“So what do we do now?” Sylas asks, pulling away. His dark eyes look brighter and his expression not so hard.
He has a smudge of dirt on his cheek and I rub it off with my thumb. “We fight.”
Sylas nods with enthusiasm. “That, I can do.”
“Good.” I force a smile, feeling my own lie all over me, but shake it off and go forward, trying to be the fearless leader everyone seems to expect me to be. “Can you do me a favor? Can you go check on Maci for me and make sure her and Greyson are safe? After that, find Nichelle. Make sure that the Day Takers and her people are cooperating... I’m a little worried about certain personalities conflicting”
“Since when do you get to say the orders?” Sylas questions with a teasing arch of his brow.
“Since you started asking me questions,” I reply in a joking tone, but I’m being serious.
He assesses me over with a look that used to make me nervous, although it sort of makes me excited now. Then he nods, putting his hand on my hip, fingers delving into my skin. I jump, shocked by the intimate touch as he slowly slides up to my side. His fingers dip into my skin roughly, but I barely feel a sting. Then he pulls me towards him and I resist for a moment before letting him guide my lips. He kisses deeply, exploring my mouth with his tongue until Monarch clears his throat and we break away.
“I’ll be back as soon as I check on things,” he says with a wink before turning around and heading out the door.
I blow out a breath and then sink onto the floor and drop my face into my hands. “I don’t like lying very much.”
“No one does,” Mathew says as he begins sorting through his cabinets.
I take a few deep breaths then compose myself before raising my head up. “So now what?”
“Now, I study.” He frowns. “But I just hope I have enough time… I hate to think it, but if I don’t get this all figured out before the Highers and their army show up here, then they’ll likely destroy everything, including my lab. At that point, all hope will be lost.”
“First off, we don’t know when they’re going to show up,” I say. “And if they do, we—I won’t let them ruin the lab.”
He doesn’t seem convinced and I get up from my chair and stride towards the door, pausing to look back at Mathew. “Work on figuring it out. I’ll make sure nothing gets in or out of here.”
He swallows hard and then nods, but I can tell he doesn’t think I can do it. However, I have to, no matter what. “Kayla, wait,” he calls out before I step out.
I pause, turning around. “Yeah.”
“Would it be all right if I drew some of your blood,” he says. “To study and for…” He rubs his neck tensely. “Just in case something happens to you, I’ll still have something to study.”
“Oh, of course.” I return to him and hop up onto the table, rolling up my sleeve as he grabs another syringe. “But Mathew, as far as I know, I don’t… well, I haven’t figured out a way that anything could happen to me.”
“You don’t think you can die?”
I shrug. “As far as I can tell, no. It makes me wonder if the cures living inside me if… if I can ever be human again.” I’m not sure how I feel about this revelation, if I like the idea that I’ll always be different. Honestly, I don’t think I do. How can we ever change back the world if I stay the same; if I’m always there to study and replicate, like the Highers want to?
He offers me a smile. “Maybe your right… maybe Monarch did create perfection in you, but then again, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that everything has a weakness.”
***
After I’m finished giving Mathew some of my blood, I walk out of the building. It’s quiet for the most part. Most of the people have barricaded themselves inside the buildings and homes while the rest stand their posts at the wall. Just a ways to my right, Nichelle is standing by the wall, noticing me as I make my way down to the street.
“Kayla,” she calls out, heading over to me with a torch in her hand. She has a thick leather belt strapped around her waist and a sword secured in it. “What were you doing in there with Mathew? And why was he so sketchy?”
“I…” I trail off as I see them moving towards me.
A row of different collections, people who carry different powers, yet share the same genetics for the most part. They stand out like a sore thumb; dark clothes, leather, their hair colors like fire and ash. Their skin is smooth, features flawless and the sounds of their hearts are still.
Sylas stands in the middle and uses his long legs to stride over to me. He has an arrogant look on his face, but it vanishes when he reads my face like an open book. “What’s wrong with you... you look upset.”
“There’s nothing wrong,” I reply, pulling myself together.
“Is it about the cure?” he asks, folding his arms.
Nichelle’s head whips in his direction. “Cure?”
“Yeah…” Sylas’s eyes stay on me and I wonder if he can sense my uneasiness. “They found a cure… maybe.”
A big grin spreads across Nichelle’s face. “Yes!!” she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. “I knew Mathew would figure it out. God, it’s so great! We finally have some good news!”
“You’re making a lot of noise,” I tell her as people start glancing in our direction. She settles down a little, but still has way too much energy. “Mathew thinks he might have found a cure, but there’s still a lot of other stuff to figure out,” I say, and their moods deflate a notch. “What we need to make sure of is that he’s protected at all times. Nichelle, I need you to put a lot of guards around his lab and make sure they’re there always… it’s important that he can keep working no matter what happens… and that him and his lab are safe.”
She nods and turns around, jogging off towards a solider-looking group of people who aren’t nearly as strong as the Day Takers, but probably as close as you can get in human form. She says something to them and then they head over towards the lab with swords and knives in their hands. I wonder if it’s enough; if they’ll be able to stop the abominations from getting in if they do show up. I wonder if Mathew will figure it out in time. I wonder a lot of things at that moment and all the answers make me feel… well, hopeless. The feeling sucks.