“I can’t read it,” the gargoyle said, body tensing with a struggle to hold in anger. “It’s obviously written in bloodyDoctor.”
Surah only had to glance at it. “This is going to be interesting. Good news is, they might not have been trying to kill me. Bad news is–they might have been trying to killme.”
“What isit?”
Surah grimaced. “Help me up. I need to move, burn this stuff out of my system. It’s your serum, Malin. The concentrated version. About a half-dozen doses. The experimentalone.”
“Experimental?”
“The one I haven’t tried on you yet–so I have no idea what the side effects are. I usually take a small dose myself before giving it to you, but not inthis—”
“You dowhat?”
Surah grabbed Malin’s rock hard shoulder for balance, pushing to her feet. Glancing at her lover, she frowned. “Well, what did you expect? I can’t just develop a drug without going through some kind of human trial first. We’re already treading hot water as it is. These things take years, dozens of trials…all kinds of steps we’re kinda flying through, singing la lala lala along theway.”
“I should murder youmyself.You said you were trying to getpregnant.”
Surah opened her mouth, closed it, chagrined. How the hell had that not occurred to her? “Oh. Well. I kind of forgot about that.…” her voice trailed off in the face of Malin’srage.
“If I didn’t love you, I would murderyou.”
Surah closed her eyes for a minute. She felt lightheaded, struggling just to form another coherent thought. “That would solve quite a few problems. Not ours, obviously, but other peoples’problems.”
She led a fuming Malin to the basement gym, going through a brisk sixty-minute cardio workout. There were a few times she had to stop, waiting out the horrible cramps, but slowly equilibrium seemed to return. They both took advantage of the sauna, the steam helping Surah sweat more of the drug out of hersystem.
“As soon as you’re well,” Malin said, each word precise, “we go towar.”
Surah opened her eyes, exhausted, forcing herself to focus. “Who are you going to war against,Malin?”
Stony silence told Surah everything she needed to know. The doctor sat up straight. If she stretched out her legs, she could just touch the tips of Malin’s toes. They stared at eachother.
“We can’t go to war against our own brother, Malin. Have you considered that this is exactly what the Mogrens want? For us to destroy eachother?”
“Kausar pursued your assailants. They were Geza’s personalguard.”
Surah rolled her eyes. “Oh ye of little faith. Come on, Malin. You’re having a ‘Too Stupid to Live’ moment here. Did you call Geza? No? Okay, so all we know is that either Mogren’s men in the uniform of Geza’s guard attacked me–or Geza’s guard, some of them, are traitors. We don’t know that Geza actually ordered an attack. You know, a simple phone call would clear that misunderstanding rightup.”
Malin's eyes flared, lip pulling over an exposed fang in a snarl. “Don’t take that tone of voice with me. I’ll speak to him–but face to face, where I can watch his eyes as he lies tome.”
“I didn’t tell you about the talk I had with Lavinia before I wasattacked?”
The Prince stared at her. When he spoke, his voice was completely neutral. “You didn’t mentionthat.”
“Well, my bet is she orchestrated the wholething.”
“I swore that if she came after you again, I would killher.”
“You can’t kill Geza’s Councilor without hispermission.”
Malin bared teeth. “Then let’s go getit.”
Surah let out a breath. “Come on, Malin. No time like thepresent.”
The gargoyle grimaced as Surah pushed to her feet, swaying just a bit before she locked herknees.
“Are you insane?” Malin asked, rising to catch her as her knees buckled. “In this shape, you’re asking for someone to be done withyou.”
“That’s why it’s perfect,” Surah argued. “My weakness just might draw our enemies out in such a way Geza will stop waffling and do something. Right now he doesn’t want to fight us–he’s waiting on you to make a move because he’s been half convinced you’re a traitor. But he knowsbetter.”
Malin lifted her into his arms. “It’s amazing, all this conjecture–like you can readminds.”
“I know mybrother.”
“AndIknowmybrother. And you. I raised both of yougarlings.”
“Yeah?” Surah slung an arm around Malin’s sweat slicked shoulders. “Well, come on then, Pa. We’ve got work todo.”
