Chapter 39

The medic room's sterile silence shattered with a crisp, loud bark—"Hey! You two! What are you doin'?"—Pako's voice slicing through the hush like a blade through fabric. Syn's head snapped up from where Aster's warmth pressed against his chest, her tear-streaked face now still, her breathing soft against his shirt. Pako sat upright on her bed, her dark eyes glinting with a suspicious glare, her short black hair tousled from sleep, her posture rigid as she fixed them with an accusing stare.