Chapter 60
Lyra ran her finger down the page, reading the words again.
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“This is it!” she cried, looking up from her spot on the floor, her back leaning against Megan’s
couch.
“What?” Donovan and Megan asked at the same time.
“It says right here.” Lyra tapped the page, then read aloud. “A Veriscent who endured prolonged exposure to pure silver.” She looked up, eyes bright. “Rather than succumbing, her body adapted, becoming a conduit for the metal’s purity and power.”
Megan and Donovan both gave her blank looks. Lyra let out a soft huff and flipped the book around so they could see. “It’s called Vesselis. The sacred embodiment. A Veriscent’s body can take on the very nature of certain forces or elements they’ve been exposed to. It’s rare, but listen to this
part.”
She turned back to the book, her voice steady. “Such gifts are not without danger. To act as a vessel is to invite transformation. The boundary between what is carried and what is consumed is perilously thin. A Veriscent may take on burdens not meant for any mortal to bear. It may also result in irreversible change to their physical state.”
She looked at Donovan meaningfully. “That’s why your legs are the way they are. When Mom was poisoned by silver while she was pregnant with you, your body didn’t reject it. It absorbed it. It changed you on a fundamental level.”
Donovan stared at her, then down at his twisted legs. His face shifted, like he wasn’t sure if he
should be angry, relieved, or just sick.
“So I’m a freak because my body couldn’t tell the difference between being poisoned and… what, evolving?” he muttered.
“No,” Lyra said, her voice firm. She crawled closer and rested a hand on his knee. “You’re not a freak. You’re a miracle. Your body survived something that should have killed you. Not only that, it made you into something more.”
Megan frowned. “So why did he burn Bran if he’s always had this silver in him? Wouldn’t we have
seen it before?”
Lyra chewed her lip. “I think it might be a defensive reaction.” She looked up at Donovan. “Has anyone ever attacked you like that before?”
Donovan shook his head. “They’ve tipped me out of my chair. Made fun of me. But Bran was different.” He shuddered. “He grabbed my throat. I thought he was really going to hurt me.”
“So he only burns people when he feels threatened?” Megan raised an eyebrow.
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Lyra nodded. “Exactly. His body acted like silver itself. He only became dangerous because he was provoked.”
Donovan looked at his hands again, quiet now. “So I’m basically living silver. No wonder people
want to stay away.”
“Not everyone,” Lyra said, giving his leg a squeeze.
“Yeah.” Megan shoved his shoulder lightly. “Takes more than a dangerous, life–threatening element
to scare us off.”
He rolled his eyes, but Lyra caught the faint smile tugging at his lips.
They all turned when the elevator chimed. Jake walked out, followed by Callan and Russ. His smile lit up the second he saw Lyra on the floor, then softened when he spotted Donovan. “Everyone still
alive?”
“Barely,” Donovan muttered.
Jake grinned and held out his hand to Lyra. “Come here.”
She took it, letting him pull her to her feet. He didn’t stop there. He led her to the couch and sat down, pulling her right into his lap. His arms locked around her waist, one hand slipping under her shirt to rest warm against the small of her back. Lyra let out a soft sigh, tipping her head against
him.
Russ dropped into an armchair. “So you figure out why Donnie’s the human barbecue?”
Lyra nodded, explaining again how Donovan’s body had absorbed the silver and how the Vesselis trait worked. Russ looked almost impressed by the end, while Callan gave Donovan a sympathetic
look.
“Do you think it’s something you can control?” Jake asked, serious now, even as his thumb moved in small circles on her skin.
Donovan shrugged. “I didn’t even know I could do this until yesterday.”
“It could be an interesting weapon,” Callan said quietly. “Someone who can stop a werewolf with
one touch.”
“It might be more than that.” Russ raked a hand through his hair. “Silver weakens us just by being close. If Donovan learned to control it, he might be able to force people to shift back or keep them weak just by standing near them.”
“Great.” Donovan swallowed hard, looking pale. “So I’m a weapon.”
“We didn’t mean it like that,” Jake said quickly. “But you have something none of us has ever seen before. Your gift could be incredibly useful, if it’s used right.”
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“It wouldn’t only work on werewolves,” Callan added. “Silver weakens witches too.”
The room went quiet, everyone clearly arriving at the same thought.
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Lyra turned to Jake. “Is that part of why the witches might see Donovan and me as a threat?”
Jake shrugged. “Who knows? Do they even know he has this ability? No one did until yesterday. Not even Donovan. We all thought the silver destroyed anything supernatural in him, not enhanced
it.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Donovan muttered, rolling away.
Lyra frowned, watching him go.
“That’s a lot to process,” Megan said, staring after him. “Maybe we should just give him time.”
Before anyone could respond, the elevator sounded again and Kylie stepped out. She stopped short the moment she saw them, her eyes sweeping the room before landing on Jake, with Lyra firmly settled on his lap and his hand still under her shirt. Something sharp flickered across her face before she quickly smoothed it over.
“I thought we were going to lunch,” she said, her eyes finding Callan, her voice brittle.
Callan grimaced. “Sorry, Ky. We got caught up. Give me a minute to change.”
Kylie’s gaze darted back to Jake and Lyra. “Sure. I’ll wait.”
She sat on the arm of Megan’s chair, close enough that it felt pointed. Jake’s thumb traced slow circles over Lyra’s back, his other hand low on her hip. When Kylie’s eyes narrowed, he leaned in and pressed a slow kiss to Lyra’s neck, right below her ear.
Lyra stiffened, her cheeks going hot. Jake just smirked against her skin.
“So the baby should be here any day,” Kylie said suddenly, glancing at Megan.
“Yep,” Megan said, her voice pitched too high, her smile painfully bright. “Any day now. I’m ready for him to get out. He’s brutal on the bladder.”
Kylie grimaced. “I didn’t need to know that.” She cut another look toward Jake and Lyra.
Lyra tried to shift off Jake’s lap, but his arms tightened, keeping her there. His mouth brushed her ear. “Don’t even think about it.”
Thankfully, Callan came back in fresh clothes. He paused at the threshold, his eyes narrowing as
he took in the scene.
“Ready, Cal?” Kylie jumped to her feet.
Callan’s gaze flicked between them before he gave a curt nod. “Yeah.” He kissed Megan’s cheek, said a quick goodbye to Russ and Lyra, then gave Jake a look that promised a later conversation.
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He followed Kylie out, leaving a tense silence behind.
Russ burst out laughing. “Well, that was painfully awkward.”
Megan rolled her eyes, glancing at Lyra and Jake. “You two are the worst.”
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Jake only grinned, his fingers flexing on Lyra’s hip. “Not our fault some people can’t take a hint.”
Lyra smacked his chest lightly. “You didn’t have to put on that whole possessive show.”
He kissed her nose. “She’s been spreading lies about you all week. She needs to back off and show you the respect you deserve. You’re my mate. Not her.”
Lyra wanted to argue, but instead she rolled her eyes, trying to hide her flush as she settled back against him. Even with all the tension, she wouldn’t trade the warm, secure feeling of being in his arms for anything.
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