Page 78 of Failed State

Rolling my eyes in irritation, I huff. “Vampires always work out frustration with physical exertion. There’s no way that you’re unfamiliar with that, especially given your life prior to coming here.”

He shrugs, his eyes dancing as he moves away, dropping onto the floor with the bear again. “I am aware of that, thank you very much, which is why I know you were riding high on bloodlust. Since you were down there for a pretty long ass time, I’m betting it wasn’t easy to get rid of. So don’t act high and mighty with our poor cockblocked friend—sympathize with him like I do.”

Everything stops when the door opens, and we all look at one another knowingly.

‘They’re back.’ Thad mouths and we wince.

This conversation definitely falls in that ‘bro code’ area we discussed before—no way we’re explaining it to Sydney, even if she’s not on the warpath anymore.

WHY DIDN’T I GET A HANDBOOK?

SYDNEY

When Huckand I walk into our dorm, the quiet makes me suspicious. The guys don’t get into crazy fights, but the lack of sniping feels off. We make our way through the kitchen to find the four of them sitting in their usual spots as they focus on their tablets. I arch a brow, not believing this shit for a second, and Huck lets go of my arm to bow playfully.

“We’ve arrived, darlin’. Why don’t you change quick-like so we can order food and get this bullshit done?”

The demon gives me an innocent smile and though I don’t trust that, either; I nod. Truthfully, I won’t complain about him giving me a brief out so I can gather myself. He wasn’t in the exam room when the centaur and I spoke, so he didn’t realize how much was racing through my brain. “That sounds good, actually. I wouldn’t mind a Chinese buffet if you guys want to order while I’m gone.”

“I’m on it,” Thad says with a cheerful smile. He motions for Huck to join them so they can use one of their devices to order, and I turn on my heel to head for my room. The bear’s easygoing attitude is part of why I let him in so long ago, and definitely whyhe’s one of my closest friends now. Thad never stresses me out because he’s the calm in the storm.

“Don’t be long,” Rory calls out, and I raise my hand, waving at him over my shoulder as I walk to my room.

Too bad for him; I’ll take as long as I want after the completely FUBAR day I just had.

The clothes I took out of the drawer are still sitting on the comforter next to me when I blink back into consciousness. It takes me a minute to realize that I came in, got my shit out, sat down, and spaced out entirely for… Frowning, I look around, then give in and say, “Irina, what time is it?”

When she replies, I’m relieved to find that it’s been ten minutes—not a short time, but definitely not so long that I’m going to have men breaking down my door. I kick off my shoes with a rueful grin, then peel off socks, pants, and the rest to toss in my laundry bin. It’s not a normal thing for me to blank out while my brain processes like that, but damned if I don’t get why it’s happening. The past weeks have been so packed with emotional overload and world rocking new information that I can’t always handle additional shit being piled on.

Which is without a doubt what happened in that fucking office.

Once the nurse left, the first thing I asked him was why the woman seemed like she wanted to gut me for making her do her damn job. He laughed, explaining that she’s been pulling extra shifts to cover all the ‘problems’ cropping up as teams figure out their dynamic. I arch a brow and the doc turns his back to the microphone corner, hastily scribbling on his clipboard as he elaborated on various minor injuries.

They’re hiding the major injuries and two deaths. Not all the supes have been able to gel in their groups.

His secret clue made my eyes widen as I thought about how often that might happen before the actual competition starts. It seemed likely there would be some issues, but it still shocked me to find out that things escalated that quickly without the humans intervening. That solidified my opinion that they really care less about us than the show animals they race or own. Supes dying or getting maimed wasn’t even a blip on the radar for the people running this shit. After that, I took the pen from the mythical, writing my own question for him to answer.

What did you do to me at intake and why?

Dr. Moreau pressed his lips together, writing a different response than he said out loud, “The implantation will not be completely safe for two weeks, Sydney. You need to be careful until after that date.”

I removed the Marker to give our people a chance. You were the first supe to feel like I could trust you not to get me caught or to abuse it.

I caught his game, nodding as I scribbled my next query. “Got it. Two weeks. How long will it last? This one went bad at least a year early, which is why I’m here at the last minute.”

How did you know that? I haven’t even emerged, which you had to know.

The low neighing sound that tinged his chuckle made me smile. He added his secret answer and tapped the point on the last word. “It should last five years and this time, not fail early. The way we did this for you is much less painful and more effective than what their doctors put you through when you first arrived at the camp.”

The nurse and I sensed it. We’re both gifted in assessing beings of various types through their bodies and the impressions of their spirit. It’s how we diagnose.

Our conversation lasted almost a half hour, but the kindly centaur helped me understand that the human birth control likely failed because of my physiology changing with emergence. I’m still in the process, but as much as it’s playing havoc on my powers, it’s doing similar to my body. He didn’t know what I’ve got running through my veins without doing a test that might cause me more problems than not. I didn’t like accepting that, but I also don’t need the humans declaring me persona non grata so they can execute me.

Sighing, I turn to look in the mirror, examining the various additions the beauty folks did, then the small, magical tattoo Dr. Moreau’s procedure left on my lower left abdomen. I can’t fault the guy for hoping he could create a hero, but I don’t know if I’m that gal. Obviously, I’ve been allowed to live in the dark for most of my life, and I’ve got anger issues that would cripple an elephant. There’s nothing special about me I can see, even with all the upgrades.

Why would anyone think I’m a ‘chosen one’ or whatever?

“Because we’re all so goddamn desperate,” I mutter to myself as I head back to the bed and tug on my tee shirt. I pick up my pants, then frown, deciding to change my undergarments as well. Walking to the dresser, I grab a fresh pair and quickly deal with that before I put on the sweats. “Everyone is praying someone is coming to save them in the camps, but that hope should have died years ago. I don’t get why there are supes still thinking the elders or anyone else is going to fix this mess.”

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