Chapter 20
Dorian opened the cage, and the eight-legged creature crawled out slowly onto his outstretched palm.
Damn. This was beyond creepy. Willingly letting herself get injected with poison just to pass some stupid test? She really must have lost her mind for the sake of this mission.
"Your name is Seraphina, right?" Dorian asked casually. But her attention wasn't on him. Her eyes were locked on the monstrous spider scuttling across his hand. That thing was enormous—its legs moved with a deliberate slowness that made her skin crawl.
She managed a nod.
"Let's hope you can remember your name once this is over," he added with a faint smirk.
She gulped at his words. Was it really going to be that bad?
"Your hand," he said, extending his free one toward her.
Her heart pounded in protest. With her fist clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palm, she stretched her arm out toward him. The slight tremble in her hand betrayed the calm facade she was trying so hard to maintain.
As he brought the spider closer to her exposed skin, she turned her face away. The mere thought of it crawling on her made her stomach churn.
The sensation of its legs creeping onto her arm sent a shudder through her body. Her face twisted involuntarily, and she held her breath, bracing for the sting.
And then—it hit.
The bite was quick, a sharp prick that barely registered as pain. For a moment, she thought, That's it? That wasn't so bad. But deep down, she knew it wasn't over.
Dorian retrieved the creature and sealed it back into the jar with the same indifferent precision.
"How long until the poison kicks in?" she asked, tugging down her sleeve as if covering the bite would somehow ease her growing anxiety.
"Any moment... now," he replied, his tone calm but almost... amused.
And then it began.
The pain exploded in her chest like a bomb. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, the relentless pressure stealing her breath. Her vision blurred as heat surged through her veins, her body set aflame from the inside out. It felt like she was being attacked by a thousand venomous ants crawling beneath her skin.
Her stomach twisted violently, and she doubled over, clutching her chest in desperation. She stumbled to the floor as the agony consumed her. Her body convulsed, writhing uncontrollably under the onslaught.
She refused to scream. No matter how much it hurt, she had a low tolerance for pain, but she refused to give in to that weakness. But the pain... the pain was beyond anything she had ever endured.
She bit down hard on her bottom lip, the coppery taste of blood filling her mouth as she tried to suppress any sound. Iwon't scream... I won't...
"Aaaahhh!" A guttural cry tore from her throat as her back arched violently. The pain was too much, too intense, each second dragging her closer to the brink of madness.
Dorian didn't even flinch. He simply walked over to a chair, sat down, and watched her thrash on the ground as if this was all just part of his day.
She hated him for it.
Her vision dimmed further. Her eyelids grew unbearably heavy. She tried to fight it, to stay conscious, but her strength was failing her.
She couldn't... couldn't...
Her head fell limply to the side as the world faded into darkness.
---
She didn't know how long she'd been out, but when she opened her eyes, she was still lying on the floor. The intense pain had faded, but a dull, throbbing ache lingered in her head, making it hard to think clearly.
She sat up abruptly, wincing as the movement sent a sharp jolt through her skull. Her gaze locked onto Dorian, who sat just a few steps away, puffing on a pipe as if nothing unusual had happened. He hadn't moved an inch while she was unconscious. That meant she hadn't been out for too long. Good. She needed to get back to the palace before anyone noticed she'd snuck out.
"That was quick," Dorian commented, exhaling a puff of smoke. "I expected you to be out for at least three hours."
"How long was I out?" she asked, her chest heaving as she tried to steady her breathing. It was still labored, but nowhere near as bad as it had been when the poison coursed through her.
"Just thirty minutes." He leaned back in his chair, inspecting her with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "Your immune system is stronger than I thought."
He stood up, moving to crouch beside her. The scent of his tobacco filled the air, sharp and acrid, making her nose wrinkle. She hated the smell of tobacco.
"Let me see your hand," he said, gesturing. She stretched it out reluctantly.
He placed two fingers against the pulse point on her wrist, his other hand holding the pipe. His eyes closed briefly as he concentrated.
"Are you immune to poison?" he asked suddenly, his eyes snapping open, wide with surprise.
"No." She shook her head. "The last time I used Widow's Kiss, even with the antidote, I was out cold for three days."
His brow furrowed, but the surprise didn't leave his face. "This is unheard of. Your body completely dispersed the poison—like it was never there." He stood abruptly, his tone growing urgent. "I need to test your blood right away. There's something in it."
Before she could argue, he disappeared and returned seconds later with a small tray of equipment. Without hesitation, he grabbed her hand and pricked her thumb with something sharp. She flinched slightly as he squeezed a drop of blood into a bowl filled with a dark, murky liquid.
The moment her blood hit the surface, the liquid transformed, turning a bright, pure white. Her eyes widened in shock. What the hell was this?
Dorian's reaction mirrored hers, but his surprise quickly shifted into a frown of deep concentration. "Is either of your parents a mix of dragon and vampire?" he asked, his tone almost accusing.
"No." She blinked at him, bewildered. "Both of my parents were witches."
He shook his head, his frown deepening. "Something has happened to your blood, Seraphina. Something that only someone with a mix of vampire and dragon should possess. Have you ever... drunk someone's blood?"
"What?" Her voice rose slightly in disbelief. "No. I'm not a vampire. Why would I drink blood?"
Dorian stared at her, his expression hardening. "If you didn't drink it willingly, then someone fed it to you without your knowledge. A mix of vampire and dragon blood has remarkable healing qualities. Maybe, when you were injured and unconscious, someone gave you their blood to save you. That's the only explanation."
His words sent her mind spinning, and then it clicked. That time when she'd nearly died—when she was stabbed and bleeding—she'd woken up the next morning fully healed. She remembered Rhydian being the one who saved her. She hadn't even thanked him for that. But... was it his blood that healed her?
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the possibility.