Rin drew in a sharp breath. They’d all been dancing around it. Evenshehad willfully chosen to ignore the fact that her past life memories had slowly been coming back to her. She wasn’t sure why. Fear or something greater.
Regardless, her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, "Not all of them. I can’t remember everything. It’s like a really strange dream. Every time I try to remember, my head—it hurts so badly I feel like I could die. I don’t know if I’ll ever have my memories back the way they were meant to be. I’m too damaged."
Cyrus’s hand tightened on hers, withdrawn, as he said, "You’re not damaged, doll. You’re a victim, and if you never remember, I’ll tell you about our past for days on end, until I lose my voice."
Rin swallowed. "Thank you, Cy."
Rhyden paced away from her, the muscles in his bare back rippling as he swept a hand through his hair and grabbed his phone from the pocket of his sweats, putting it to his ear. "Yeah, Daryk. Take care of Nessen’s—the body. Bleach. Maybe something stronger. I don’t want to see this mess come morning." He ended the call, pointing a pale finger at Lucien. "You, mad scientist, are going to take another sample of her blood in the morning and compare it to the Rogue’s. We’re getting to the bottom of this shit."
Rin’s gaze lingered on the Rogue’s body. Whatever had killed it was still out there, but, strangely, she felt no fear.
Lucien withdrewthe needle from Vesperin’s elbow, letting his fingers graze her delicate, pale flesh. She was quiet. They all were.
After seeing Nessen’s body, he hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. The vampiric doctor had been a fool for what he’d done. But Lucien knew what it was like to be driven by the desire for knowledge. That desire nipped at him now, an itch that needed to be scratched.
The hum of lab equipment echoed off the high ceilings. Though exhausted, Lucien’s hands were steady as he prepared the microscope, drawing a thin sample of Vesperin’s blood into the pipette; the red was dark and rich against the clear glass.
The Rogue’s blood was already prepared.
It turned out that Nessen had more than one captive, a fact that infuriated Rhyden. The sample had been easy to draw, as they’d used small holes in the ceiling to disperse a sedative. With that thought in mind, Lucien wondered why Nessen hadn’t done the same—what had made him so desperate to have the Rogue be alert?
Nevertheless, Lucien dispensed a singular droplet of Vesperin’s blood onto the slide, watching it spread out. Then, he carefully introduced the Rogue’s blood.
Lucien slid the plate into the microscope and placed his eye at the eyepiece, adjusting the focus knob until the field of view sharpened.
Everything went still.
At first, both were nonreactive, but slowly, they shook, as if they were two magnets drawn to each other, but no—that wasn’t quite right.
They were opposite forces. One repelling, one seeking.
Vesperin’s blood trembled, branching out, aggressive and purposeful as it collided with the recoiling sample of the Rogue.
When they touched, the Rogue’s blood destabilized, breaking apart as if corroded. It was as though the Rogue’s blood had been eaten from the inside out. It disappeared beneath the small tide of Vesperin’s blood. Gone.
Lucien pulled back, the right lens on his glasses slightly foggy from being pressed against the microscope. He worked to control his breath as he turned, finding the others staring at him.
His eyes fell to Vesperin. She wore a too-large sweatshirt, and her hand was held captive by Cyrus’s, while Auren stood at her back.
"Well?" Vesperin’s voice pierced through the silence.
Lucien swallowed. "It seems we were correct in our observations about Nessen wanting to see what your blood would do in the presence of an active, conscious Rogue. Your blood, it—it consumed the Rogue’s."
"No,"Lucien said flatly, the others echoing their agreement. "If I knew you were going to push this—something sofoolishas purposefully putting yourself in harm’s way to observe what a Rogue would do to you—I never would have shared the findings with you, Vesperin."
"You’re not listening to me," Vesperin snapped, pacing. "This could be the answer. Nessen knew—that’s why he brought my blood to the Rogue?—"
"And Nessen’s now buried in the woods," Rhyden cut in. "Your point, wife?"
Vesperin was a ticking bomb. Her eyes narrowed on Rhyden. Finally, she exploded. "Like you fucking care, Valkar! You should want me dead. You do, don’t you? That’s all you’ve been able to say since you fucking found me at that motel. You want your revenge, you want me to pay for what I did—for what I don’t even remember!"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Lucien found himself wanting to jump forward, take her into his arms, and force her to still. But he found his hands flexing at his sides as he watched.
"Your heart, Vesperin. It is still delicate," Auren reminded gently.
"I managed pretty well on my own for years, Auren. I know my limits. We need answers. I’m so sick of—" Vesperin’s voicedropped. "I’m so sick of the not knowing. You remember it, don’t you? In Nova Zone 21, the Rogues attacked us, and I—you saved me by taking me to the hospital, Auren. There was a Rogue on top of me, and it didn’ttouchme. When my parents died, I was the sole survivor in my entire neighborhood. All those Rogues, and not one hurt me. I walked away relatively unscathed—physically. If we test it again, this time it will be even safer, because you’ll all be there. I won’t be harmed. I’d bet my life on it."
"It’s not yours to bet," Lucien said.
