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I immediately regret giving voice to my pain when I feel my men tense up. The last thing I want is for them to start arguing or tell Gus off for probably ruining my arm forever. This has to be done, and I’m the one who asked him.
“Finish it,” I hiss when I feel him hesitating. “I want that thing out.”
I feel his nod against my shoulder, but for good measure, I reiterate that I don’t want the implant—or whatever the hell it is—under my skin any longer.
Gus squeezes my shoulder hard. “Take a deep breath.”
I’m just about to curse him out, telling him to get a move on. Instead, I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to control my ragged breathing. I reach my free hand backwards, digging my nails into whomever takes it. Since he’s already made the cut, it doesn’t take him long to find the implant in my arm.
The feeling as Gus pulls the faux implant from my arm is indescribable. It’s like… no, there are no words to describe the pain, relief, and feeling of something moving under your skin.
“Open your eyes, Cia,” Gus practically croons.
As my eyes flutter open, they immediately zone in on the object held tightly in the tweezers Gus is holding up so we can all see it.
“Give it to me,” I command, holding out my hand, and he lets the bloody object drop into my palm. “That’s—” I gulp as I look at the bloody item in my hand.
“What the fuck?” Gus barks, and I’m pretty sure he recognizes what we’re looking at.
Last time we saw something similar, it wasn’t covered in blood, but there’s no mistaking the black silicone case or the miniature infinity symbol etched into it.
I rush to the sink and quickly get the water running so I can rinse it. I hold it securely in my fist so it doesn’t slip out of my grip and down into the drain. As soon as all the blood is gone, I turn the tap off and dry it.
Gus places a hand on my shoulder and spins me around so I’m facing him. “Don’t tell me that’s…” Trailing off, he swallows so hard his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Is that like the ones Alexander used to have in his office?”
My chest tightens at the memory of me and Gus playing in my dad’s office, rummaging through his drawers while pretending we were on a secret mission. When we found the small black cases with the gold symbol on them, he got so mad he could barely speak. We already knew we weren’t allowed into my dad’s office, but rules often go out the window when you play, and that’s exactly what happened. Afterwards, we were banned from playing in that part of my parents’ house without supervision.
“Yeah, it looks exactly like what we found back then,” I say slowly.
Turning the small object, the light catches on a small line spanning across one of the ends, with arrows on both ends of the line. I try to pull at the end, but it’s too slippery for me to get a good grip so I pick up the tweezers Gus used to remove it from my arm, and after wiping them down, I use them to pull at the end.
It slides apart easy enough, and my breath hitches when what looks like a micro SD card falls out and onto the floor. Without saying a word, I bend down to pick it up.
“We need a computer,” Liam says before I can form the words.
“Let’s go into my office.” The rough timbre in Kai’s voice is a clear sign he’s barely holding it together.
We walk in silence, no one talking until we’re inside the office and Kai has put the SD-card into his laptop. I wait with bated breath, unable to even imagine what we might find.
“Are you sure we should be here for this?” Lupa asks, sounding like she wishes she was anywhere but here.
“No,” I answer honestly. I mean, Abel fucking hid something in my arm, and in my experience people only hide things that shouldn’t be seen by anyone. “But it doesn’t matter right now, does it?”
I’m surprised when Arthur softly says, “I believe you. Morgana isn’t here.” Before I can ponder what made him change his mind, he adds. “Your reactions seemed too real.” He pauses and chuckles, which is a mirthless sound. “Not to mention we just witnessed Gus cut into your arm because of something in a text no one else had found off.”
I slap his arm when he scowls in Lupa’s direction. “Hey,” I say, needing to interject on her behalf. “We’ve all overlooked that it wasn’t Morgana texting us. No one is blameless here.” Then I soften my tone. “What’s important is moving forward. We need a meeting with the entire Kronos Society.”
“If you’re okay letting us research alone, go get Remus and meet us here in two hours,” Kai orders.
When Lupa makes a noise of protest, he softens his glare.
“I have a feeling we’re going to need all hands on deck here, so your Heirs can come.” He looks to Arthur. “But only if you trust them implicitly. You and Remus will be directly responsible for their actions.”
“Of course,” Arthur answers quickly.
“And if either of them proves not to be trustworthy, you will pay with your life.”
The last part causes the Hatt Leader to stand straighter. He holds Kai’s dark gaze for a few minutes before he bows. “I’ll relay the message to Remus.”
