Page 76 of Remnants
Dane curses from the bed across from us, his eyes wide and fearful when they look me over. “You mean she could have died?”
“Mm,” Jack confirms, lifting my hand in his to press his lips to it. “You need to learn where your limit is, little one. Know when you need to pull back.”
I frown at him. “But you just said you’ve done it. Twice.”
“I wouldn’t do it again or recommend it to anyone. It’s not worth the risk. Since you did break your limit, I’m sure your gift has grown. But your body isn’t ready for it. You’ll need to focus in the weight room for some time before you try testing its full strength.”
“Okay,” I reply, trusting him implicitly. “I’ll start today—”
“In two days,” Aiden cuts in. “You still need to recover. Think of this as your one break from the Loft.”
“Am I the only one confused about how hot she was?” Kellan asks the room. “I mean, I know we’re all superpowered, but you caused second-degree burns, beautiful. And last I checked, that wasn’t your gift.”
I’m sorry, I did what?
“Because of her mom,” Reid suddenly pipes in from a few beds away. I’d forgotten he was in here. “She could cause explosions from her body, which would then heat to extremely high temperatures. Anything that touched her would melt instantly.”
That’s right. She could walk out of an exploded and destroyed building without a scratch.
He leans his head against his fist, his tone almost bored. “Gifts typically follow the maternal genes, so it makes sense if Raegan has a higher resistance to heat. And the ability to produce it, too.” His blue eyes slide to mine. “I’d bet it’s a part of your gift you just didn’t realize you had.”
Frowning, I look at my available hand. Has there been a time when I could have noticed being resistant to heat? Nothing comes to mind except…the heat that always came with my gift. It had always burned me on the inside. I thought it was just the way my gift felt, but was there more to it? Would someone feel the heat when I touched them with it?
Then those times on the island with Gordon when I’d felt like lava flowed in my veins...I thought it was a combination of my gift and Holt’s lightning. The water pod had always been there after rigorous training for his mind control, but had Gordon known I’d passed my limit and needed to cool down, too? Ithadfelt much cooler on some days. How many times had I exceeded my limit in those two months with him without realizing it?
“How do you know all of that?” Aiden directs to Reid, who looks back at him.
“You think my dad doesn’t have the smartest scientists researching gifts? That was why he would pick certain women to create his offspring. Manufactured gifts based on their mothers. And if they happened to be born with his blood type, even better.”
“What would that matter?” Aiden follows up with another question while I’m still stuck on the new piece of information that hemanufactured giftsby breeding women.
Can this guy get any worse?
Reid answers Aiden matter-of-factly, “Because he can only steal gifts from others who share his same blood type.”
The room falls silent.
So…he used Harvey’s mom to create a bunch of invisible spies.
He used Reid’s mom and was able to copy Reid’s gift because of his blood type? And Kellan’s?
As for me…does this mean I lucked out on both accounts?
Dane, as expected, blows up at Reid first, jumping to his feet with a shaking fist. “Why are we just finding out about that now?! That’s important fucking information! What else are you keeping from us?”
Reid’s stoic expression doesn’t falter. He just watches Dane and answers without missing a beat. “I’ve lived with the guy for my entire life. If you think I can tell you every detail of what I know about him in an hour, then you’re the crazy one.”
Aiden has his phone to his ear; his back slightly turned away from the two still talking. “Yes. A record of every member’s blood type. And the Pits fighters, too.” He glances to Reid. “What is Charles’s blood type?”
“B.”
Back to the phone, and most likely Cibrina, he adds, “Send me a list of everyone with the B blood type and their gift. As soon as possible. Thank you.” He looks at the rest of us. “Aside from Reid and Kellan, does anyone else have the B blood type? Does positive or negative matter?”
“No.”
“I have A,” I answer, remembering that from my time on the island.
“A,” Jackson says.
