Page 40 of Veradel
“Peace,” a warm, familiar voice floats out from behind everyone, and a sense of calm washes over me. The pack parts down the middle, allowing my mother to walk through.
“You’ve challenged my son dozens of times before now, Gabriel,” she says, not even deigning to glance in his direction as she wafts past him, “and you’ve always lost. Your chances of winning this time are even slimmer now that he’s fueled by something else entirely.”
My mother’s eyes shift to Saskia, and soft wrinkles sprout around them as she smiles. “Hello, dear.”
“Hello,” Saskia whispers beside me, although I feel her body relax ever so slightly, and my own heartbeat steadies as Gabriel pulls his face into a literal pout.
“I believe you had something you wanted to tell us,” my mother tells Saskia encouragingly, “before all these puppies started squabbling.”
Merrick and Soren smirk. Gabriel and Kyra look ashamed. Taika’s mouth twitches.
“Y-yes.” Saskia clears her throat. “I just…” she starts, louder this time. “I might know of a way to try to bring down the Wall.” At that, she has their full attention—and mine. “Would that prove my loyalty?”
No one dares make a sound… until Gabriel pipes up with a sarcastic quip. “Go on, then. How do you suggest accomplishing what we’ve been trying to do for centuries?”
“You all make special antibodies,” Saskia says before I can decide whether to rip his head off or not, “when you’re bitten because you’re immune—unlike humans. And Lucan has been trying to climb the Wall for decades, coming into contact with it again and again, but not in high enough doses. And then today…”
Taika’s eyes widen. “An antivenom,” he whispers. “That’s genius, Saskia.”
“An antivenom?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
They’re on the same page, but a chapter ahead of everyone else. A chapter ahead ofme.
Saskia nods, smiling. “If we can use the antibodies in your blood to make an antidote, then it should counteract the venom laced in the Wall.”
“And turn it back into wood?” I breathe, shocked that even such a thing is possible. If the Wall became wood again, I’d be able to splinter through it in a heartbeat.
“Yes. That might actually work,” Taika confirms. But his eyes go from a blazing yellow to a dull burn, his shoulders falling. “Though, I don’t have a centrifuge, Saskia, among other things we would need.”
“A centri-what?” I ask immediately.
“A centrifuge,” Saskia repeats, her eyes trained on Taika as she worries at her lip with her new fangs. “It’s a little machine that separates substances based on their density. We’d need one to filter out the plasma.” There’s a short pause where Saskia’s shoulders tense. “I know exactly where we can get one, though.”
For a moment, the pack and I glance between Saskia and Taika as they exchange a significant look…
And then understanding punches me in the throat.
“Fuck no. Don’t even think about it, little nightmare.”
Saskia still refuses to look at me. “There’s a centrifuge in the Healing Center in Xantera. I know exactly where it is, and now that I’m a vampire with all this strength, I’d be able to climb back over the Wall to retrieve it.”Finally, she turns and lowers her voice. “It’s the only way to prove I’m on your side.”
Fury bubbles in my chest at the pleading expression on her face. “You don’t need to prove shit.”
She shakes her head. “Not to you, but to them.”
The pack doesn’t dare speak. All of their eyes are trained on the two of us, not wanting to miss a millisecond of how this plays out. My mother observes the both of us with sharp understanding brewing in her eyes.
I change tactics. “Can’t I just… stir the potion really fast?”
Saskia folds her lips in, trying so hard not to laugh in my face. “It’s not a potion, Lucan. It’s an antivenom. And no.”
“Ithought it was a valid question,” Soren pipes up.
Taika shakes his head. “We’re fast, but not plasma-separating machine fast.”
Saskia nods, her now serious stare darkening. “Lucan, it’s the only way.”
I sway on my feet. Saskia wants to go back into her cage to unlock it for everyone else, but how can I ever be okay with that? She might be our salvation, but who’s going to save her?
