Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
“My apologies if I offended you,” the Blood Kindred said, his voice growing cold. “But I am thirty-seven cycles old and Ravik, here, is thirty-nine. So I doubt you’re much older than either of us—even though your scent tells me you’re a Mature Elite.”
Cassie thought about telling him she was much older, but it was oddly flattering to know that he had mistaken her age and thought she was younger than she was.
Enjoy it, Cassie, she told herself. It’s probably the last compliment you’ll ever get.
Severin removed the needle from her arm and put a seal-all bandage on the small wound. Then he carried the syringe back to the microscope and began making a slide with her blood.
“Hey—why do you have the scope bolted to the table and the table bolted to the floor?” Cassie asked, voicing her question of earlier. She didn’t really care about the answer—she was just trying to distract him and herself from finding out the truth—that she was surely now one of the Infected.
“Back in the beginning of the infection when the virus was first spreading, we had some people get rather…violent, when they found out their results,” Severin said, as he slid the slide under the scope. This equipment is expensive and hard to come by. Well now, it’s impossible to come by,” he added dryly. “I didn’t want to risk losing one of my best electron scopes when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to replace it.”
Cassie could imagine a Visskous getting angry and sweeping everything off the table with his tail at the news that he was now one of the Infected—it was certainly something Sskarth would have done. So it made sense that the Blood Kindred had bolted his equipment down. In fact—
“Hmm, this is interesting.” Severin’s voice interrupted her train of thought and Cassie’s head jerked up.
“What? What is it?” she asked, unable to keep her voice from shaking.
“Well, it appears that you’ve been lying to me—you are infected with the Hunger Virus.” The Blood Kindred looked up from the scope for a moment, fixing her with an ice-cold stare.
Cassie’s stomach felt like she’d swallowed a fist-sized lump of ice.
“I’m sorry!” she babbled. “I swear, I wasn’t infected before they put me outside the city walls! I was just bitten not even an hour ago. I was clean until then—I swear it! Please, please—can’t you just—”
“Just what? Let you live here with us, anyway?” Severin demanded.
“Why not? You’re letting him live here and he’s clearly infected—or half-infected or something,” Cassie jerked her head up to indicate the big Beast Kindred, who was still holding her.
She expected him to say something, but Ravik was silent. He did react to her in one way though—he bent his head, buried the side of his face in her hair, and inhaled deeply. Since he had taken off the black respirator mask when they stepped inside, she could feel the warm stream of his breath against the side of her neck. It sent a shiver straight through her.
Her words about being “half infected” might not have moved the Beast Kindred to speak, but they certainly got a reaction from his friend. Severin winced as though she’d punched him and a look of deep pain fled over his previously stern features.
“Ravik’s infection is being controlled,” he said but she could hear the uncertainty in his voice. “However, you didn’t let me finish what I was saying.”
“Oh, by all means—go ahead and finish,” Cassie spat. “Finish saying how you’re going to kick me out into the Dead Zone to be mauled and eaten alive by the Infected. Or to turn into one myself, if I can hide long enough for the virus to work on me. You know, the Kindred always present themselves as being so chivalrous—they’re all supposed to be feminists. But you’ll kick me out without a second thought, just like my worthless Visskous husband! You—”
“Enough, woman!” Severin’s voice was like a clap of thunder. “Let me finish,” he growled and his eyes actually grew slightly red for a moment.
Cassie was stunned to silence by this sign of extreme anger and irritation—especially in a male who she could tell was usually cool, calm, and collected. Severin seemed like the detached, scientific type—which was the reputation most Blood Kindred had.
“Fine,” she said shortly, trying to ignore the way that Ravik was still sniffing her. “Finish.”
“I was going to say that the virus isn’t behaving like it does in either Visskous or Kindred blood.” He peered into the scope again and murmured, “Fascinating.”
Cassie wanted to scream.
“I’m not a science experiment, you know!” she snapped. “What’s so fascinating about me, anyway?”
“Well, I see the virus in your blood, but it isn’t multiplying. Or at least, it isn’t multiplying yet.” The Blood Kindred looked up from the scope and stared at her speculatively. “I think we need to keep you here to study this phenomenon. But first, we need to see where you were bitten or scratched. Ravik—strip her.”