Page 26 of Awakened Gifts
I don’t know why I’m following, but I’m running before I can stop myself, listening as she speaks to the scientist.
“I’m going to need your help. Just listen in,” she finishes telling Simone, who falls instep behind her.
Aria disappears around a corner, and I start finding it impossible to keep up, no matter how fast I run. Even Simone loses her. Christ, is she getting faster? How?
ARIA
“Jase, don’t!” I yell as soon as I walk into the interrogation room.
Captain Fricks is barely alive, and Jase’s eyes are almost terrifying as he holds fire around his fist, ready to deliver the last blow.
“We don’t need him, and he tortured you. I can’t let that go, Aria. I can’t.”
I run over, grab his arm, and start pulling him back. He’s suddenly a lot harder to budge. I suppose fury turns into determination and adds strength.
“He didn’t torture me. Hedin did. Fricks had his reasons, and we do need him. Don’t. Just let me deal with this.”
Jase whips his head toward me, his eyes pulsing but not dilating. Shit. He’s close to starting the descent into his savage.
“He wants to speak to you, and he fucking thinks I’ll let him. He took you and tortured you.”
His words are starting to slur, and I cast a panicked look toward my mother who is already drawing out a vial of olophine and heading toward us. Damn. I’ve never seen Jase this close to losing it.
“Sorry, Commander, but this is not the time,” Mom says, barely containing her own anger as she comes to inject him.
“Don’t,” he cautions quietly, but the threat can clearly be heard in his tone.
Shit. He’s already on decline.
“If you don’t let me, then your savage will call to your counter,” Mom says gently, trying not to stir him up.
He blinks rapidly, staring at the man on the floor who won’t give him the satisfaction of a wince, and the fire vanishes from his fist.
Great. Now Fricks will need blood to heal.
“Just give me the damn vial. I can do it myself,” Jase growls, shrugging her off before she can give him the meds.
He takes the vial from her and breaks the top off before biting his wrist. After he takes a mouthful and blows it into his veins, he stalks to the corner to brood.
Mom and I exchange a look of relief, and then I turn my attention back to the traitor. As twisted as it sounds, I actually understand why he’s done all he has. If the tables were turned and I was in his shoes and Jase was the one stuck in suspended animation… It’s all so fucked up.
Our lives are just one big cluster fuck and we can’t purge all the madness from it. Underneath the layers of flesh, we’re all base creatures with similar animalistic instincts. I’m a thread’s breadth away from insanity even with Jase here and healthy.
“We need blood,” I say to Jase, hoping he goes.
“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving this room before you do,” he says, his eyes burning through Fricks.
“I’ll get it,” Mom says on a sigh. “For the record, I’m not too happy about him living either. You’d better have a good reason for all this trouble.”
She has no idea.
Uncle Brazen walks in before she can leave, and he coldly passes by her without so much as a glance on his way to me. He’s carrying packages of blood, his jaw is tense, and Mom’s eyes water as he continues to ignore her.
What’s going on?
“Here,” he says, handing the fallen captain the blood, and then he stalks back out without so much as an accidental look to spare my mother.
She tightens her lips and moves to the far corner, doing all she can not to focus on her husband right now. They’re usually too touchy and it’s disgusting. They never fight unless it’s playful.