Chapter 28 · Dirty Redemption

"Don't swallow it." Mira slapped the vial out of Silas Renn's hand before the black liquid reached his mouth.

The glass hit the stone floor and cracked. A thin line of ink-colored poison crawled between the tiles.

Silas caught her wrist.

His grip was hard enough to stop her pulse. His other hand closed around the front of her coat and shoved her against the examination table.

"You just broke the only dose we had," he said.

"No. I broke the dose you were about to waste."

His face stayed calm. That was the problem with Silas. He could stand in front of death and look bored while everyone else ran out of air.

Mira twisted against his hold. His sleeve pulled tight over his forearm. For half a second, something dark moved under his skin.

Not a shadow.

A vein.

"Let go," she said.

"Tell me why."

"Because that vial is poison."

"It was sealed by the quarantine ward."

"And your ward is full of children who sing until their lungs give out. You want to argue labels, or do you want to live?"

His fingers tightened.

Mira's shoulder hit the table edge.