Chapter 36

Syn's pulse thrummed in his ears as he lingered at the corridor's end, his back pressed against the cold metal wall, eyes locked on the medic room door. The ship's hum was a faint drone beneath the weight of his suspicion—Vera's unnatural stillness, Pako's muted demeanor—two threads of wrongness weaving a tapestry of dread.

Aster's brisk footsteps echoed closer, her tall figure cutting through the dim light, her blonde hair swaying with each determined stride. She spotted him instantly, her sharp gaze homing in, and Syn raised a finger to his lips, a silent command for quiet as he waved her over with a quick, urgent flick of his wrist. She slowed, her boots scuffing softly as she closed the distance, her breath puffing in the chilled air as she joined him, her presence a steady bulwark against the unease curling in his gut.