Page 133 of The Midnight Order
I sigh. “Will you not be hardheaded for once?”
Rolling his eyes, he takes a seat in his chair. I lean against his desk, making sure our legs touch. Having some point of contact between us will keep me sane.
Keep me strong.
“The drugs were in the pumpkin syrup. Karen didn’t do it that much, I know. What we don’t know is who did it.”
“The syrup…” The cogs in his eyes turn, and they’re nearly visible to me as I watch his glorious brain work through the problem. “She’s been drinking that since she got to town, hasn’tshe? She told Jasper as much… Fuck, has she been drugged this entire time?”
“We don’t know.”
“Goddamnit!” Standing, he lifts his chair and tosses it across the room. Beakers shatter to the floor, their contents fizzling on the linoleum. “I knew it was all too good to be true!”
Usually, he’s the smarter of us, the one that can remain level-headed through all the bullshit.
But when it comes to his heart and his feelings, he’s more untamed and feral.
“Hey!” I grab him by the shoulders, turning him toward me. “We don’t knowwhenthe syrup was dosed. Until we know more and re-test, we need to keep our heads.”
His answering smirk breaks through the rage in the room. “And you’re the one thinking clearly now?”
“I had my meltdown already, thank you very much.”
He laughs and shakes his head, and I know he’s back in reality with me.
“Wait, re-test?” he asks, finally catching on to what I said.
“Jasper wants you to test all of our blood to ensure we’re clean of drugs, and then he wants to re-test Silver. Start fresh.”
“Fuck’s sake.” He scrubs his face as he turns away from me. “And if she doesn’t want to? She could hear this news and run away from us. She’s going to think that it’s the drugs that have had her acting out of her norm, Ash.”
“Well, then we?—”
“I’ll re-test.”
We both turn to look as Silver’s voice of reason breaks through the room. She steps closer, her eyes clearer than when I saw her earlier in the shower.
“Jasper just told me what you guys found. I’ll re-test. I need to know.” Her voice wavers, and the urge to go to her is intense.
Being one of us who should have none of her blood in my body at this point, I see that as a good sign that she is the key. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, however, so I keep my mouth shut.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Jasper says, stepping into the lab behind her. “Not this time.”
Silver looks between us, waiting for any disagreement.
When she doesn’t find any, she bites her lower lip. “I start with Corvin again?”
Corvin clears his throat. “We’ll give the drugs some time to exit your system, and then I’ll test us all to ensure we’re all drug-free. Until then, you should probably…”
“Go home,” I finish for him. Silver’s eyes flicker with sadness. “You’re safer there while all of us get this shit out of our system. Plus, you won’t be alone.”
She smiles a bit serenely. “Lowell will be watching.”
I nod. “He will be.”
“I’ll walk you,” Jasper says, touching her shoulder.
“What about my bloodwork? What about my being a Tenebris? That’s real, right?” she asks, grasping at straws. Her eyes plead with Corvin to confirm or deny, and I hear his stuttering breath as he tries to find the words.
