“Psycho, yeah. I can see the attraction.”
I raise a brow at her.
“What? Twisted romance is one of my favorite things. Do go on.”
“And he could be so gentle with me, so tender. I, I don’t know.” My stomach flips at the memories of it.
“And the sex? Hot, I’d bet. Like, smoking hot if you showing up at my door in nothing but a blanket last night is any indication.”
I don’t bother hiding it. “It’s mind blowing. One minute he’s feral, the next he’s holding me. It’s like he knows exactly what I need, and he always delivers. I’m?—”
“You’re in love.” She smiles a little.
I can’t deny it. “It’s love and it’s more. The vampires have all this lore, this sort of magic. I don’t know what else to call it. Blood magic. I know it sounds woowoo.”
“You’re lucky I’m into the woowoo stuff. Besides, we’re living in the Emergence Era. Vampires walk among us. Nothing is quite as shocking anymore, is it?”
“Fair point.”
“So the blood magic, is it bad?”
“No. It binds us. Sort of like a link between us. If I try, I can sense him.”
“Like right now?”
“Yes.” I feel him pulsing steadily through my veins. “He’s all right. I can tell that. Not much more. The vampires and the books say a Blood bond grows with time.”
“Mind blown.” She cocks her head to the side. “Books?”
“His library. Stacks and stacks of books. None of them in English. But there’s tons of lore in them, and I suppose lore isn’t the right word since it’s all true.”
“There has to be a way to figure out how this bond thing works.” She gets that faraway look in her eyes like she does when she’s thinking. “Some way to quantify it.”
“There are things in this world that can’t be seen under a microscope.”
She smirks. “That sounds like something a vampire would say.”
I chuckle wryly. “Valen.”
“Maybe we can get his blood and your blood and do a little experi?—”
“Yo, I got lunch,” Wyatt walks in, a big brown bag clutched to his chest.
“I told you I could carry that.” Gage’s voice follows from the hall.
My hackles rise.
“I got it, my man.” Wyatt puts the bag down and gives Evie and me a wary look.
“This is the brain trust?” A man with a deep voice, crackling with command, strides in. Tall and fit, he looks to be in his fifties, gray hair at his temples and an even grayer mustache. His uniform is simple, but the stars can’t be mistaken; he’s a general. His dark eyes survey the lab, then fix on me. “Dr. Clark, I presume?”
“Yes.” I glance at Gage.
“Georgia, this is General Lopez. He’s in command of this base and what’s left of the country.”
For the briefest moment, I think about mentioning that the president is, in fact, still alive, so maybe the general should pump the brakes. Then again, that’s something I’ve only shared with Wyatt and Evie, and they know whatever passes between us stays there.
“Glad to finally meet you, Dr. Clark. I’ve been briefed on the poison you created and used to kill Theo Dragonis. Colonel Howard believes you can make it again. Is that true?”
