Page 53 of Born Wicked
The room is quiet, resting to the rhythm of the rise and fall of breath and the soft beeps of machinery supporting their organs. And even though no one is awake to see it, I can’t help but grin like a fool when I walk to a cart. I load up the first dose and walk over to my best friend’s side.
“Nap time is over,” I say as I locate a good vein and sink the needle into her. “I’m done pulling all your weight, girl. I have so damn much to tell you.”
Because I’ve decided I’m done holding secrets. I’m done with hiding behind the impossible to believe truths that are my life. I’m telling her, I’m telling Mason everything. As soon as we all get ten minutes of quiet, we’re going to have a big, long talk.
Maybe I should take my time with a singular test subject, but I’m too desperate, too anxious. One by one, I begin injecting the antidote into the vampires, some of whom have been unconscious for two and a half months. There are still two dozen doses left when I get to the last patient.
Sebastian did plenty of damage. But I think he planned for it to be far more effective than it was.
No gifted.
No vampires.
No threat to Juliet.
Those were the words Sebastian wrote down.
He planned to take care of every vampire and every gifted in this city.
The sound of footsteps in the hall drags my eyes to the door. Just then, Sigrid and Malcolm step into view.
“Has something happened?” she asks, her accent even stronger when she’s tired and uncertain.
I bite my lower lip to contain my grin and nod. I snatch up the vial labeled GA and walk toward her. “Sebastian called me just a few minutes before I called you.”
“Oh?” she says, raising a blonde eyebrow. “And what did the bastard have to say?”
My heart is hammering. I’m a mess of complicated emotions right now. Rage. Uncertainty. Hope. Excitement. Defensiveness. I’m a damn mess, and I know I’ll probably fall apart from it all at some point. But for now, I have way too much to take care of.
“He told me where the antidote was,” I say, my words coming out soft and hopeful. I hold up the vial so she and Malcolm can see it. “I just administered it to all of the vampires. I thought you might want to be the first one to test the one for the gifted.”
The breath catches in her throat, and instantly her eyes well. She blinks rapidly, trying to clear them away. But her expression is so hopeful, so disbelieving.
“I believe Sebastian,” I say. And I mean it. “I believe it will do what he says it will.”
“How can you trust him so easily when he did something so evil?” Malcolm asks darkly.
My eyes shift over to his. And I get it. I understand his doubt. What Sebastian did is despicable. “I just know. It all went so sideways, but I still feel it. I know Sebastian. If he says this is the antidote, this is the antidote.”
“Then let’s get to it,” Sigrid says. A hopeful smile is tugging in the corners of her mouth.
I can only imagine how difficult this has been for her. Her gift is part of her identity. It’s also part of her job. The security of this city has taken a hit with the loss of her gift.
I load the dose, and Sigrid takes a seat on a rolling stool. She pulls her sleeve up, and I tap her arm to prime a vessel.
I know I should be more doubtful. I know I should be just a little skeptical. What if Sebastian were lying? What if this was going to kill the vampires and the gifted instantly? He took them out and showed no remorse.
Malcolm is justified in doubting.
Maybe I’m just desperate.
But maybe, even though it all went wrong, I know Sebastian. Even now.
Do no harmmight have been thrown out the window when he tainted the city’s water supply. But murder? I can’t believe he would go so far.
Except when it comes to Roman, who he thought was going after me.
So I’m absolutely confident as I pull the needle from Sigrid’s arm and put a bandage over it.