Valerius didn't move, didn't breathe. The phone was still against his ear, but his attention had already drifted to Chloe. She was half-collapsed against her chains, body twitching with each pulse of hunger, her lips parting in shallow gasps. The dark veins threading her skin looked almost alive.

Five days. The Council.

"Val?" Melinda's voice was tight, threaded with panic. "Did you hear me? It's five days. That's the soonest we can harvest the Purine flower. And the Council, they know. If ...