Chapter 233
Shoal’s smile is breathtaking—too breathtaking, like he’s accustomed to using charm as a weapon. He turns to Lily, who visibly stiffens under his attention, and purrs, “Fantastic. Liliana, love, will you show us the rest of the way?”
Liliana?
I don’t miss the way Lily’s ice-blue eyes flick to the floor, nor the way her sun-kissed cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink.
What the actual fuck?
Of all the possible dynamics I expected, that was nowhere on my list.
Lily clears her throat, shaking whatever that was off. “Of course,” she says, regaining her usual clipped tone.
Before she can lead us anywhere, Peter speaks up. “Wait. Marina is still recovering from what was done to her. She needs to be monitored.”
Shoal looks at Delphinium’s sleeping form for a long moment, expression unreadable. Then he turns back to Lily. “Can you explain this, Liliana?”
Lily jumps, her usual icy exterior cracking for a fraction of a second. She stutters, “You… I was under the impression that you wanted all previous research abandoned so that we could focus on the future.”
Shoal says nothing, simply waiting.
Lily licks her lips nervously and continues, “All other viable live specimens were released back into the wild. And the ones that were unfit to return to their natural ecosystems were euthanized. I had no reason to think this one should be treated any differently.”
Shoal’s gaze darkens. “You thought wrong.” His voice is still smooth, still even, but the weight behind it is lethal. “Do you have the slightest inkling of what you nearly did? The years of progress you nearly undid?”
Lily’s mouth opens and closes like she wants to argue, but she’s thinking. Calculating.
Finally, she says, “Whatever part you think she may play in the Master Work, I promise you she’s useless. She’s been in captivity for over a century—her DNA is highly compromised.”
I tense. That isn’t completely true—I saw the way Electra responded to Delphinium’s presence. But I keep that information to myself.
Shoal’s eyes flick to me briefly, as if gauging my reaction. Then he states, simply, “She is of royal blood.”
Lily’s expression tightens—crestfallen, like she just lost something. But she quickly schools her face into something more neutral. “I can acknowledge that I made an incorrect call,” she says carefully. “But it wasn’t without cause. I believed I was doing her a justice.”
Cora bristles. “How dare you speak of justice when your people are the ones who tortured her in the first place?”
Arista takes a menacing step forward, her golden eyes flashing. “Explain to me, human—where is the humanity in that?”
Lily’s gaze flicks to Shoal and his entourage, maybe hoping one of them will come to her defense.
None of them do.
They just watch her, waiting.
Lily swallows hard, but steadies herself, lifting her chin. “I have done things that I am not proud of in the pursuit of knowledge,” she admits. “But not one of you can say you haven’t done the same. Judge me how you want—I got the answers I was looking for. And I have agreed to use those answers to further your kind. Don’t forget that.”
Shoal turns to Arista. “Does that sufficiently answer your question?”
Arista scoffs. “What, so she’s agreed to do your dirty work and that makes everything okay? I suppose that explains the innocent Enkians in those damned pods.”
Shoal’s lips twitch into a small smile. “I assure you, not one of the people in those pods is innocent.”
That… doesn’t sit well.
He continues, “The days of poking and prodding wayward princesses are over. And yet—there is still work to be done. Dirty work, though some of it may be.”
Lily sucks in a breath. She doesn’t look proud of that, exactly, but whatever power play just occurred between her and Shoal, she looks relieved to have made it out the other side.
Lily exhales through her nose. “I will arrange for Marina to be taken care of in the medical ward.”
Peter steps forward immediately. “I’m going with her.”
Lily turns to him sharply. “That won’t be necessary. The same people who cared for her before will be her care team now.”
Peter’s jaw tightens. “I know all about her care team, and I’m not trusting her safety to anyone who takes their orders from you.”
Lily’s eyes narrow. “Last I checked, you take your orders from me, Dr. Baird.”
Peter doesn’t flinch, but he doesn’t outright refute her either.
Cora crosses her arms. “I’d find it quite difficult to listen to whatever you have to say with an open mind if you can’t even give us this one reasonable request.”
Lily looks like she’s swallowing nails, but she acquiesces, calling for a medical transport to take both Marina and Peter to the medical ward.
When the medics arrive and begin loading Marina onto a stretcher, Cora places a hand on Arista’s arm, her face drawn. “I hate to ask this of you…”
Arista places her own hand over Cora’s, squeezing it gently. “I’ll go with them, Cora. I’ll keep them safe.”
Cora nods, looking relieved but also guilty.
As they leave, Shoal watches the scene impassively and murmurs, “Thank you for entrusting us this far.”
I meet his gaze head-on. “Make no mistake,” I say coldly. “There is no trust here. We’re just checking to see how much damage you’ve already done.”
Shoal tilts his head, amused, and gestures ahead. “Fair enough. Follow me.”
We do follow him—back onto the elevator and up to the next floor.
Shoal leads us through a set of stately double doors into what I assume is some kind of conference room.
The second we step inside, I see him.
Wake.
Really him this time.
He’s pacing like a caged panther, his muscles coiled, his expression thunderous. He looks unharmed, but furious.
The second his eyes land on Shoal, he stops dead.
A low growl rumbles from his chest, vibrating through the room like a coming storm. The walls shudder from the force of it.
His black eyes burn, flashing like deep-sea lightning.
“Give me one reason,” he snarls, his voice low and dangerous, “why I shouldn’t beat you within an inch of your gods-forsaken life.”
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