Page 139 of Gates of Rapture
He nodded.“It’s time.Like everything else right now.”
He moved in close and slid a hand up and down her arm.“First, I want you to know that I’m sorry that I did this against your will.I hated doing it, but I was under orders.And in this case I actually agreed with the decision because I believe it will save your life.”
“Ominous.”
“It is.”He’d never looked more serious, which increased her uneasiness.
“Spill it, asshole.The suspense is killing me.”
“A lot of nasty shit has come out of Third Earth, including experiments with viruses built just for vampires.Greaves has that virus living in him.And now you do as well.”
She thought for a minute.“Are you saying you put a virus in me?”
He nodded.His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t add to his announcement.
Then she understood.“You gave me the virus by biting deep into my spinal cord.”
“It’s the best delivery method.”
Her breathing shifted, and her face grew hot.She listed on her feet.
He kept her upright, but she pushed him away and sat down again.She rubbed her neck and felt ready to weep like a baby.But something else occurred to her.She snapped her head in his direction.
He moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her and planted his hands on her knees.He met her gaze dead-on.
“If you gave me the virus,” she said, “then you have it, too.”
He nodded.
She sat back in her chair.“Before you tell me what the ramifications of this virus are, I need to know how you got the virus.”
“I volunteered.I wasn’t about to inject you with something that I didn’t understand.”
She put a hand to her chest.What the fuck had he done to himself?To her?And why was it so damn important?
Endelle had lived a long time, but everything that had ever happened to her had been her choice, not forced on her by another ascender.Even becoming the Supreme High Administrator of Second Earth had been an assignment she’d agreed to.Of course Luchianne had put her in a headlock, but still Endelle had said yes.
“So what does this virus do?”
“The upside is that you can shape-shift, or morph if you like, into any biological form you like, you can add appendages, you can change your DNA and grow things like claws.”
“Greaves has a claw he brings out on his left hand.”
Braulio nodded.
“Well, so far so good, but I take it there’s a downside.”
“A big one.Have you ever noticed that Greaves’s left hand is a just a little weak?”
“Yes, I’ve seen that.I figured it had to do with the claw.”
“It does.Changes become permanent.”
Endelle took a long moment to digest this aspect of the virus.She thought of herself, of becoming something different.She also thought of Greaves.“So is he some kind of crab monster because of that claw of his?”
“I don’t know.He may only have experimented with the claw.”
Endelle looked away from his dark blue eyes and the compassion she saw within them.
