Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
Predictably, Dani’s one last date method had backfired on her: The idea of ruining what she and Kass had was even more painful than it had been before.
That night, she’d let him walk her home, kiss her sweetly on the sidewalk, and say see you soon.
Then she’d dissolved yet again into tears on the other side of the door.
Once her crying had subsided, she’d nestled her favorite tarot deck safely inside the box he’d made for her and traced the cursive carved into the side.
You are worth a dream.
She didn’t feel worth a dream in that moment. She just felt like a piece of shit.
So when she didn’t see or hear from Kass for the next few days, it seemed like a reprieve, though in truth it was more of a stay of execution than anything else.
Dani kept an eye on her inbox, not knowing whether to wish to see a note from him or not.
On Thursday evening, though, Silva pinged the group, asking them to meet in the dream lab the next morning.
That night, Dani lay awake in bed, wondering if she should go tomorrow and tell Silva she quit.
Was that the honorable thing to do? She couldn’t seem to find the answer to that question.
She’d had good reasons for joining the team in the first place, and she had good reasons for staying.
If she walked away now, she’d be deserting Oliver.
Even if the charm and the decoctions they’d made seemed to be helping, the only way to permanently stop the effects of the product was to find out exactly what was in the formula.
And giving up on that mission would be worse than betraying Kass … right?
She didn’t know. And she still didn’t know when she arrived at the dream lab with McKenna two minutes before eleven the following morning.
Katya was already there, talking quietly with Silva behind the teacher’s desk.
The pair barely registered the girls’ arrival, too ensconced in whatever Katya was showing Silva on her quartzpad.
Wyatt wasn’t far behind, trundling in with a lot of grumbling about how he had to skip one of his classes to be here, and by eleven o’clock on the dot, they were only waiting on Oliver.
“We’ll give Mx. Izumi a few minutes before we get started,” Silva said.
Ten minutes later, though, Oliver still hadn’t turned up. Dani and McKenna glanced at each other nervously. For anyone else, being ten minutes late wouldn’t mean much, but ever since the incident in Oliver’s dorm, they couldn’t help but worry.
“Maybe I should go check on them?” Dani suggested, and Silva nodded, concern reflected in her own eyes.
“If they don’t come in the next few minutes, I—”
Just then, the door to the dream lab opened, and Oliver stumbled in—but their arrival did nothing to assuage Dani’s worry.
Exhaustion pulled on them like a sinister gravity, slumping their shoulders and swaying them on their feet.
They were wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, like they hadn’t changed before they’d left their dorm, and it seemed a great effort to turn their head as they looked around the room.
Dani caught their gaze and was relieved to see their pupils at a normal size—they were awake, at least.
“Oh my gods,” McKenna said, jumping up from her cot and going over to steady Oliver by the arm. “Are you all right? What happened?”
“The charm,” Oliver said. “It broke last night.” They let McKenna guide them over to a free cot and sank onto it gratefully. Silva came around to sit next to them, placing a hand on their shoulder.
“How did it break?” she asked gravely.
“It pretty much exploded,” Oliver said. “Like it suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. And once it shattered, everything it was holding back came over me all at once. Sadie had to wake me again, which is why I’m late. Thank Amaterasu she was able to.”
“What about your decoctions?” Dani asked.
Oliver pursed their lips. “I think—I think my body’s getting used to them, so their potency is wearing off, especially without the aid of the charm.”
“Oliver,” McKenna said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t want anyone worrying about me,” they said, looking down at their lap. “Plus, I think the graft I have growing could be really effective, it’s just not mature enough yet.”
“Well,” Silva said, before anyone could chastise Oliver for keeping this to themself, “I’m sorry that happened.
If you stay after the meeting, we can enchant another charm—I’ll add something to protect against destruction this time.
But please alert me the moment you notice any changes, va bene?
” Oliver nodded sheepishly, and Silva sighed.
“If only I could do the same for everyone else going through this.”
“I actually ran into someone who’d done the trial the other day,” Wyatt said. “They looked pretty rough, though not this rough, to be fair. I obviously didn’t say anything to them about all this, but damn. It made me glad we’re doing something about it.”
