Chapter 14 · Dangerous Bedfellows

"Stay. Down."

Vera’s blade wasn't just near my throat—it was biting into the skin. One twitch and I’d be leaking more than just the black sludge that passed for blood in this body. I could feel the heat of her breath, smelling like sharp mint and adrenaline, barely an inch from my snout.

I didn't move. I couldn't. My muscles were still locked in that post-berserk tremor, and the concrete floor of the lab felt like ice against my grafted scales.

"What the hell are you?" she spat. Her voice was shaking, just a little. "You’re not a mindless stitch-beast. You’re... you’re looking at me like you know exactly who I am."

I let out a low, rattling hiss. It wasn't a threat; it was the only sound my ruined larynx could manage without sounding like a garbage disposal full of glass.

"Don't play dumb," Vera snapped. She pressed the edge of the knife harder. "I saw you. You didn't just kill that thing—you hunted it. You used a flank. You lured it. That's not instinct. That's training."

I shifted my gaze, trying to catch her eyes. Her pupils were blown wide, darting across my scarred, mismatched hide.