"Incorrect," Sebastian replied, voice devoid of emotion despite the strain evident in his body. "This is precisely what I was designed to be. What I will always be." He raised the knife, studying its edge with clinical detachment. Another tremor ran through his arm, quickly suppressed. "The anomaly was what occurred in your settlement. A temporary malfunction that has been corrected."
Boarstaff held his gaze, refusing to look away even as Sebastian stepped closer. "I don't believe that. I've seen who you really are."
"You saw a defect," Sebastian responded, coming within arm's reach. "A flaw in my systems that has been repaired." He leaned closer, the knife now between them. "The Sebastian you knew no longer exists."
The blade pressed against Boarstaff's chest, cold. Sebastian dragged it upward with deliberate slowness, the pressure just shy of breaking skin. His face remained impassive, studying Boarstaff with the detached curiosity of a scientist observing a specimen. But so close, Boarstaff could see the fine tremors running through him, the effort it took to maintain his mechanical performance.
Boarstaff kept his expression neutral despite the fear coursing through him. He could see the extensive new brass components at Sebastian's throat, designed to regulate everything from emotion to hunger to thought itself. Could see the fresh incisions around them, angry and red where metal met flesh. Could see nothing of the Sebastian who had fed from his wrist with growing gentleness, who had lain in his arms in the darkness.
The knife continued its journey upward, now pressing against Boarstaff's throat. One quick movement and it would all be over. Boarstaff refused to close his eyes. If this was truly the end, he would face it looking at Sebastian, remembering who he had been rather than what they had made him again.
Memories flashed through Boarstaff's mind, Sebastian returning to the village with Oakspear across his shoulders, choosing to honor orc customs despite his injuries. Sebastian rescuing Sarah from her nightmares, showing gentleness that should have been regulated out of existence. Sebastian's skin beneath his touch during their feeding rituals, responding to emotions no vampire noble should be capable of feeling.
"Any final statements?" Sebastian asked, the question a mere formality, delivered without inflection.
Boarstaff looked directly into those empty eyes, searching for any trace of the connection they had shared. "Yes," he replied quietly. "I would’ve followed you anywhere."
Something flickered in Sebastian's eyes, so brief Boarstaff might have imagined it. A tremor ran through him, stronger than before. Then, in a movement too quick for the others to follow, Sebastian leaned forward until his lips nearly touched Boarstaff's ear.
"And I you."
Chapter Seventeen
"And I you."
Sebastian's hand moved to Boarstaff's restraint, fingers trembling as he disengaged the lock. Blood seeped through his bandages as he pressed the knife into Boarstaff's palm.
"What are you doing?" Zarek's voice cut through the chamber.
No time for explanations. No time for words.
Zarek launched himself across the room, a blur of mechanical precision. A thin blade slid from his sleeve into his palm as he moved. Sebastian shoved Boarstaff aside as his brother's weapon slashed where Boarstaff's throat had been a heartbeat earlier. The movement tore open Sebastian's fresh incisions, blood flowing freely down his arms.
Dominic moved toward the door panel, face locked in mechanical neutrality. As his fingers reached for the controls, a slender ceremonial dagger appeared in his other hand. Sebastian lunged for him despite his body's protest. Pain exploded behind his eyes as newly installed components fought against his commands, sending conflicting signals through his system.
Dominic's fist connected with Sebastian's jaw with crushing force. The impact sent him crashing into the examination table, copper taste flooding his mouth. His vision swam, darkness threatening at the edges.
Boarstaff drove forward, Sebastian's knife aimed at Zarek's throat. Zarek sidestepped with unnatural speed, his own blade flashing as he grabbed Boarstaff's wrist and twisted until something snapped. The knife clattered to the floor. Zarek's counterattack was ruthless, mechanical precision delivering three strikes in rapid succession to Boarstaff's ribs and solar plexus.
Sebastian grabbed a metal instrument from the table and hurled it at Zarek. It struck his brother's shoulder, doing no damage but diverting his attention. Zarek turned, mechanical eyes focusing on Sebastian with cold calculation, his blade gleaming in the harsh light.
"Primitive sentiment." Zarek changed direction with unnatural fluidity.
Sebastian tried to stand, but his legs buckled. The reconditioning had left him weak, his body rebelling against movement. Fresh blood bloomed across his bandages, dark stains spreading with each labored breath.
Zarek reached him in two mechanical strides, brass-tipped fingers closing around Sebastian's throat. The grip was precise, applying exactly enough pressure to restrict air without causing immediate unconsciousness. Maximizing suffering. Optimizing pain.
Sebastian clawed at the hand crushing his throat, his weakened body no match for Zarek's enhanced strength. Blackness crept in from the edges of his vision.
Across the room, Dominic activated the door panel. Red warning lights began flashing along the walls. Sixty seconds until alarms would sound. Until guards would flood the chamber.
Boarstaff recovered Sebastian's knife with his uninjured hand and attacked Dominic from behind. Dominic spun with mechanical speed, his ceremonial dagger parrying Boarstaff'sstrike with precise efficiency. They grappled, evenly matched despite Boarstaff's injury, raw strength against mechanically enhanced precision.
Sebastian's vision darkened as Zarek's grip tightened. His lungs burned for air. His newly installed components sent warning signals through his system, regulatory protocols failing as oxygen deprivation overwhelmed their programming.
With his fading strength, Sebastian drove his thumbs into Zarek's mechanical eyes. The pressure cracked one lens, dark fluid spraying across Sebastian's face. Zarek's grip loosened for a fraction of a second, enough for Sebastian to twist free.
He collapsed to the floor, gasping. Zarek recovered instantly, brass teeth bared in what might have been rage if emotion weren't regulated out of existence. He drove his foot into Sebastian's ribs with mechanical precision. Something cracked. Pain exploded through Sebastian's chest.
