Page 32 of Florescentia

My face formed according to my reference, taking great care to not plagiarize completely. Constructing new skin was harder than it seemed; you forgot things, mixed them with other beings, learning new body language and stature.

I formed a small mouth, a tongue, flat teeth. I ran my tongue over them, straight and smooth instead of jagged and built for prey. I would soon form a taste for words. Their native speech was lost on me, but luckily, I had a plethora of books at my disposal.

On the floor, scattered paper items from the commotion of last night. Some of the windows were cracked and shattered, pieces of glass and little photographs pushed along by whispers of wind. My knees and elbows cracked as I knelt down, pinching a photograph in my claw.

Another portrait of the Iris, my shadow encapsulating her in the background.

My hand shrank, turning pale. My claws shortened until they were trimmed nails. The skin formed and affixed itself to my limb.

Clever girl, your work is far from done.

Chapter Ten

The Nova

Where was it? It had to be here.

Files, papers, notebooks, and records—but I couldn’t find my lab book and patent proposal.

“Lucia—”

“Not now.” I swatted my hand in the air to shoo him away.

“I’m not leaving you to raid my desk like a madwoman.” Maxim hovered over me.

“It has to be here. It has to.”

“What are you rambling on about?”

“My papers!” I raised my voice, slapping a stack of paper onto the floor before turning to him. “The last place I saw them was here.”

“Are you insinuating I stole them?” He raised a brow, leaning on the desk. “If I remember correctly, you tend to be the thief here.”

“Borrowing, consensually, is not stealing.”

“What about borrowing coercively?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have time for jokes.”

“Maybe you should be focusing on the arrangements—”

“Don’t.”

“I only mean to keep you focused—”

“I am focused.”

“On more important tasks, I meant,” he said. “It’s a matter that is time dependent.”

“All tasks are—”

“Lucia!” he snapped. “This is not something you can ignore, if you want him to be laid to rest in any respectable manner.”

I swallowed hard. My throat was both somehow swollen and also dry, my voice now croaking when I spoke. Like any sort of talking was an immense labor pressed upon me, required of me.

Maxim knelt down, lowering his head even farther to catch a glimpse of my eyes. “I know this is not what you want. No one wants this. But preparations must be made.” He took a deep sigh and started to collect some of the papers on the floor. “As always, I’m here for you. Lean on me if you must. Even if I am your baby brother, you don’t have to be the one with the heaviest shoulders. Not alone. Never alone.”

I could afford to give him only a sideways glance before a silent deal was struck with a nod of my head, then an acceptant smile from him.