Chapter Fifty-Four
LUCIEN TURNED MURDEROUS. “WAS THAT something else her parents asked you to monitor? To make sure she never took the necklace off?”
I waited for Dillon to deny it.
For him to remain trustworthy and safe but...
His eyes clouded over as he shifted awkwardly.
“Whisper,” Lucien murmured.
The panther instantly shot to his paws, tail going dart-straight.
Dillon flinched and shot me a guilty look. “I did know you could never take it off. That it was a matter of life or death that you kept it on.”
“Why?” I asked, cutting Lucien off before he could blow the office apart.
“Do you remember about six years ago when you did your typical vanishing act, and I found you in the Maldives?”
I frowned; all my travels were a blur. A never-ending mess of pain and nausea as I searched the world for peace. “Vaguely.” I shrugged. “You were there when I woke one morning, fast asleep on the love seat.”
“I was asleep because for thirty-six hours you wouldn’t wake. I thought you were going to die on me.”
“What? Why?”
Lucien’s death grip on me tightened.
“You were on an island with thirty-five Celsius heat, yet...when I finally found you and knocked on your villa door, the windows were frosted—from the inside.”
Lucien’s heart hitched against my back.
“I showed my credentials at the front desk, they gave me a key, and when I went inside...it looked more like an igloo than a tropical suite.” Shaking his head, his voice turned quiet.
“I’m talking literal walls covered in ice.
The air so dry and cold, it threatened to stick my lungs together.
And there you were, completely blue and not moving on the floor. I honestly thought you were dead.”
Lucien’s arm slid fully around my waist, anchoring me tight.
Why didn’t I remember this?
“I carried you out,” Dillon continued. “You were so cold, you gave me frostbite. Luckily, everyone was asleep and I carried you straight into the sea. The ocean was at least twenty-five degrees Celsius, but even that couldn’t thaw you.
” He sniffed. “And then I noticed your necklace was missing and I remembered your mother telling me that you must never take it off. She never told me why, but...she was so insistent about it, she even wrote it into my contract.”
Lucien’s voice was low and dangerous. “What happened next?”
“I took her back inside and found the chain had snagged on the dress she’d been in the process of removing.
The raindrop charm was under the bed.” Catching my eyes, he spoke to me, “I tried placing it on you without the chain and it did help. But the moment you started to come round, you’d roll over, knock it off, and start freezing all over again.
I went to the hotel gift shop the second it opened and bought the strongest silver necklace they had.
I fastened it back into place, waited almost an entire day for you to rouse, then passed out. When I woke, you were already gone.”
“I...I had no idea,” I whispered. “I don’t remember any of that.”
“Why would you?” Dillon said softly. “You were unconscious. And it’s not like I wanted to tell you. You didn’t seem to know what would happen if you stopped wearing that charm.”
“So that’s why you don’t seem shocked about all of this,” Lucien muttered. “You’ve already seen what she can do.”
“Seen, yes. But I’m not comfortable.” Looking around as if afraid the walls had ears, he lowered his voice.
“I...might’ve seen a few things in the labs when Rook was younger.
Heard stories from other guards who didn’t last long after asking questions.
Like I said, you don’t mess with what you don’t know and the less I knew the better. ”
Lucien stared at him for a long time.
It grew awkward again and Whisper got up to prowl around Dillon’s chair.
“So you put the necklace back on her,” Lucien said coldly. “You sound quite proud about that fact.”
“Proud? No. I was just grateful I was able to help her.”
“But what if you didn’t?” Lucien needled. “What if you condemned her to yet more pain, nausea, and blackouts?”
“How could that be?” Genuine unhappiness filled Dillon’s face. “What’s he on about, Rook?”
I sighed with a wince. “It’s fine, Dil. I didn’t even know it myself until recently.”
“Know what?”
“That her necklace was the reason she was so sick,” Lucien so helpfully advised. “It wasn’t whatever disorder she called it—it was the pendant and some sort of frequency keeping her trapped. Her emotions became weapons against her.”
“But...when I found her that night, she was on the brink of death.” Dillon frowned. “She was hardly breathing. The necklace saved her.”
“Oh God,” I gasped. “That...actually makes sense.”
“How?” Dillon asked. “What makes sense?”
“It didn’t save me, it...” I gulped, my mind racing with the past. “It might’ve been prolonging my death for as long as possible.”
Everything suddenly made horrific sense. Lucien’s vitalsync core, my necklace. Yes, they were traps but...without them, we would’ve been dead years ago.
