Amilliontimes worse.
“Please,” I groaned. “Speak to me.”
Rook crawled back a little, scooting along the floor. For a second, I swore ice spiderwebbed from beneath her palms, freezing the floorboards.
She swallowed hard as if something was choking her.
She did it again. Her eyes tight and face waxen.
She was hurting.
I knew that.
Feltthat.
But it didn’t stop me.
Crawling forward, matching her retreat like a hunter instead of a beggar on his knees, I panted, “Just spit everything out. I don’t care what. Give me something, or I swear to God, I’ll burn this place down with both of us in it.”
She flinched.
She crept backward before her hand came up, massaged her throat, and she rasped, “I-I’m the sole h-heiress of Snowflake Corp.” Swallowing again, she cleared the last of whatever was obstructing her. “Brimstone deals in volcanic renewable power and...Snowflake Corp deals in water and ice. W-We’re direct competitors and I overheard a few girls in Cinderkeep saying that they were sent by Snowflake Corp to kill you.” Her skin flashed white and the illusion of snowflakes appeared on her eyebrows. “But I wouldnever.I would never hurt you, Lucien. I’d never betray you or do anything to harm you in any way. You have to believe me.”
“Go on.” The room warped as I crawled toward her, closing the distance she kept trying to put between us. The carved beams sagged a little as if they were softening from my heat.
“I-It seems as though I might’ve been deliberately kept in the dark about you.” She coughed, scooting backward at the same pace I crawled. “I’ve never heard of you. Never heard of Brimstone. But that doesn’t mean much seeing as I ran away seven years ago. But there’s definitely something that feels off about all of this and...I swear to you, on the soul of my parents, I’m on your side—”
“Ah, yes.” I grimaced. “Thebadside.”
She flinched, remembering our previous conversation in the bed and breakfast. “I promise I’ll find out why Snowflake Corp seems involved. Iwillfind out the truth. I have every intention of returning home and demanding answers. I want to know why you’re the way you are and if there’s a way to help you...before it’s too late—”
“Before it’s toolate?” I hunted her across the floor on my hands and knees, each palm leaving scorched handprints.
“You asked me...” She gulped, continuing her journey away from me. “You asked me why I’m unfazed by your...oddness? Why I’m not afraid of you even though you’re definitely not...normal?”
I never looked away from her as her entire body jolted. She shook her head as if forcing herself to stay awake. “It’s because...it’s because I’ve seen worse.”
The red beneath my skin brightened, glowing hotter, angrier.
“Snowflake Corp might be known for renewable energy,” she said, panicking at my silence. “But...that’s just to bring money in. That’s the easy part—the legitimate part that’s traded and has a board full of directors. A board that all answer to me...” She added the last bit very quietly as if hoping I wouldn’t notice.
“But...there’sanotherpart. A lab that isn’t regulated or traded. A lab where my parents used all their resources to tamper with biology. Their life’s work was finding a pillfor immortality—that foolish quest ultimately killed them—but before they died...they almost succeeded.”
She shuddered, making herself as small as possible. “Do you want me to continue?”
“Would you rather tell me when I’m dead?” I continued to stalk her—the slowest chase in history. “Speak.”
“I-I’ve seen fish breathe air and swim in the sky.” She squeezed her eyes tight, riding out her body’s limitations. When she opened them again, a glowing white circle ringed her pupils before dissolving. “I’ve seen birds inhale water and fly in the sea. I’ve seen mice that can suddenly change colours like a chameleon.” She shuddered as if the creatures she’d mentioned had just as much as a miserable existence as I did.
Sucking in the biggest breath as if fearing she’d never take another one, she said, “If Snowflake Corpdidsomehow alter you...like they did with those poor creatures. If I’m not completely crazy and jumping to ridiculous conclusions then...you probably don’t have much time left.”
“What?”
Her words struck a match inside me, setting fire to all my fears.
So Iwasbreaking.
Iwasdying.