“Once we have the formula, we won’t need to rely on such flimsy charms,” Silva said in an encouraging tone. “We’ll be able to create an antidote that will cure anyone affected by OneiroLabs’s negligence.”
Dani swallowed, forcing her heart back down from her throat, as she made up her mind: She couldn’t quit. Seeing Oliver in such a state reminded her how much more important all this was, far more important than having a crush on a cute boy. How could she leave when there was so much at stake?
A small part of her brain reminded her that what she felt toward Kass was more than a crush. But it didn’t matter what it was. She had to help Oliver. And who knew how many others.
“But once we have the antidote—what then?” McKenna asked. “What’s to stop OneiroLabs from going full steam ahead with the product?”
“Nothing,” Silva said. “Stealing the formula won’t stop them, of course. But the organization I work for plans to expose what they’re doing to the world. It will be easier once we have the formula, so we can show it isn’t safe to consume. You all don’t need to worry about the aftermath.”
Thank Hecate for that, Dani thought. There was only so much more responsibility she could take.
“For now, though,” Silva said, rising from the cot and returning to her station behind the desk, “we need to discuss the plan moving forward. Despite a brief hiccup”—she gave Wyatt a loaded look—“we are back on track. Miss Novak has done excellent work in obtaining extensive access to the security systems at OneiroLabs, and she’s figured out how to activate the override to the hydroponics lab.
This piece of good news means that all that remains to us is to organize and execute the final thrust of our plan.
“I still believe the evening of the gala is our best opportunity,” Silva continued. “Both the CEO of OneiroLabs and Dr. Rodriguez will be in attendance here on campus, so they will be occupied by the event.”
Katya, who was still standing next to Silva at the front of the room, cut in.
“Once we activate the override into the lab, security will know. We’ll essentially be racing against the clock, so we need to buy all the time we can.
I’ll be able to jam the door to the lab, which will give us some wiggle room, but we’ll still be on a pretty tight countdown. ”
“To that end, we need to time this operation just right,” Silva added. “Our plan is to activate the override precisely when OneiroLabs is making its presentation at the gala. That way, their key players won’t be alerted to what’s going on until after they get off the stage.”
“How will we know when they go on?” Wyatt asked.
“Excellent question. We will be splitting into two teams on that night,” Silva said. “Mr. Shalhope, you and Mx. Izumi will be infiltrating OneiroLabs itself—disguised by Miss Amari’s glamours, of course. Miss Novak will be guiding you from the van outside the building.”
“I can go by myself,” Wyatt said, glancing at Oliver. “If I need to fly solo, it’s—”
“Absolutely not,” Silva said firmly. “You’ve already proven you can’t be trusted even on a supervised mission, much less an unsupervised one.
Besides, Mx. Izumi’s knowledge of arcanobotany may be critical in locating the formula or potential ingredients.
You’ll port directly to the twentieth floor, get inside the lab when Miss Novak hits the override, and port out again once you’ve secured the formula. ”
“Do you really think Oliver can handle it?” Wyatt asked. “What if the new charm you guys make doesn’t work, or it blows up again? I don’t need a liability while we’re there.”
“Wyatt,” McKenna warned.
“What?” he asked. “I’m not trying to be a jerk here—just realistic.”
“No, he’s right,” Oliver said wearily. “As long as we can get another charm working, I think I’ll be able to handle it—but after last night, I feel like I can’t predict what’s going to happen.”
“I hear you both,” Professor Silva said, “and I understand the concern. If Mx. Izumi doesn’t feel up to joining the mission on the day of, we’ll reassess the possibility of Mr. Shalhope operating solo, with Mx.
Izumi contributing remotely alongside Miss Novak.
Either way, while the three of you are at OneiroLabs, Miss Lionet, Miss Amari, and I will be attending the gala.
I was already on the guest list, and I managed to secure two additional invitations under your names. ”
“What?” McKenna said with delight. “We get to go to the gala?”
More like have to, Dani thought, though it did sound better than being on the other team.