Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
It was hard not to feel responsible, even though we were ‘made’ just like them.
Frank gulped back tears as he choked, “I know you’ll never forgive me for being responsible for your parents’ death, Rook, but I’ll never regret stopping the Requiem trials. The moment they passed away, I destroyed every single vial, burned all the data, and deleted all the hard drives. No one can recreate it. No one can access the past. And I will never let anyone hurt you...not after you’ve been hurt so much by what we’ve done.”
Above him on the TV, the two oily droplets finally met on the microscope slide.
The moment they touched, a brilliant flash erupted. Silver and gold exploded outward like a miniature big bang.
For a few breathtaking seconds, the screen filled with pure, radiant power.
The dead cells began to repair themselves.
Colour flooded back—healthy crimson pulsating with metallic potential.
But then, the light snuffed out.
The blood shrivelled and bubbled, sizzling and disintegrating until only ash remained.
None of us moved.
Whisper nudged my hand as if trying to make sure I was alright.
Dillon staggered toward the TV, his mouth hanging open. “Please tell me that doesn’t mean what I think it means?”
Frank looked haunted as he studied the ash, flinching as it scattered onto the bench like grave dust. “It means...I shouldn’t have wasted time airing my demons.”
He locked his eyes on us. “You’re dying. And, because I promised I wouldn’t hold anything back, I’ll tell you.” He swallowed hard. “You have hours. Maybe a few days if you’re lucky. Your bodies are no longer rejecting the R gene; they’re entering the final stages of shutdown. Your organs will probably start failing by the end of today. Your bones will fracture and break. Eventually, the pain will become so bad that you’ll beg me for a quick death, rather than the slow one you’re in for.”
Rook’s horror hit me.
Agony poured into my heart. Loss and fear, terror and denial.
The weight of everything crashed over us as love swelled so fiercely it hurt.
Hours.
We have hours.
Whisper snarled, sensing everything was wrong.
“That’s not acceptable.” Dillon tripped to the table and punched it with his fists. “There has to be something. Some way of—”
“Is there?” Frank cut him off, staring at both of us. “Is there anything you can think of that might help me figure this out? I don’t care how crazy or personal. Tell me.”
Rook coughed. Blood came up, splattering all over the table.
The sight of it made Frank launch across the room and grab her shoulders. “You’re different, Rook. You’ve always been different. Ever since you stabilised each other, you’ve both been different. There has to be something—”
“There’s a dreamscape,” I snarled, shoving Frank away and breaking his hold on Rook.
The power inside me spat and smouldered, unable to tolerate anyone touching her because they polluted her energy. His touch tarnished the very connection we shared that kept us alive, and...a rib cracked with a wet pop.
Ah, shit.
I coughed like Rook, adding to her mess on the table, crippled with pain.
“Dreamscape?” he repeated, cringing at our blood. “What’s that?”
My temper surged, shoving away agony, but Rook beat me to it.
“When we woke after we ‘died’ on the mountain. The moment we kissed, we fell into a place that wasn’t...here. It’s somewhere we can’t explain. Everything is amplified there. Better. It makes us better. The moment we touch and...have sex...we seem to be able to reverse the damage and buy ourselves some more time.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this earlier?!” Frank flung up his hands and marched to the door. “Dillon, take them to one of the sleeping quarters. Right now.”
Whisper shot to the door, his tail lashing with impatience.
“But it’s only temporary,” I growled. “We need something permanent.”
“Then help me buy some time to find something permanent.” Frank shooed the panther out the door. “I don’t care what that place is or how you get there—if it works, then I’d be fine with it being on the fucking moon.”
Whisper growled at us to follow, and Dillon eyed up Rook. “Can you walk?”
She nodded.
Frank got a dazed look in his eyes as if running hypotheses through his head. “If what you’re saying is true and intimacy helps stabilise you, then...the deeper the connection, the stronger the stabilisation.” Frantic eagerness filled his face. “Do it. Do all of it.”
“Do what exactly?” Rook frowned as we shuffled toward the exit.
“Everything!” Frank quivered with urgency. “Kiss and touch, taste and make love. Go wild with fellatio and cunnilingus. Give each other as many orgasms as possible.” Shooing us out the door, he ordered, “Do it all. Use every position. Do whatever it takes to buy you more time, and...I’ll do my best to keep you alive afterward.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DILLON CLEARED HIS THROAT AWKWARDLY. “So I guess I’ll, uh, stand guard...just in case anything happens.” His cheeks caught fire, matching mine as we stood in front of the open door leading toward a pocket of the glacier that’d been left entirely natural. No transparent walls or pillars held back the dark blue ice, just the sheer strength of nature.