, push me. It’ll be faster.”

I take the handles of her chair, following the path Aang and Evie took.

“He got a text. The cell towers haven’t worked in forever, but something must’ve clicked somewhere along the line. It was from Idrine’s sister. We don’t know when it was sent.” She swipes at her face. “Idrine’s dead. She said he didn’t come back from the resort. When they went to ask for him, the people at the resort said he had a medical emergency and died. She didn’t say anything else.”

“That can’t be right.” My feet feel leaden as I push Gretchen through the atrium to the elevator. “It must be some sort of mistake.” The words are hollow.

She presses the call button as my mind spins out of control, panic and worry eating away at me like moths in a dark closet.

“The blood resorts—it can’t be—look, Juno would never send people there to die. She wouldn’t—” I snap my mouth closed. I have to focus on Aang right now. “Sorry,” I whisper.

Gretchen reaches back and squeezes my hand. “I understand.”

When we reach Aang’s floor, the sound of his anguished screams tear at my heart.

“Oh, God.” Gretchen leans forward as we make it to Evie.

She’s pale, her arms wrapped across her stomach. “He won’t open the door.”

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