Page 46

B eep.

Beep.

Beep.

The chirp of hospital equipment and all the wires sticking out of my friend sent me back to another place for the second time that night. It was the soundtrack of my sixteenth year on earth. The soundtrack of my mother dying.

If I thought my legs would hold me, I might have run to the bathroom to vomit.

“We think that the stress of the situation may have triggered Zeed’s Quirk, hence the light you saw coming off him,” the nurse said softly.

“Doyen O’Connor is on his way to confirm that.

Sometimes, the power of one’s Quirk can overwhelm the nervous system.

That’s what we’re hoping for Zeed. It’s probably best if we limit visitors so he can get the rest his mind so clearly needs. ”

“I’ll stay with him,” Fable was saying. “You guys go.”

“The rest of us can hang in the waiting room, at least until we hear some test results and what Liam has to say ...” Ellie turned her attention to Typhon. “Maybe you can take Harlow back to your quarters and get some hot soup into her. She’s still shivering and in shock herself.”

I pressed a shaky hand to my mouth. “I’m not leaving.”

“As soon as we know anything, I’ll come tell you. Please let Doyen Moreno take care of you ... I can’t be worried about you both right now,” Fable whispered, eyes glued to Zeed’s pale cheeks even as she gripped my hand.

She was right. I was nothing but a distraction from what really mattered right now. The fact that Zeed had a pulse, was breathing, had no sign of injury, and was still catatonic and unresponsive was ... not good, Quirk or no.

“I’ll see you in a little while,” I managed, my stomach cramping and sending a rush of bile to my throat. I rushed from the room and into the bathroom across the hall, barely making it. I gripped the bowl with both hands, hanging on for dear life.

Typhon crouched beside me, put one hand on my forehead and one hand on my lower back.

He could have said a thousand things, but instead he let me lean on him.

He held my hair and put a gentle pressure on my back as I dry-heaved into the bowl.

Five minutes turned to ten before the cramping finally ceased. Spent, I leaned against the wall and swiped the sweat from my brow.

His eyes flicked over me, but I couldn’t meet his gaze.

Typhon helped me up. He walked me to the sink, holding me up as I rinsed my mouth out with water.

Then he swept me into his arms like a child, and I let him, unable to speak to so much as utter a protest. Burying my face into his neck, breathing in the scent of him, letting it soothe the chaos in my mind.

By the time we got to Typhon’s room, and he set me down, I had gotten some control back.

“Thank you,” I managed, crossing my arms over my chest with a shiver. His body had been so warm ... so right, that now, I felt oddly bereft.

“Okay now?” he asked, searching my face for signs to the contrary.

“Yes. Much better.”

“I’m going to get you some soup from the kitchen. Can I trust you to stay put for five minutes?”

I winced and shook my head. “I can’t eat. I’ll drink some tea later, but I won’t be able to keep food down.”

He wheeled around and busied himself at the small kitchen in the corner, throwing a rune to heat me up a mint tea. He passed the steaming cup to me, and I took a deep drink, letting it warm me to the bones.

“Thank you, that’s perfect.”

“You sure you’re alright? You don’t want to go back to the infirmary yourself?”

“No.” So long as I kept what I’d seen tucked in the furthest part of my brain, for a little while longer. “I’m good,” I said, setting the tea down on the countertop. “Just worried about Zeed.”

“Great. So can you tell me what the fuck you were thinking?” Typhon said, scowling down at me. “You promised me that you wouldn’t –”

“I promised that I wouldn’t sneak off unless one of our lives depended on it,” I shot back, ignoring the stab of guilt. “And it did. You know it did.”

“You took your whole damn house with you and almost got yourself and Zeed killed,” he growled. “How is that keeping anyone safe, Harlow?”

“They were going whether I went or not.” I wasn’t going to tell him they’d literally left without me. Typhon was already furious enough.

I eyed him closer ... saw the shaking hands, the wild eyes. It was only then that it hit me for real. He wasn’t furious.

He was terrified.

He jerked me closer, so we were nearly touching. “Why didn’t you just forbid them to go, or tell me? I could’ve stepped in and forced everyone to –”

“No. NO! That is not the way it goes, Typhon, even if you’d been here!

” The urge to slap his face was so hot I clenched my fist to keep my hand still.

“Unlike you and those in charge here, my solution to every problem isn’t to force people to bend to my will whenever they make a choice I don’t like! ”

He winced as if I’d followed through on the slap.

“And what if that is the only way I can protect them, Harlow? What if forcing them to stay safe, and bending their will, is the only option I have? It’s easy for you, because you are not the one who has to bear the weight of your choices.”

His eyes were ... haunted, the green of them so dark that I could have fallen into them.

We were both breathing hard and in a split second his lips were on mine, angry, demanding. I kissed him back, biting his lower lip, just as angry. I couldn’t help the little whimper that slid out of me as he held me there, the urge to wrap my legs around his waist ripping through me.

He jerked back, cutting off the kiss and letting me go at the same time. I struggled to stay upright, my legs wobbly and my breath coming in gasps.

Typhon took another step back and I was glad to see he was struggling to breathe normally too. “What was that out there tonight, Typhon? What did he do to those poor kids? And what was that awful machine? It was helping him suck the life out of them.”

He turned away and raked a hand through his hair with a growl. “You know there are things I cannot discuss with you, Harlow.”

“Keep your secrets, Typhon. And I’ll keep mine.”

I turned on my heel and yanked open the door. Then I ran like the hounds of hell were chasing me. When I got to my dorm room, it was blessedly empty except for Bandit, who was curled on the end of my bed.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” he murmured, instantly climbing onto my lap as I collapsed onto the bed. “That must’ve been awful ... can you tell me ... what did you see out there tonight?”

I finally let myself think about what I’d witnessed. All those kids, in the prime of their lives, here to learn and grow and make friends and mistakes and have their first kiss ...

I snuggled Bandit closer, breathing in his musky fur as I let my eyes drift shut, and dreamed of vengeance.