Selena sat beside the stretcher, her fingers intertwined, her eyes fixed on Kade, who was breathing heavily. The sound of the heart monitor was the only sign that he was still alive. The fever consumed him, his body arching from time to time, his skin seeming to burn under the white light of the infirmary.

She had already screamed, cried, begged. But now, despair was giving way to something colder—survival. She knew that if Kade died, the Council would not only blame her, but also ...