“The honor is ours, Lord Ashcroft,” my father replied, inclining his head just enough to acknowledge rank without appearing deferential. “You’ve already met my son, Bishop.”
Ashcroft turned his gaze on me.
I felt pinned in place.
“Ah,” he said, eyes flicking over me in a quick assessment. “Yes. The Hale heir.”
“I prefer ‘student,’” I replied automatically, the line well-rehearsed.
Ashcroft’s smile widened just a fraction. “Modest. That will serve you well.”
Or not at all, I thought.
He moved on before my father could respond, already engaged by another cluster of officials. The space he left behind felt colder somehow, like the air had been pulled out of the space along with him.
“I need a moment,” I told my father quietly.
He nodded, distracted now, already deep in conversation with someone else.
I slipped away toward the edge of the room, grateful for the chance to breathe without being watched quite so closely. I took a glass of water from a passing tray and sipped at it, letting the cool clarity ground me as I quietly listened to the conversations around me.
“…It’s more effective than the injectable,” a woman’s voice was saying. “Delivery is cleaner. Faster onset. Harder to trace.”
I turned slightly, angling my body so I appeared to be admiring a sculpture while my attention locked onto the conversation happening behind me.
Ashcroft stood near a side alcove with a small group: Lady Renshaw, a man I recognized as Director Collins from the Health Ministry, and a woman in a white coat named Dr. Helena Voss.
I’d read her papers. So had my father.
“An inhalant?” Ashcroft asked mildly.
Voss nodded. “An aerosolized compound. The stimulant binds to the same receptors but bypasses the bloodstream initially. Behavioral effects manifest within minutes.”
“And the results?” Ashcroft prompted.
“Consistent,” she replied. “Aggression spikes sharply. Cognitive function deteriorates rapidly. Subjects appear feral to observers within a very short window.”
My stomach tightened.
Lady Renshaw frowned. “Side effects?”
Voss shrugged, clinical. “Long-term viability is not a concern.”
Ashcroft hummed thoughtfully. “Public perception?”
“Indistinguishable from the injectable,” Collins said. “If anything, it reinforces existing data.”
Ashcroft’s smile returned, slow and satisfied. “Excellent.”
I felt suddenly acutely cold.
“You’re certain this won’t affect humans?” Lady Renshaw asked.
Voss hesitated just long enough for me to notice. “In high concentrations, there may be… some agitation.”
Ashcroft waved a hand dismissively. “That’s an acceptable risk.”
They shared a quiet laugh.
