Sera's creature purred approval deep enough to feel. Good. Let him be honest. Lies are for humans and traitors.
The ventilation system kicked harder into emergency mode.
She felt the pressure shift first, air pulling toward vents in a steady suction meant to isolate contamination. Instead, it did the opposite.
The pathogen rode the airflow like it belonged there. Sera heard screams bloom down parallel corridors they hadn't reached. Somewhere behind a wall, people were dying simply because the building was breathing for Aerenyx now.
He tilted his head like he could hear the same map she could smell. "They're feeding me their lungs," he said, genuinely pleased. "They think sealing doors will help, but you can't seal the air."
Sera looked up at the vents as they passed beneath them. "So it'll reach everything."
"Unless something kills it." His black eyes slid to her again, and his grin sharpened. "Do you want to kill it?"
