Heru breathed in and out three times, his nostrils flaring, then straightened, pulling his hands off the desk’s ashen surface. His face remained expressionless, aside from a minor tensing at the corner of his mouth. “I understand your desire to save the humans, Kat, I truly do,” he said, making his way around the desk. “But we are in uncharted territory here, and caution may very well save more lives in the long run than will steering a reckless course through dangerous waters.”

He drew closer, and I crossed my arms over my chest. When his stare became too intense, I lowered my eyes to the floor. “How many people are going to die while we sit here doing nothing?” I said, my voice small. Small, but razor-edged.

“You may be surprised that I do, in fact, have a very good idea of just how many people will perish with each passing hour.” Heru placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Based on the reports so far, of course.”

His was meant to be a comforting gesture—probably—but I couldn’t shake the knowledge that positioned like we were now, he could snap my neck before I’d even have a chance at any kind of defensive maneuver, if he chose to. I doubted the thought had even crossed his mind. The threat was likely just a product of my imagination, but that didn’t stop it from spurring a spike of adrenaline. Annoying, considering Heru would easily be able to hear the resulting rise in my heart rate. I gritted my teeth.

“I also have projections of how many people will contract the virus each hour, as well as vectors showing the potential spread of the infection worldwide.” Heru gave my shoulder a squeeze. “At present, the Cascade Virus is mainly a threat to the North American population alone.”

I scoffed and raised my eyes to meet his. “You can’t believe it’s not already everywhere.”

Heru gave a sideways nod. “Indeed, I do not. But the virus has a far weaker foothold elsewhere, which means that even if we lose most of the population of this continent, we may very well still be able to find another way—a less permanent way—to save the rest of humanity. Introducing millions upon millions of new Nejerets is far from the best solution.”

Millions . . . I hadn’t thought of it on that grand of a scale. Not that I was about to let any hint of shock show. “Oh, please,” I said. “Like there’s any other solution.” I laughed derisively. “There’s not going to be some amazing discovery, and even if there is, we’re not going to be able to manufacture a cure overnight.” Neffe, Aset, and every other science-minded Nejeret loyal to Heru had been working on finding an alternative cure for the Cascade Virus for days, but it remained just as stubbornly incurable. My lip curled. “Sounds like you’re just afraid of a little immortal competition.”

“Afraid . . .” Heru’s hand fell away, and he turned to the side, his head bowed. “Yes, I am afraid.” For just that moment, a fraction of a second, it seemed as though all of those impending deaths weighed heavily upon his shoulders. But as quickly as the impression came, he straightened and was back to being all ruthless confidence. “But what I fear is for the well-being of our kind and of the planet that we call home.” He strode over to Lex and Reni.