Kram

scurried away without a word. Fear of me ha

moved to the bedside a

ut the lack of warmth was just as alarming. It spoke of a system shutting down-the body's microc

against my internal clock. Forty-five beats per minute. Critical. His respiratory rate

acting as a heavy metal neurotoxin that was systematically shutting down his multiple organ systems cel

o feel before stepping into the main operating theater back in Astraea. A stubborn

f systemic failure, I estimated he had less than thirty days l

ing water, a stack of what looked like torn-up

eyes never leaving Demetr

e flushing. "Miss, that's

ght now, I am what's proper," I said, my voice low and inten

estled with the filthy, sweat-stiffened nightshir

bare, Phoebe let out

s and new, festering wounds. But beneath the damage, the framework was ther

I dipped a cloth into the hot water, wrung it out, and began to clean his skin.

hed his fac

ge, obscuring nearly everything except the outline of his jaw and the faint shape of his nose beneath the layers of cloth. Only a sliver of

I could see suggested a strong bone structure be

ove

ter as my fingers brushed the edge of t

t. He was a too

ime from his body. Now for the cri

quor-it looked like a harsh, unrefin

lew to her mouth. "Miss, what are you d

state of his central nervous system. "But if I don't disin

amber, acrid liquid splashed directly onto th