Vesperin’s teeth dug into her lower lip. "What—what are you going to do?"
Without waiting for her approval, Nessen went to the small medical fridge. It opened with a hiss of cold air. He pulled out a tray of vials, fitting a syringe needle into one as he carefully extracted a small dose of blue liquid. He pressed down on the plunger, a precise stream shooting out.
"Liquid adrenaline," Nessen proclaimed.
"No," Lucien asserted. "Absolutely not. I will not allow you to put strain on her heart."
Nessen was unperturbed. "But it is nothing out of the ordinary. Her medications already utilize something similar. A concentrated dose of adrenaline to get her heart rate normalized. This is similar, but more streamlined. I will be here to monitor it. Nothing will happen."
Rhyden scoffed. "Like fuck are you going to inject that shit into her, Nessen. I was the one who gave you that supply of liquid adrenaline, and I know it’s not typically used in medical practices. I torture people for a living. I know how to keep people alive—even when they don’t want to be. It’ll make her crash hard.Fuckno."
Lucien tensed at the reminder of who currently hosted them—where they were. Rhyden Valkar had more blood on his hands than Lucien probably had in his body. At least an hour had passed since their terse confrontation, and every second that ticked by, Lucien could feel the weight of the vampire’s dangerous eyes on him—even Cyrus seemed oddly reticent, watching Lucien closely.
Lucien could tell their patience was fraying. They needed space. They should reconvene later, but each time he opened his mouth to call it, something made him bite his tongue.
"For once, I agree with the grumpy vampire. You come anywhere near her with that thing, and I’ll make it so that you’re nothing but a withered husk." Cyrus smiled, as though the threat carried a private, esoteric joke only he understood.
Vesperin sat up, an electrode falling from her templeagain. "Hey, what if I?—"
She was interrupted by a faint glow nearby as a hole was ripped in the air. A shiny white boot and fluttering cloak appeared. Auren stepped into the room, hood drawn, and as his portal closed quietly behind him, he shoved his hood back, tiny snowflakes falling from the fabric of his cloak.
Lucien had never been so grateful for a distraction. He knew what his V girl was going to say, and he would never allow her to purposely endanger her already-fragile heart for the sake of some vampiric doctor’stheory.
The Soul Searcher’s blue eyes were wider than Lucien had ever seen as he gasped, breath still slightly visible as if the coldair clung to him, creeping into the lab’s air from the now-closed portal.
"The television," Auren gasped. "Turn it on—now."
Auren triedto shake off the remaining vestiges of cold and horror. But still, he shivered.
Vesperin’s slightly raspy voice, broken with exhaustion, carried to him as she quickly walked over, taking his gloved hands in hers. "Auren, what’s wrong? Are you okay?"
She tugged off one of his gloves and laced their fingers together. Auren’s hand flexed around hers, as if the motion were intrinsic to his very being. To be adrift, brought back down to earth only by the touch of her soft warmth.
Even harrowed by what he’d seen—the Souls he had just reaped—he brought her hand to his mouth. He felt her sharp intake of air as his cold lips grazed her skin.
He breathed her in, eyes falling closed, and saw flashing lights behind them, imprinted in his vision, his ears still ringing from circling helicopters. Blood splattered everywhere, countless body parts?—
Auren opened his eyes and raised his lips from Vesperin’s hand, not letting her go. "Do you have access to a television in this room?" He tried not to look at her. His voice was slightly calmer, thank the Celestials.
Rhyden hopped off one of the counters he sat on, turning to a panel of buttons. Pressing one, a large television descended from a slat in the ceiling. He grabbed a remote and flicked it on, tuning into the news.
A reporter stood before the alleyway, lights flashing over her face as she spoke into the microphone.
Rhyden turned the volume up.
"—just hours ago, a mass casualty incident in the residential sector, in Axon Court, near Block 31. The suspect is still on the loose. Believed to be armed and incredibly dangerous. A shelter-in-place order has gone into effect in Block 31 and the surrounding area."
Rhyden scoffed, crossing his arms. "Like they expect anyone in Lunar City to heed the law. What the fuck is this about, Auren?"
Auren swallowed. "Watch."
The screen panned to the blocked-off alley, where corrupt cops stood around crime tape, warding off the reporters and newscasters. The reporter spoke as the image focused on the dark alley. "What is believed to be the works of one man, as witnesses describe, dressed in all-black, similar to a uniform. He wore a mask over the lower part of his face and is described as having brown hair."
The screen shifted back to the reporter. A tiny, blood-hungry smile played upon her lips as she touched her earpiece. "I’m receiving word from our news helicopter—we have a bird’s-eye view of the scene inside the alleyway where this gruesome attack took place. What I am about to share is highly disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised."
Rin walked closerto the screen, her hand still held in Auren’s.
The image was an overhead view. It was dark, and snow covered the tops of tall, crooked buildings.
