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
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