Hotbloods 5: Traitors

He no longer sat with us during executions, since Sarrask had taken his place. By all accounts, Jareth had switched the title of primary caregiver to Sarrask, so he could be exempt from the weekly proceedings.

Ronad wasn’t faring very well either, with being confined in the Idrax house, under Sarrask’s constant scrutiny. If I’d thought he hated Kaido, that resentment was nothing compared to the ongoing feud between him and our new security guard. Sarrask continued to wear the bracelet that had once belonged to Naya, and Ronad continued to snap at him for it. From time to time, I wanted to bump their heads together, to make them see that they both missed the same person—they shared common ground, and a common loss. What should have bound them together had, instead, separated them.

In fact, I was just about ready to scream in exasperation, sick of seeing the same people and listening to the same quarrels, when a visitor came to the Idrax house. Seraphina had come for Lorela, to see how her health was doing, but it was Seraphina’s health I worried about. She looked despondent and even thinner than she had at the convocation, her cheeks sunken. Her engagement to Aurelius was taking its toll on her.

“How are you?” I asked, walking her up to Lorela’s room. It was a stupid question, but I couldn’t stop it coming out of my mouth.

She smiled sadly. “I’ve been better.”

The hope had gone from her almost-red eyes, and I wanted so badly to offer her good news. As much as it pained me to think about it, I wanted to tell her that I’d asked Navan to marry her. I wanted to give her a glimmer of hope, even though the video feed had cut out before I’d had the chance to explain it all to him. Then again, if I did tell her that little white lie, I knew it might hurt more to have those hopes dashed if Navan didn’t get here in time, or he refused to go through with it.

“Why don’t you just run away from it all?” I took hold of Seraphina’s thin arm and pulled her into a nearby doorway. “You can head for the border, or take a ship and get the hell out of here.”

Seraphina shook her head. “I can’t leave Vysanthe during such turbulent times. If I only had myself to worry about, perhaps I would, but I can’t leave the children. My students barely understand what’s going on, and they rely on me for answers,” she explained solemnly. “If a bomb hit the elementary school and I wasn’t there to trigger the emergency shelters because I’d run away, I could never forgive myself.”

“Surely, someone else would do that for you,” I insisted.

“It is my duty to ensure the education of our future generations. I want them to be better educated than all those who have come before, so we never end up in this situation again,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I have come to accept my fate, in the hopes that one of my students will change the future, so this kind of thing—war, and arranged marriages, and all the terrible things that our homeland holds on to as a matter of perceived right—is never permitted to happen again.”

There was something magnetic in the way Seraphina spoke; it was impossible to look away from her. She was fiercely intelligent and had more integrity in her little finger than either of the queens currently blowing each other to smithereens. I had no doubt that, if some young coldblood had her as their teacher, they could very well end up ruling the country, and be far better at it than any who had come before.

“I’m just sorry I can’t do more,” I murmured, dropping my gaze. If I’d just told Navan earlier, then I might have been able to change things.

She rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’ve done all you can, Riley. It will be an unpleasant journey, but I will survive.”

I put my arms around her, pulling her into a friendly hug. For a moment, I thought she was just going to stand there, leaving me feeling like an idiot, but then she let her arms copy the motion, squeezing me tightly.

“I’m sorry this is happening to you,” I whispered.

As she pulled away, she looked into my eyes. “If it wasn’t me, it would be someone else.” She sighed. “Now, I’d better go and see Lorela before my time is up and I have to head back into the city.”

I let her leave, wishing I had the courage to tell her the truth. I felt terrible, having her look at me with such understanding, when I was the one who’d sealed her fate. Trying to shuffle off the guilty feelings, I turned around and made my way back downstairs, determined to reach the basement. I had to find out where Navan was. Maybe there was still time to fix this.

Creeping down to the bottom step, I scanned the entrance hall and peered around the corner of the hallway into the kitchen. Ronad was sitting at the island, with Sarrask padding around the room, lifting a glittering cluster of crystals to the light. This was my chance!

I darted down the hallway, running past the kitchen doorway with the stealth of a ninja before hurtling down the labyrinth of corridors that led to the basement. Unless Sarrask was some kind of wizard, there was no way he could stop me this time.

Rounding the last corner that led to the basement steps, I almost swore out loud as I barreled into Kaido. His papers went flying, cascading around us like confetti. Knowing I’d only upset him if I yelled, the way I wanted to, I bit my tongue to keep silent, feeling the rush of metallic blood in my mouth.

“Riley!” he squeaked.

“Sorry, I was just having a morning run,” I lied.

“Perhaps you should wear bells so people might know when you’re coming.” Kaido ducked down to retrieve his papers, and I sank to my haunches, helping him gather them.

“Hey, you never did come and get me to try out another experiment,” I said, handing him the last fallen sheet.

He looked at me blankly. “Yes, I asked you to participate, didn’t I? Would you be interested in assisting me now, or are you in the middle of an exercise regime? I would hate to disturb your metabolic flow.”

There’s the Kaido I know and like, I thought to myself, pleased we were on friendly terms again.

“Actually, you bumped into me at the perfect time. I was just on my final sprint. So, if you’ve got the time, I’ve got the time.”

“Actually Riley, it was you who bumped into me,” he remarked firmly. “Regardless, if you would follow me, we can get our investigation underway.” With that, he strode off down the hallway, with me in tow.

Ten minutes later, I was strapped into the weird chair with nodes taped against my temples, the tiny needles biting into my skin. Kaido was harping on about side effects and safety measures, but I was too distracted by the glowing plants pulsing away in their tanks. There was something oddly soothing about the way they glowed, like watching a lava lamp before going to sleep.

“Now, if you would just relax, I will inject the serum into your system,” he said suddenly. My attention snapped to the large needle in his hand. A luminescent green liquid radiated in the syringe, making my pulse quicken.

“I’m not going to turn into the Hulk, am I?”

“I am not familiar with this person, though I have never heard of a serum that can transform one person into another, with such specificity,” Kaido mused. “I think you will be fine.”

Feeling anything but relaxed, I sat still in the chair, feeling the prick of the needle as it went into my skin. I couldn’t watch as he pushed down on the plunger, but I could feel something strange running through my veins, as his latest concoction entered my bloodstream.