Page 150 of Serpent In White

This is usually the part when I’d be able to feel the warmth of the body near mine, but with Drake it’s only ice. He radiates cold, and for reasons unknown, it’s comforting.

Heat is stifling, but cool is calm. Easy.

“You need to learn…” he murmurs, breath brushing my lips, like a burst of fresh air. Minty. It reminds me of those peppermint candies my grandma used to have in dishes all over her house.

My eyelids flutter, blood rushing in my ears while I await whatever he’s about to say.I need to learn…?

But before I can hear his words, I hear a knock instead. Three, actually.Rap rap rapon the door to his office, causing me to jump and my eyes to fling open. By that time, Drake is already across the room, opening the door a crack. He whispers to someone through it, and I can’t hear what they’re saying, but his posture is rigid.

He runs long pale fingers through his black hair, then turns back to me. “Stay here. Don’t touch anything.”

And then he leaves through the door, closing it behind him.

My head is spinning.What the heck was that??How did he get me to confess something like that to him? Just by standing close to me, looking all dangerous and smelling fantastic?

That’s entirely ridiculous. And what the hell was he about to say?You need to learn.

Learn what??I know there’s probably a lot I need to learn. I won’t pretend I know everything, not even close. But what would me learning have to do with what I told him? About wanting to reclaim control, of my life, my body, my thoughts…

I rub my eyes with my fingers and get off the desk, pacing around in circles. He’s a very strange, intense person, which of course, is incredibly intriguing to me. I’ve always been drawn to the quiet ones, the scary ones. As much as I thought I was developing a crush on Abdiel, especially after that steamy makeout session from the other night, the Serpent, as they call him, is really winding me up, and it’s not good.

He’s the last person I should be looking at.

Rumor has it he’s an eternal bachelor. He hooks up in secret, interested only in sex. Basically, the exact type of guy I’m usually attracted to.Great.

On top of that, he just left and told me not totouch anything. That’s the sort of thing you say to almost guarantee everything will be touched.

And in that spirit, I sneak to the other side of his desk, poking around while keeping my eyes fixed on the door. I’m not sure what he’d do if he caught me snooping through his stuff, and I’m also not sure why the possibilities excite me so much.I have issues… Daddy issues too, clearly.

He has plants everywhere, which strikes a chord in me. For someone so robotic, so cold, it’s fascinating that he cares for living things as if they’re his children. Or maybe his pets…

But still, he’s obviouslyThe Alchemistfor a reason. He grows plants and turns them into things. Medicine, fuel… but what else?

That Field… What else does he grow there?

Rifling through the papers on his desk, looking for answers, I tug open drawers. I don’t find much in the top ones, more papers, pamphlets, packets of seeds, note cards with all sorts of chemical equations on them.

But then in the bottom drawer, I stumble upon something that stops me short.Needles.

More specifically, syringes. Packed in plastic, like the ones you’d buy from the pharmacy to inject insulin. I reach inside and pick one up, examining it closely.Why would he have needles? Is he diabetic?

Ducking down, I dig farther into the drawer, pulling out one of those large rubber tubes. Swallowing hard, my fingers brush over it. I know what this is for… usually to tie your arm when you’re shooting up.

I’m no stranger to drugs myself. Fortunately, I haven’t fallen down the addiction hole like some of my friends, but I’ve tried enough things to know what happens and how it all works. The escape from reality…

Is that what this is? Is Drake a drug addict?

Continuing my search, I reach the very back of the drawer, locating a small vial. Peering back up at the door before I pick it up, I don’t see or hear anyone just yet. So I take it out.

It’s full of clear liquid, and there’s a label on the side that saysEmpyrean.

Empyrean… The highest part of Heaven.

I’m trembling all over as I squeeze the vial in my hand. Maybe that’s what this place is about… Drugs. They’re making more than just fuel and medicine in this lab.

Are they all on drugs? Even Abdiel… Darian??

For reasons I’m not sure I’ll ever understand, my mind urges me to tear open the packet with the syringe and stick the needle into the vial. I’m shaking so hard I almost drop it, terrified that Drake will walk in at any moment. But I barely even care.