(GRIFFIN)
The laboratory door stands closed before me, the glass window reflecting the artificial lights. I hesitate, closing my eyes and catching the scents from within, antiseptic, chemicals, and Jerry, but not Maya. Not Mathew.
I push the door open to find Jerry hunched over a microscope, his brow furrowed in concentration. He looks up as I enter, surprise evident in his features.
"Your Majesty," he says, straightening. "I wasn't expecting you."
"Where's Maya?" I ask, scanning the lab as if she might be hiding in some corner.
Jerry gestures toward a row of vials on the central workstation. "She completed a preliminary version of the antidote this morning. She's quite confident it will work."
My heart leaps at the news. "That's remarkable. Where is she?"
"She left with Mathew about an hour ago," Jerry says, removing his glasses to polish them on his lab coat. "Said they were meeting someone."
"Meeting whom?" A prickle of unease crawls up my spine.
