Page 175 of Alchemised
He reached up, brushing the spot with his fingers. “I noticed it this morning.”
“I thought you couldn’t change.”
“Well, I am an experiment now,” he said dryly. “It’s not as if anyone knows what will happen. That’s why people perform experiments.”
She leaned in closer, trying to convince herself that he was simply going grey, and that it was not the exact shade of silver-white the stone had been.
He swivelled his head to face her, their faces a breath apart. “Do you mind?”
She blushed, drawing back quickly. “Sorry.”
He spoke again as she was applying the bandages. “Apparently I’m being gifted a chimaera.”
“Gifted?”
The casual way he said it made it sound like he’d been given an unwanted house pet rather than a rabid monster that had a tendency towards decomposing while still alive.
“So far, they’ve all been savage, but a tameable chimaera would be ideal.” He stood up. “Those of us with the ‘resources’ to raise one are being ‘given’ a chimaera to train. It’s a test, obviously.”
She stepped around him, helping him put his shirt on. The haggard bruising under his eyes had almost faded entirely. “But you’re injured. It’s not fair to expect you to tame something like that when you can’t heal properly or raise your arms.”
He looked condescendingly down at her. “Marino, this may be a shocking revelation for you, but the High Necromancer does not care about fairness. It’s his opinion that anyone without the wits and will to survive deserves to suffer and die. Ideally for his amusement.”
She could tell he was baiting her. “Do you know what kind of chimaera it will be?”
“Well, given the use of the word ‘train,’ I imagine it will be at least part dog. But I’m not Bennet’s favourite person. Whatever it is, I’m sure to get the worst one.”
The idea of a chimaera that could be trained was horrifying. More and more of them kept appearing. They died quickly, but the deaths associated with them were slowly increasing.
“Could you—kill it?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You think I should kill my gift that I’m being tested with?”
She went hot and cold all over, not sure how to reply.
He was already injured. If the chimaera he was entrusted with were to die, he’d undoubtedly be punished, but—
He caught her chin, tilting her head back until her eyes met his. There was a vaguely silver gleam in them. “If you were me, what would you do?”
“I—” she stammered. “I would see if I could make it loyal.”
“And if you couldn’t? If a monster can’t be made loyal, what would you do then?”
Their faces were close. Helena’s throat tightened, her heart beating too fast.
“I’d look for flaws in the transmutation,” she said. “The splicing isn’t very good, so there are mistakes that could be aggravated to accelerate deterioration. You wouldn’t have to kill it outright, you’d just—speed up the inevitable.”
He leaned forward, so close she could feel his breath. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her.
“You’re so pragmatic.” The words brushed against her lips.
He released her chin abruptly and stepped away, eyes glittering.
Her cheeks were still hot as she packed up all her supplies, refusing to look at him again.
He spoke just as she was leaving.
“Don’t die, Marino. I might miss you.”
