Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Chapter 81

"Zeke!"

"Freya, the drawer!" Zeke gasped, clutching his chest as another wave of pain ripped through him. "Get the syringe inside it. Hurry!"

Freya didn’t waste another second. She scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the drawer beside his bed, pulling it open so violently that several things spilled onto the floor. Her hands shook as she pushed aside the scattered items, tears blurring her vision while she searched for the syringe. She knew what would happen if she couldn’t find it in time, and the thought alone made her heart pound harder.

"Where is it? Where the hell did you put it?" she muttered, frantically digging through the drawer.

At last, her fingers closed around a syringe filled with blue substance. She snatched it up and hurried back to him, dropping to her knees beside his trembling body.

"Here! Zeke, I’ve got it!"

He immediately grabbed the syringe from her hand. Without hesitation, he drove the needle into his forearm and pressed down on the plunger, emptying the blue liquid into his body.

A strangled groan escaped him.

His muscles contracted so violently that his entire body jerked, and the veins beneath his skin began to bulge. Freya watched in horror as they turned an unnatural shade of blue, spreading from his forearm and climbing toward his elbow before branching across his upper arm. The blue lines continued upward, crawling beneath his skin toward his chest and neck, growing more prominent with every passing second.

"Zeke!" Freya cried, grabbing him as his body lurched forward. "What’s happening to you? Zeke, look at me!"

He couldn’t answer. His teeth clenched as he fought through the pain, his fingers digging into her hands hard enough to hurt. When his strength finally gave out, he slumped against her, and Freya hurriedly wrapped both arms around him to keep him from hitting the floor.

She had seen him injured before, and she had watched him endure pain that would have brought most people to their knees. Yet nothing she had witnessed compared to this. His skin was frighteningly cold beneath her fingers, his breathing came in short, uneven bursts, and the blue veins on his neck looked as though they might burst through his skin.

"Please, Zeke," she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Please don’t do this to me."

He remained curled against her, gripping her hands as if they were the only things keeping him anchored. Several agonizing minutes passed before the blue began to fade, retreating from his neck and chest until the veins on his arms returned to their normal color. His muscles slowly relaxed, and although his breathing remained rough, it gradually became more regular.

Freya let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Zeke rested his forehead against her shoulder, his body still trembling from the aftereffects. He waited until he could breathe without feeling as though his chest was being crushed before speaking.

"Help me to the bed."

Freya immediately tightened her arms around him. "Can you stand?"

"I can manage. Just help me."

She slipped one arm around his waist and carefully helped him rise. His legs wobbled beneath him, forcing her to take most of his weight as they shuffled toward the bed. It took longer than it should have to cover the short distance, but she didn’t complain. Once they reached the mattress, she helped him sit down and crouched in front of him, examining his face with frightened eyes.

Before she could ask another question, Zeke reached for her. He pulled her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her waist and burying his face against her shoulder.

Freya gasped, caught completely off guard by the sudden hug. For a moment, she remained stiff with surprise, her hands hovering uncertainly above his back. Then she felt his fingers tighten around her, and whatever words she had been preparing died in her throat.

She hugged him back. Her arms circled his shoulders, and she held him as tightly as she dared, careful not to hurt him. Zeke didn’t say anything, and neither did she. They stayed like that for several seconds, allowing the silence to settle around them while Freya tried to calm the fear that had nearly swallowed her whole.

Eventually, she pulled back enough to look at him. "What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking despite her attempt to control it. "Why are you coughing up blood? You were fine when we left the council room. I watched you walk all the way here, Zeke, so what the hell happened between then and now?"

Zeke let out a bitter laugh, though the sound quickly turned into a cough. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and his expression darkened.

"Berthanon," he spat. "That fucking bastard!"

Freya’s eyes widened, and she immediately helped him lean back against the pillows. "What did he do to you?"

Zeke closed his eyes, his jaw tightening as the memory came back to him.

FLASHBACK

After Freya had taken Ingrid away from the examination room, Hunter G had gone straight to Berthanon’s office. He couldn’t afford to delay any longer, not when the old man had already begun demanding answers about Ingrid and the information she possessed. Before they had gotten to the Hunter’s Guild, he had sent Berthanon a message about Ingrid. Hunter Gknew Berthanon well enough to understand that he wouldn’t sit around waiting for an update, especially when something valuable was within his reach.

The guards stationed outside the office stepped aside when they saw him approaching. Hunter G walked in, shut the door behind him, and bowed his head toward the man seated behind the large desk.

Berthanon glanced up from the documents in front of him. "Where is the girl you mentioned in your message?"

Hunter G straightened. "She’s been taken to the infirmary along with her companions. Almost all of them are injured, and the girl herself was injured. I think we should give them some time to recover before questioning them. Once she’s stable, I’ll speak to her and find out what we can do next."

Berthanon’s face immediately darkened at the suggestion.

"Recover?" he repeated. "You sent me a message about a girl who supposedly knows something about new zombies and possesses Star Glow Herbs, and now you’re telling me we should wait for her to recover?"