"DemonX," she finally said, the name falling between us like a heavy stone, sinking into water. "You've been matched with DemonX."
Pursing my lips, I racked my brain. The name didn’t ring a bell.
"I'm guessing they're not a boyband," I finally said, trying to smile like she was making a joke at my expense.
A sound escaped her that might have been a laugh under different circumstances.
"No, Lucy. They're not a boyband."
“Bummer,” I shrugged. “Sports team?”
"You’re getting warmer.” She sighed, crossing her arms over her body tightly. “They've been clients of Eros for quite some time. They’re egotistical, suicidal, and downright barbaric. We’ve never even had a near match for them. No Omega has ever come close."
"No Omega until me,” I said thoughtfully, processing the information.
She nodded, a quick, sharp movement. "Until you."
“I want to know more about them.” My tone was almost eager.
The doctor gave me a strange look. "Lucy, I fear any Omega we send to them will come back in a body bag. Just let me talk to Eros. I’ll stop them from notifying DemonX.”
"I didn't think I'd live to be this old," I replied, surprising myself and the doctor with the calm certainty in my voice. "But here I am. I'm not afraid of dying."
"You are alive now, Lucy," she finally said, her voice full of caution. "Cherish that. Protect it. There are provisions for Omega safety that supersede contractual obligations. I just have to prove that?—"
"I want to know more about them," I said, surprised by the steadiness of my own voice. "Before anyone makes any decisions about what's best for me."
Certainty washed over me. My entire life had been dictated—by doctors, by disease, by the careful calculations of what myfragile body could withstand. Now, facing my first real choice, I found myself strangely reluctant to surrender it.
Doctor Swann hesitated, then tapped a small button on her lapel. "Bring Lucy the DemonX information," she said to some unseen recipient. Then, after a pause, "Allof it."
Doctor Swann left then, but not after making me promise to consider my own wellbeing.
An hour later, I was mesmerized.
Endless, exhilarating footage of DemonX.
Xander. Asher. Nitro. Fallon. Kane.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. Footage of death-defying stunts on motorcycles made my heart pound. Knives tossed at a target. Each throw precise and deadly. Fire becoming a living, breathing thing as it danced around a stage. An arrow slicing the air, rocketing cleanly through small rings, its silvery tip sinking into a piece of fruit atop a scantily clad woman’s head.
I could almost feel adrenaline coursing through my own veins while I watched. This wasn’t a movie. This wasn’t computer generated. This was real.
Yes, DemonX was dangerous. But maybe danger was exactly what I needed to know I was alive.
These weremymatches. I wouldn’t let anyone take that away from me.
29
ASHER, KANE, NITRO, XANDER, & FALLON
{Several days after Lucy’s sampling}
Matched.
A worsening disease. An unacceptable cure.
The days blur together, punctuated by moments of crystal-clear pain.
