Page 49 of Collected By the Crow

“Sounds good,” Cassandra agreed.

They reached reinforced double doors. Dana pointed out which of the workers was Ryuu and departed before they entered the first set of doors, instructing them to tap on the glass of the second ones. They did and waited for Ryuu to set down his tools and meet them.

Ryuu, a salmon-hued dragon in his more humanoid form, was one of many dragons working at rows and rows of water tanks. From this far away, the creatures inside those tanks were elusive. It was difficult to hammer down exactly what they looked like, almost like they blended into the water as it refracted under the lights. Qadaire squinted despite his superior vision. Their movements were more fluid than jellyfish. Tendrils tucked beneath a shell-like casing made of gossamer as they drifted through the water.

Cassandra squeezed his hand. “You okay?”

Qadaire turned toward her. He hadn’t noticed when the tension had left him, but in that moment, all he felt was sincere curiosity. He smiled and nodded.

“See?” she teased. “I knew some work would be good for us.”

Ryuu entered the hallway from a side door and waved them to enter. The little room had a huge window from which to observe the workers and lioti. Anxiety threatened to creep back up on Qadaire in the claustrophobic room, worsening when their contact came forward for handshakes.

“Hello, guys! I’m Ryuu. Dana says you’re here to save my ass,” the dragon said with a pained chuckle. “The great flame knows I need it.”

Qadaire tried his best to imitate Cassandra’s kind smile. After some introductions and a brief overview of what had been done already, they were disinfected and led into the work area.

Up close, the lioti were even more beautiful. When curled up in their casing and viewed from above, they looked like a lotus flower. It was a beautiful feat of nature, a stunning example of how evolution protects creatures of prey.

“Well put! It certainly is impressive.” Ryuu laughed. Qadaire hadn’t noticed he was thinking aloud. He bit the insides of his cheeks and glanced at Cassandra, who was smiling at him knowingly.

“One thing I miss about working in the vet’s office is getting to meet the critters.” Cass watched the tanks with intrigue in her umber eyes. Then she turned to Ryuu, and Qadaire knew she had a million questions. “Where is the lab set up? I’d like to get started right away.”

“Right this way!”

When Ryuu led them to a blessedly empty lab with familiar equipment, Qadaire could breathe normally again. Until the door clanged shut behind them.

“Here. Buzz me if you need absolutely anything.” Ryuu handed Cassandra a device, but Qadaire was too distracted to decipher what the tech was. “Anything at all.”

“Thank you. I’ll make a list of what I need from you once I’ve got my bearings.” Cassandra told their guide. Before the door could clang shut behind Ryuu, she smoothly kicked a stopper underneath it and strode toward Qadaire. “Still okay?”

Qadaire gratefully accepted her hands in his lower ones and forced another smile. “No, but I believe I can be. Let’s get to work.”

With Dr. Billing at his side, he threw himself into the work. Together, they came up with a list of supplies they lacked. They combed through the notes left by other scientists, doctors, and neurologists who’d worked with the lioti. It was unfortunate they didn’t have a clean sample of the water the lioti and näcken had thrived in.

“Do you see that?” Cassandra nudged the microscope toward him. “That’s not normal.”

Qadaire hummed in agreeance. The molecules in the water were different when studied before a lioti touched it, versus after they’d swum in it. The structure of the water itself changed.

“That’s our key.” He smiled at her. “You’ve done it again, Dr. Billing.”

Cassandra snorted. “I haven’t done anything yet. But look at you!”

“Me?”

“You’re enjoying this,” she teased. “Aren’t you?”

“I don’t know.” He paused to consider how he was feeling. More relaxed. Being in the lab with his beloved was as close to comfortable as he’d been in this foreign land. “I suppose I am.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cassandra

Cassandra didn’t realize how long they’d been in the lab until she noticed the lights had been turned off in the hallway. They’d made decent progress and recorded their findings, but there wasn’t much more to be done right now. It was unlikely she and Qadaire would be there to put the pieces together anyway. In two days, she had a conference with others in her field to talk about the cure for Canine X-3. The Kingdom of the Great Flame’s pathologists would have to pick up where they’d left off. She would do the best she could via contact with Dana.

Speaking of the author, a soft knock rapped on the open door. “Hey, guys. I planned on apologizing for getting back so late, but I see you guys didn’t notice!”

Cass grinned at her new friend, then turned to scan Qadaire. She’d been keeping an eye on him ever since they arrived, but in the past few hours, something had shifted.

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