Dillon stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“My parents’ experiments.” I dug through foggy memories, fighting to see if I was right.
“The only animals that lasted any length of time were the ones they blocked from ascending, remember? They wore a frequency collar to stop the effects from accelerating too fast. It...stopped their bodies from breaking down.”
My heart sprinted as I turned to look at Lucien.
“Remember what I told you? That the lab animals always died on the brink of evolution? What if that was us? What if the frequency wasn’t just designed to trap us but to hold us in stasis?
You almost died when you reached critical level in the cave on your own.
I almost died when I wasn’t wearing my necklace.
But together...we were okay. We pulled through.
What if we’re the reason we were able to survive the transition? ”
Dillon squeezed the back of his nape. “See? This is why I don’t want to know. This is way above my paygrade.”
Lucien and I ignored him. “Could that be possible?” His eyes flared wide. “Are you saying if you hadn’t been with me when I defibbed the vitalsync core, I would’ve died when I burned up the first time?”
“Every single one of the animals my parents tested on never survived. Biological matter can’t withstand the kind of rewrite they were trying to achieve.”
Lucien’s fingers tightened on my hip. “Rewrite?”
“Cells aren’t built to last forever. They’re meant to replicate and decay.
They’re literally programmed to die so new cells can take their place.
” My throat tightened, remembering my mother’s teachings.
“The fire inside you killed off the old cells in order to take their place but...human organs can’t cope with that level of power. The body goes into systemic collapse.”
“This is all based on the theory that we were tampered with.”
I sagged a little. “It is. But...it’s kind of proven now.”
“But if we helped each other...” Lucien frowned. “What does that mean?”
“No idea.” I exhaled heavily. “It’s all guesswork. I’m just...thinking aloud.”
“Well, think louder.” Lucien didn’t blink. “Are you telling me we’ll die if we don’t have the other? Are we locked in some sort of curse that only functions if we’re together?”
“I...” Had no reply to that. Another question made me sit straight as an arrow. “Dil...have you ever heard of the R gene? Have you ever read a file that might suggest my parents had something to do with Lucien...as well as me? Any paperwork with the name Ashfall or Furnace Heart?”
Dillon frowned. “I don’t think so.”
My shoulders deflated.
“Actually...”
I winced. “Actually?”
“Now that you mention it...I might have heard the name Ashfall at some point.”
Lucien went absolutely, lethally still.
I waited for him to lose it, but...he merely swallowed hard and changed the subject. “Tell me, Dillon. Knowing what you do now—knowing that the necklace is the reason Rook spent her entire life in misery...would you put the pendant back on her?”
“What sort of question is that?” Dillon glowered. “Of course I wouldn’t if it hurt her, but...if what you just said is true and it was the only thing keeping her alive...what choice did I have?”
“And if I’m the one keeping her alive now...will you try to take her away from me?”
Dillon eyed us before shaking his head. “No. If she’s happy and safe and no longer in pain, then I’m happy for her. I don’t need to know anything else.”
“If Snowflake Corp orders you to bring her back—if they command you to sedate her and drag her back in chains, what would you do?”
“Okay, now you’re just getting on my nerves.” Dillon sat taller. “As far as I’m concerned Rook is Snowflake Corp. She’s in charge. I’m loyal only to her. And she wouldn’t exactly order me to hurt herself now, would she?”
“What if governments find out? What if people in very high places try to harm her...then what?”
“Then I guess I’ll be very unpopular in multiple countries.”
“You’re prepared to die to protect her?”
“I was prepared to do that well before she met you, you asshole.”
“Fine.” Grabbing me in his strong arms, Lucien suddenly swooped to his feet.
I squeaked as his hands deliberately skated over my body before placing me carefully on my feet.
“You can sleep in the study. I’ll have Auntie Mei find you a free pavilion tomorrow.
” Pointing in Dillon’s face, he added, “I don’t like you.
I don’t trust you, but you can stay.” Snatching my hand, his skin burned volcanically hot.
“Do your job and protect her. But for tonight, do not leave this room.”
“Fine.” Dillon settled deeper in the chair. Reaching into one of his many jacket pockets, he pulled out a granola bar. “After the past few days I’ve had, sitting still is a luxury.”
Lucien tugged me toward the door. “Come with me.”
“Wait.” I tried slamming on the brakes. “I can’t just leave him. He needs a blanket, pyjamas—”
“Do you want me to throw you over my shoulder? Because I will.”
“Oh.” I stopped fighting.
He dragged me back to his room so fast, it almost felt as if he summoned those smoky wings and flew.