Chapter 20
Seraphina
He opened the cage, and the eight-legged creature crawled out slowly onto his outstretched palm.
Damn. This was beyond creepy. Willingly letting myself get injected with poison just to pass some stupid test? I must have lost my mind for the sake of this mission.
"Your name is Seraphina, right?" Dorian asked casually. But my attention wasn't on him. My eyes were locked on the monstrous spider scuttling across his hand. That thing was enormous—its legs moved with a deliberate slowness that made my skin crawl.
I managed a nod.
"Let's hope you can remember your name once this is over," he added with a faint smirk.
I gulped at his words. Was it really going to be that bad?
"Your hand," he said, extending his free one toward me.
My heart pounded in protest. With my fist clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palm, I stretched my arm out toward him. The slight tremble in my hand betrayed the calm facade I was trying so hard to maintain.
As he brought the spider closer to my exposed skin, I turned my face away. The mere thought of it crawling on me made my stomach churn.
The sensation of its legs creeping onto my arm sent a shudder through my body. My face twisted involuntarily, and I held my breath, bracing for the sting.
And then—it hit.
The bite was quick, a sharp prick that barely registered as pain. For a moment, I thought, That's it? That wasn't so bad. But deep down, I 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?" I asked, tugging down my sleeve as if covering the bite would somehow ease my growing anxiety.
"Any moment....now!" he replied, his tone calm but almost... amused.
And then it began.
The pain exploded in my chest like a bomb. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, the relentless pressure stealing my breath. My vision blurred as heat surged through my veins, my body set aflame from the inside out. It felt like I was being attacked by a thousand venomous ants crawling beneath my skin.
My stomach twisted violently, and I doubled over, clutching my chest in desperation. I stumbled to the floor as the agony consumed me. My body convulsed, writhing uncontrollably under the onslaught.
I refused scream. No matter how much it hurt, I had low tolerance to pain, but I refused to give in to that weakness. But the pain... the pain was beyond anything I had ever endured.
I bit down hard on my bottom lip, the coppery taste of blood filling my mouth as I tried to suppress any sound. I won't scream... I won't...
"Aaaahhh!" A guttural cry tore from my throat as my back arched violently. The pain was too much, too intense, each second dragging me closer to the brink of madness.
Dorian didn't even flinch. He simply walked over to a chair, sat down, and watched me thrash on the ground as if this was all just part of his day.
I hated him for it.
My vision dimmed further. My eyelids grew unbearably heavy. I tried to fight it, to stay conscious, but my strength was failing me.
I couldn't... couldn't...
My head fell limply to the side as the world faded into darkness.
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I didn't know how long I'd been out, but when I opened my eyes, I was still lying on the floor. The intense pain had faded, but a dull, throbbing ache lingered in my head, making it hard to think clearly.
I sat up abruptly, wincing as the movement sent a sharp jolt through my skull. My 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 I was unconscious. That meant I hadn't been out for too long. Good. I needed to get back to the palace before anyone noticed I'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?" I asked, my chest heaving as I tried to steady my breathing. It was still labored, but nowhere near as bad as it had been when the poison coursed through me.
"Just thirty minutes." He leaned back in his chair, inspecting me with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "Your immune system is stronger than I thought."
He stood up, moving to crouch beside me. The scent of his tobacco filled the air, sharp and acrid, making my nose wrinkle. I hated the smell of tobacco.
"Let me see your hand," he said, gesturing. I stretched it out reluctantly.
He placed two fingers against the pulse point on my 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." I shook my 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 I could argue, he disappeared and returned seconds later with a small tray of equipment. Without hesitation, he grabbed my hand and pricked my thumb with something sharp. I flinched slightly as he squeezed a drop of blood into a bowl filled with a dark, murky liquid.
The moment my blood hit the surface, the liquid transformed, turning a bright, pure white. My eyes widened in shock. What the hell was this?
Dorian's reaction mirrored mine, 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." I 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?" My voice rose slightly in disbelief. "No. I'm not a vampire. Why would I drink blood?"
Dorian stared at me, 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 my mind spinning, and then it clicked. That time when I'd nearly died—when I was stabbed and bleeding—I'd woken up the next morning fully healed. I remembered Rhydian being the one who saved me. I hadn't even thanked him for that. But... was it his blood that healed me?
My eyes widened in horror as I realized the possibility.