Page 81 of Hunted

I glanced at his wrist—to where the faded black silhouette of his ranking was permanently inked on his skin, in the exact same place as mine. Then dropped my gaze to my lap—to the wrist I hadn’t thought to inspect, or the tiny, clear dressing I was struggling to look at. Instead of the eagle I’d fought so hard for, a tiny black swallow winked up at me.

Scrunching my face to offset the sudden urge to cry, I flipped my hand over and started tapping my thighs. A melody whirled through my mind, one that both soothed and saddened me, and I leaned into it. I imagined I was pressing shiny keys, and that I was the one making the music linger in the air.

“Adelaide,” Beckett said, though his voice sounded far off.

“It was me,” Evander admitted, equally distant.

Ignoring their bickering voices, I drifted further into the tranquillity of my go-to sad song. Moonlight Sonata flew beneath my fingertips on my imaginary piano until I was done, and only then did I open my eyes to three concerned stares who had apparently waited for me to finish.

“What?”

Beckett frowned. “You vanished.”

Deklan nodded. “No response until just now.”

“When your fingers stopped twitching,” Evander added, brows creased in the middle. “Have you ever seized before?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We—I think you just experienced a seizure. You were unresponsive and your fingers were quivering against your legs without an observable pattern.”

I could have laughed. Instead, my face heated as a blush raced across my skin. No one had ever noticed before. And now I was not only noticed, but analysed, surveilled, and perceived.

“It’s not a seizure. It’s just something I do to manage the overwhelm.”

All three jerked back at least a foot.

“Oh,” he said.

That was all—just oh.

“Right, time for your shot, then back into bed, I think,” Beckett said, back to business as usual, only⁠—

“Shot? What shot?”

Evander’s face brightened at the chance to offer information. “It’s an injection AevumTech invented specifically for Blackwing’s use. In the event that her daughter actually did have to go through with assignments and missions, Nadine created a nanotechnology that hastens the body’s ability to heal.” He spoke quicker than usual, animated by the science. “She didn’t want Fleur”—my heart panged at the casual mention of her name—“to suffer needlessly through weeks of recovery, so she switched tracks and created this serum that essentially speeds up the proliferation and remodelling phases of healing.

“In layman’s terms, it temporarily gives you Wolverine-level healing.” His excitement was catching. I found myself hooked on the gleam in his eyes, and latched onto his every word.

Grinning back at him, I asked, “Minus the adamantium claws though, right?”

Somehow, the expression on his face intensified.

He could rival the sun in terms of brightness.

“I could do without that part,” I added, earning a chuckle.

I wonder how far I can push them before they snap. We’re not teachers and students anymore—I’m sick of referring to them so formally. Let’s send it.

“So. Serum?” I asked, deciding when to play these cards to their greatest effectiveness.

“Serum,” Beck agreed, pulling the needle from his back pocket. “Lift your shirt please.”

Scowling, I reached for the syringe. “I can give myself a damn needle.”

The lines around his eyes softened. “I’m sure you can—but you shouldn’t have to. Besides, the doc warned us that whatever’s inside these aren’t going to merely tickle.”

Evander attempted a reassuring expression. “But the good news is that you only need one⁠—”