“Dammit,” Cole mutters as they pinch at his skin. None of his veins want to surface.
I raise my hand when a voice cuts me off. “I will give double again.”
On the other side of me, Jax’s firm blue eyes meet mine.
“I will give for Cole this time,” I say, facing the Bleeder by my chair, only for my throat to tighten. The Bleeder is hunched over, gloved hands pressed against my black and blue arm, struggling to find a vein.
“I will take Saya’s, too,” Jax declares.
“Prohibited,” the Bleeder says. “Feeder zero-one-four can’t give thrice the daily amount. Feeder zero-zero-eight will offer herself to a god. They will decide whether to keep her heart beating or drain her dry.”
Jax stands. The Bleeder draws his gun and points it at me, the barrel resting against my forehead. “I suggest you remain seated Feeder zero-one-four, or Feeder zero-zero-eight will die by my hands right now. Understood?”
Veins bulge against Jax’s neckline. “Clear,” he says, the word strained.
The Bleeder assigned to my seat steps forward. “I will take you to the private room tonight.”
“Okay,” I say. My mouth feels full of cotton, and when I swallow, a walnut-sized lump jams in my throat at the thought of coming face-to-face with another nightwalker.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
IRRESOLUTE
Only Bleeders are to handle blood bags. Nightwalkers are not allowed to interfere with or raid blood transport vans. Doing so will be punishable by death.
— Serun’s Law
By the timeJax finishes bleeding himself dry, breakfast has already ended.
He moves to sit beside me against the tree in the courtyard. Despite how drained he is, how tired he looks, and how pale his tanned skin appears, he faces me and says, “When the nightwalker comes tonight, don’t speak to the creature. Don’t entice it. Keep your head tilted to the side and your neck exposed. If you do this,hopefullythe only thing the creature will want is to bite you before fucking off.”
His voice is fierce. Demanding. And as much as I want to ask more, the only sound that escapes my lips is, “Okay.”
Jax’s gaze is steady, and he lowers his head just enough for the shadows of the trees to cast a dark outline across his features. “Now, about earlier. Why are you lying to me?”
Heat burns my cheeks. With a glance at my friends, they exchange looks before rising to their feet and heading towards Dan’s group. Cole stays seated, gazing at the cloudless sky, pretending he isn’t listening to our conversation.
“So,” Jax says, leaning closer.
“Because—” The words halt. I don’t know what the fuck to say. How do I break the news that some sort of entity is lurking in the airshaft? It’s not a nightwalker.
“Saya.” Jax touches my knee. “Talk to me.”
I look at Cole. He’s plucking at the blades of grass beside him like feathers on a duck.
“Something is wrong,” I say, facing Jax. “Something was inside the vent last time I entered it.”
Jax’s brows furrow. “Someone else?”
“Somethingelse.Somethingnot human.”
He squeezes tighter, reassuring and warm. “What did it look like? A nightwalker? If it was one of thosebloodsuckers, it means Leon has already reached out to Serun, and they’re making moves to confirm we’re trapped here.”
“No. It wasn’t a nightwalker. This thing was black, shiny…slobbery.”
“Slobbery?”
I touch my cheek and suppress a shudder. “It oozed or drooled on me after I jumped out of the airshaft. Other than that, I have no idea what this thing is.” I focus on Jax, willing him to believe me. “Manni told me about herdream. She said the ground cracked open, and these monsters came out.” I give him a level look, my voice shaking when I say, “Do you know of theHellsgate?”
