AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rix snorted, drawing my attention away from Zane. “Revolution Inferno.Anything to do with the fact that when you inject Strat blood it feels like your body is on fire on the inside and it’s a wonder flames don’t shoot out of your mouth when you breathe?”
My eyes widened. “Is that what it feels like?” I had no idea.
He smirked. “Feels like you’re going to pass out from the pain the first few times, but then it gets addictive. It’s fucking intense.” His eyes gleamed like he was remembering the last time he’d had a transfusion or a “dose” of Hellcat distilled blood and his entire body turned to flames.
“There’s a reason they call it ‘getting scorched,’” Jorik said. “At least those who dope recreationally.
“Wait, what?”
Zane snorted and shook his head. “Such a kitten.”
I shot him a look but was pulled away from my building ire toward this infuriating jerk when Jorik started talking again.
“Amlins snort, smoke, ingest and inject Strat-positive blood recreationally to get high.” Jorik scratched at his chest absentmindedly, and his gaze shifted to Rix and Zane for a moment before his lip twisted. “They’re chasing the temporary high that comes with having Strat blood in their system. Twenty minutes or an hour of a euphoric high is usually what they get. Doesn’t matter the strain of the source; the high for an Amlin is the same.”
“The serum we get made with your blood is distilled and treated so that it lasts longer. It has a slower release. And because we’re Verian, we experience your skillset rather than just a euphoric high,” Rix added.
I swallowed. “H-how do the Amlins get the blood?”
“Use that Sigma brain of yours, Kitten. How do you think?” Zane scoffed. “And it’s not just Amlins. Verians that aren’t part of a training facility or in the super-soldier program will scorch, too. They’ll experience that strain’s enhancements but only for like an hour.”
I sucked in a breath and recoiled, inching away from all of them slightly. “What happens after that hour?”
Rix’s and Jorik’s gazes softened. Zane’s hardened.
“They come down from the high, and want more,” Jorik said.
“And if they don’t get it?”
They all exchanged looks, and it made the blood running through my veins turn icy.
“It’s not good,” Zane said.
What the heck did that mean?
“Sources like Thetas and Sigmas and even some Kappas sell their blood to make extra money,” Rix said softly. “It’s become a form of prostitution. Some cities have blood brothels where you go, pick yoursourceand take a hit.”
I was beginning to feel like I did back in the woods. Only instead of a sensory overload, it was an information overload. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and pressed my fingers to my temples, sucking in large gulps of air through my nose and pushing them out slowly through thinly parted lips in an attempt to calm my nerves.
A hand fell to my upper back and began to rub gentle circles. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know that it was Jorik. I could just tell by the size of the palm and the strength of the fingers. “It’s a lot to take in, I know,” he said softly.
“But some people can’t pay for a fix, so they get what they need in other ways.” I opened my eyes and was met with Zane’s smirk. “I assume you know what that means, Kitten?”
I glared at him until his lip twitched up on one side.
We stared at each other for a long, hard minute, then he averted his eyes and cleared his throat. “Back to theRevolution Infernobullshit. Even though you can’t sail for shit, you get a migraine when too many noises and smells are around, and you’ve never actually even killed a man, you’re still going to go through with it?”
I lifted my chin defiantly. “What else am I going to do?”
Zane snorted and shook his head. “Oh Kitten, you’ve got big brass balls, I’ll give you that.” Then he peeled off his shirt, dropped his pants so he was naked, and leaped over the side of the boat, making a splash in the water.
I sat there stunned.
Rix lifted a shoulder. “I’m game. I’m so fucking tired of killing people I don’t want to kill. I’d rather kill someone that Iwantto kill and have it make a difference. Have it mean something for the future. Abetterfuture. Because honestly, I’ve thought more than once about just defecting and letting them activate the fucking kill switch.”
Jorik nodded, wiping a hand over his face before he spoke on a sigh. “Me, too.” He removed his hand from my back, and I instantly missed it.
My eyes widened.
