Page 48 of Full Moon
Chapter 23
Diaval
We quickly removeKhal's scale from Feray, and the same blackened fluid we've seen before seeps out, thick and ominous. My heart tightens as I glance at Easton. The look in his eyes mirrors my realization. Someone dosed a very young Feray with basilisk blood, suppressing what she truly is.
The weight of that truth settles over me like a shroud. My mate—my eternal—was poisoned as a child. Someone wanted to cage her before she ever had the chance to become what she was born to be. Easton and I work side by side, our movements precise and synchronized, as we purge the tainted blood from her system and seal the wound.
"We need to keep this to ourselves for now. We don't need the twins to go off the rails," I whisper.
"So you propose we don't tell the others about what happened?" Easton arches a brow, his hands steady as he finishes the last stitches on Feray's chest. Her natural healing ability, normally so robust, has been slowed to a crawl by the damage inflicted by Khal's blood.
"Selective truths. It was an extreme allergic reaction, which is mostly true." My eyes lock onto the makeshift bag system we rigged to transfuse my blood into Feray. My blood. Flowing into her veins. Keeping her alive. The intimacy of it strikes me harder than I expected.
"When she wakes up, I'll have her drink straight from the vein," Easton says, applying a bandage over the stitches. "I don't like how still she is." His eyes blaze like twin flames, and the feather in Feray's hair responds, glowing just as brightly.
"Did you see anything?" I ask, knowing he's using his phoenix to check on her.
"She's going through all the research in her head, piecing things together at an alarming rate." He shakes his head. "She's pretty sure which council members are corrupt. It's either them or one of the mages who hired someone to hunt her." His brows knit together as he looks toward the door. The heavy footsteps approaching can only belong to one person.
"How is she?" Torben asks, carrying a tray filled with coffee and sandwiches. He sets it on the counter near the bed and sits on the opposite side of Feray.
"She's resting. It was just a very bad reaction to Khal's blood because of mine and Diaval's in her system," Easton lies smoothly. The ease with which the falsehood slips from his lips is both reassuring and unsettling. Doctors have to lie all the time to spare families' pain. At this moment, we are no different.
"Is it okay if I stay with her?" Torben's voice trembles as he reaches out to brush a rogue lock of hair away from Feray's face. His touch is gentle, filled with a tenderness that speaks volumes.
"When that bag is almost empty, come and get me," Easton instructs before leaving the room. He's on edge.
"She's healing slower than usual. Keep her warm and let Easton know of any changes. I'm going to go search for that last hiding place." Torben nods and lays down carefully next to Feray. I can see the depth of his love for her—she is his sun, and his world rises and sets because of her. I watch them for several moments, my heart aching at the sight of their quiet intimacy. But I tear my eyes away. There's work to be done.
I find Khal pacing in the living room, pulling at his hair as he goes.
"Feray will not be pleased if you are bald when she wakes up," I say, trying to lighten the mood.
"She's okay?" He rushes over, his eyes darting all over my face, searching for the answer.
"She will live." Though my own doubts linger. "Unfortunately, we suspect that because of mine and Easton's blood, it had an adverse reaction to your scale." I plaster on my banker's smile, projecting an air of confidence I don't feel.
He nods slowly, then looks around the room. "So what's next?"
"While Feray rests, we go explore the last place. As much as I want to wait for her, we need to think about getting across the tundra before the worst of the storms hit." I motion to the door, and we head out into the snow.
"I can't believe if things didn't go sideways, we never would have met Feray," Khal says, his voice carrying over the howling wind as he trudges through the thigh-deep snow. I nod in agreement,my thoughts swirling with the gravity of our situation. The journey ahead is daunting, but it's the only path we have left.
Inside the workshop,it's warmer than it should be for not being attached to the house. "Feel that?" I say, trying to get Khal's analytical brain to engage instead of his emotions. The air is thick, almost humid, carrying a latent energy that prickles at my skin.
Khal stops, looks around, and tilts his head. "There's no fire or lava stone in here. How is it so warm?"
"I suspect that has something to do with whatever is hidden in this building, or should I say, under it." I motion to what looks like a hatch hidden under the workbench in front of me.
"Hmm... I guess we are about to find out." He grabs the side of the bench closest to him, and I take the other. We count to three, then lift and carry the bench out of the way. Dust billows up, catching the light.
He goes to grab the handle, and I stop him, my instincts tingling. "Find something to stick in the handle to lift. This entrance was too obvious not to have a trap involved." Khal grabs a long metal whaling pike. I shove it through the handle, turning it sideways to catch the blade on the loop. As I pull back, there's a sharp hiss and a spray of green fluid. When it hits the bench, the metal and wood hiss and bubble, melting before our eyes.
"Holy shit. I'm glad you stopped me." Khal moves closer, examining the fluid. "Looks like the same acid you spit."
I arch a brow. "How in Skaldi's name did they weaponize black dragon acid? Better yet, how did they get a hold of it? It's not like we're a venomous snake you can milk." I pull the hatch back the rest of the way and peer at the dispersal system. The mechanism is intricate—a blend of canisters and glass jars with melting nozzles. "Never in all my years have I seen something like this."
"You said Feray's father was a genius. Whatever this is," Khal motions to the contraption, "is protecting something major. Or extremely valuable."
