Page 584 of Lodestar

“No. I told them specifically to maintain a seventy-two-degree temperature.”

“Why?” I asked. “Or is this because of Kat’s global warming presentation too?”

“Global warming presentation?” Anton choked out a laugh. “Is this why you disagreed with the ice sculptures?”

“There is no planet B,” Star said simply. “I’d like her not to have to live under a dome or to have to relocate to a colony on Mars.”

Anton patted his forehead. “You know I agree with you, but at least she’ll have the funds with which to make such costly endeavors. She’s still Belyaev’s heir. I’m sure that as much as the man favored male children, he’d have left her well cared for.”

“I never thought of that. She costs me a fortune in broken laptops. She needs to start paying her way.”

“I know you’re intent on bankrupting yourself with funding the foundation but I think we can afford more computers,” I teased.

“Not with the bill for that private school we just got,” she mocked.

Anton’s chuckle was weak as he slurred, “I’m certain it’s—” The sibilant hiss was extended until he stuttered, “—h-hot in here.”

“Honestly, it isn’t. I’m actually cold,” I answered.

“Don’t be a wimp. Anton’s probably hot because he’s Russian. They have baths in ice water lakes.”

“They also drink a lot of vodka before, during, and after said soak,” I argued. “Isn’t that right, Anton?”

But Anton wasn’t listening.

He staggered back, his hip bumping into the table beside him.

“Anton?” Star cried, leaping forward to grab his arms and prop him up. “Are you okay?”

“Call—” He sucked in a sharp breath but his head rolled on his neck before he could finish the sentence.

There were a few shrieks from the women around us who witnessed Anton’s collapse, but with my aid, Star propped him upright, and once I’d looped his arm around my shoulder and she’d huddled into his waist, together, we retreated from the event hall.

Along the way, I saw Aidan watching us.

He tipped his glass at me.

71

STAR

WON’T - TANERÉLLE

The setup wasn’tprimitive by any stretch of the imagination, but when Anton’s eyes slowly blinked open and he looked around the hospital room, I knew he’d be aware that something was ‘up.’

A man like him used private hospitals that made the Plaza seem inelegant.

Still dressed in my gown, I stood. “He’s awake, Conor.”

The hum of his fingers on his keyboard ceased. “Good. That’s a relief.”

It wasn’t a lie.

There was no antidote for tetrodotoxin, but if treated swiftly enough, survival wasn’t unusual.

Not that I intended for him to survive.

Straightening, I perched on the side of his bed and reached for his hand. “The interesting thing about tetrodotoxin, Anton, is that a fatal dose can trigger symptoms in under twenty minutes. Not that your dose was wholly fatal.

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