Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

She only calmed when Bashrik entered, ten minutes later. Her eyes darted straight to him, his eyes already on her. In any other situation, it would have been a sweet sight, making me wonder when the pair of them were going to resume their garden party antics, but right now I just wanted Angie to calm down. Her fear was infectious, and it wasn’t what we needed.

Bashrik took her to one side, speaking in a low voice, while the rest of us paced the room. I tried to eat some of the fruit that Lauren had put out, but my appetite had vanished. I kept wondering if last night had dulled my senses, making me oblivious to the severity of the situation. I had presumed it would all be okay, but then, I was basking in the glow of newly discovered passion. Of course I thought everything was going to be okay. It was a truth, universally known, that new lovers thought themselves invincible.

“Do you think it’ll work?” I asked Navan quietly.

He gave a light shrug. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t. Even with synthesized blood, they’ll have a long way to go before they crack the code of the elixir. My father always said that experiments mean years of trial and error. I find it hard to believe that they have the right mix already,” he replied, though it didn’t really calm my nerves.

“But Queen Brisha has something nobody else has,” I reminded him, recalling Yorrek’s personal scribblings on the subject. “She has Yorrek and his book of near-successes. Surely, that must narrow down the options a bit?”

A worried frown crossed Navan’s brow. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said, but the confidence had gone from his voice.

At half past seven, we left the palace together as a quintet and made our way toward the site of the new alchemy lab. Bashrik and Angie led the way, and the rest of us followed close behind. The streets were surprisingly empty, with only a few passersby wishing us a good morning.

With ten minutes to spare, we arrived at the alchemy lab. My eyes drank in the majesty of it. It really was impressive, the glass elements glinting in the morning sunshine, looking like a waterfall frozen in time. Pandora was waiting for us on the steps, though there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. Perhaps the crowds would come later, at the official unveiling. Even so, I doubted the legitimacy of this meeting. After all, it had been Pandora who’d sent the message, not Queen Brisha herself. Was this some sort of ruse to get us where she wanted us? Had we said too much to Brisha? Had Orion decided he no longer needed us? Or was I just being paranoid, spurred on by the anxiety of my friends?

Probably.

“Welcome,” Pandora said coolly as we approached. Holding the door open for us, she ushered us into the building beyond before bringing up the rear, the door shutting with a very final slam.

We paused in the central atrium, staring up at the dynamic skylight Bashrik had implemented, the intricate glasswork casting a rippling ocean of blue light downward to greet us. It was stunning, the radiance moving in an almost liquid manner across the ground, the light dancing off the neighboring windows in a spectacular show of rainbow refraction. Meanwhile, Pandora walked past us, her boots echoing on the sleek floor. As she reached the door on the opposite side of the atrium, she turned, barking at us to follow her.

Drawing our eyes away from the pretty lights, we hurried after her, traipsing down a long, beautifully decorated hallway, the windows looking out on the city. I kept my gaze on the now-familiar buildings and skyscape, allowing it to ground me while keeping my thoughts away from what was to come. Whatever the conclusion, we would figure something out. We always did. Surely, our luck hadn’t run out yet?

We arrived at a large circular auditorium with raked seating, a prominent stage and a vast screen behind it. Queen Brisha was standing on the stage, an excited grin upon her face. She was certainly dressed for the occasion, looking like the Vysanthean version of an eccentric college professor, clad in a checkered gray pantsuit, her hair tied up in a bun.

“Welcome!” she announced. “Please, sit in the first row!”

She hurried across the stage and brought out five coldbloods, a mix of men and women. Behind them, two male coldbloods and one female followed, their lab coats singling them out as alchemists. Yorrek was notably absent, which surprised me somewhat, though he was probably still locked away in his cottage after the events of the garden party. Even with the Elysium in his system, he’d have known something was up. He, more than anyone, would know the peculiar effects of a mind-wiping serum.

We sat down tentatively in the front row of chairs, though it felt strange with the other seats empty behind us and to the sides of us. This really was a private ceremony.

“Good morning,” Queen Brisha continued, resuming her spot in the center of the stage, while the test subjects lined up behind her and the alchemists stood awkwardly to one side. “I am so delighted you could make it on this momentous occasion. After all, none of this could have been possible without the generous donations that you gave to us.” She smiled, her eyes seeking out me, Angie, and Lauren. We smiled back politely, though it wasn’t like she’d given us much choice.

Before anyone could say a word, she continued, pacing across the stage as she spoke. “Here, we have five test subjects, who will be given the first batch of immortality elixir that has just come out of our laboratory this morning. Once it is in their systems, our alchemists are going to run tests on the cells to see if there is any change,” she explained, gesturing at the corresponding individuals. I had to admit, the test subjects looked even more nervous than we did.

I faced forward, not daring to look at the others on either side of me. On my right sat Navan, while on my left sat Angie, and I could feel the animosity rippling off them both. I understood it completely. After all, if this elixir worked, would the queen then want regular samples of our blood to make more? It seemed like the only rational thing to do, if it was a success. A shiver of dread shot up my spine as another thought crept into my head: what if she wanted all of our blood? I mean, would she ever truly be satisfied with a small amount? If there was a chance she could offer her elixir to every single coldblood in the North, surely she would take actions against us, to make us take her to Earth, where she could harvest every drop she needed.

I gulped, reaching out to take Navan’s hand. To my left, I noticed Angie doing the same to Bashrik, though she was careful to keep the movement from Brisha’s watchful eye. I almost felt sorry for Lauren, who was sitting on Navan’s other side. She had no one’s hand to hold, and yet she seemed to be the calmest out of all of us. Her face was oddly a picture of serenity, not a trace of fear on her features. I envied her for that.