YELENA

I stood up slowly, the joints in my knees popping after hours of sitting.

I closed Marie’s medical file with a definitive thud, the sound echoing in the quiet ward. The crisis had passed, leaving behind a heavy, sleepy stillness.

"Rest well now," I told her, checking her IV line one last time. "If Daniel is sneaky enough to get past the guards, fine. If not, you sleep. Tomorrow is when we start the hard work which is getting Tyler’s blood and refining it for you."

Marie looked ...