Chapter 20 · The Second Plague

"Lock it down." Yanzhan's voice cut through the tent before I'd even pulled the flap open. "No one in or out. Burn the bodies."

I stopped. He was standing over the map table, both fists planted on the edges, shoulders locked. Three of his captains flanked him, all of them looking like they'd rather be anywhere else.

"You can't burn them," I said.

Every head turned.

Yanzhan's jaw tightened. "Grace—"

"I need samples. I need time to figure out what this is." I crossed the tent and shoved between two of the captains. The map was covered in red marks now, twice as many as this morning. "How many?"

"Forty-seven confirmed," one of the captains said. "Another sixty showing early signs."

"Jesus." My chest went cold. "That's over a hundred."

"Which is why we burn them," Yanzhan said flatly. He didn't look at me. "Before it spreads further."

"It's already spread. Burning them won't stop it." I grabbed the edge of the map, yanked it toward me. "Where are they clustered? Same barracks? Same water source?"

One of the captains opened his mouth. Yanzhan's hand came down on the table hard enough to rattle the ink jar.

"Out," he said.