Chapter 9 · The Silent Choir

"You touch that latch and I will break your fingers, Mira." Nora's hand slammed down on mine and pinned it to the cold metal.

"Get off me," I hissed. "I'm not here to steal your bandages."

"No, you're here to get us all killed. Again." She didn't let go. Her nails dug in. "Lord Renn said no one goes in. That means you. Especially you."

I twisted my wrist free. The quarantine hall stank of bleach and sour sweat and something sweet underneath it. Wrong sweet. "He said no one goes in without him. He's not here. So move."

"He will be." Nora stepped in front of the door, arms crossed over her stained apron. "You think you're special because he lets you hold a scalpel? You're his pet project, Mira. Don't push it."

"And you're his hall monitor? God, Nora, you used to suture with me. Now you guard doors?"

"I keep kids alive. You play hero. There's a difference." She leaned in, voice dropping. "Three more started humming last night. You open that door, they all start. You know what happens after the song."

That stopped me for half a second. The humming.