Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Why’d you say you guys?” Niran asks, his brow furrowed. “Where will you be?”
Marcus sighs heavily. “I have to go do something on my own.”
“The hell you do,” Nova says sharply. “You’re not going out there alone.”
Marcus shoots her a disapproving glare. “It’s never been this unsafe out there.”
“Out there?” Niran gapes at Marcus. “You think you’re going outside the perimeter alone?”
Marcus looks away.
“I’ll go with you,” I offer.
“We’ll all go,” Nova says.
Marcus shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Call for a vote,” Nova says breezily.
“Goddammit, Nova,” Marcus barks. “We can’t afford to lose the entire team.”
Niran slams his fist on a table, making Amira jump. “Drop the martyr shit. Shan just died. Shit’s really fucking real, and whatever needs doing, we do it together.”
Marcus runs his hand over his jaw, which is covered in a shadow of dark stubble. “You guys might want to wait until you hear what I’m planning before you vote.”
“I’m in.” Niran grins. “Don’t need to hear it.”
“Me too,” Wyatt says.
Marcus rolls his eyes, then turns serious. “I have good reason to believe McClain is alive on this island somewhere. I’m going to find him, and I’m turning on my aromium so I can work faster and not sleep.”
32
Ever had a roommate who was always short on rent? This week we’ll be talking about parasitic plants like mistletoe, that can tap into the vascular systems of other plants to steal water and nutrients. So give that freeloading roomie a mistletoe plant for the holidays and only you’ll know the true meaning behind it.
- Excerpt from the Introduction to Plant Biology course taught by Dr. Lucinda Hollis
Marcus is met with stunned silence. After a few seconds, Niran laughs.
“I’m still in, brother. Go big or go home, right? And I guess going big is our only choice by default, because we sure as hell aren’t going home.”
Adele speaks up next, her shirt stained with blood from the fight with the Tiders earlier. “Yeah, me too. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.”
One by one, everyone in the room tells Marcus they’re with him. I’m last, and I smile when his eyes land on mine..
“You know it’s a yes from me.”
He scrubs a hand down his face, looking tense. “This is dangerous shit, you guys.”
“Hey, we’ll have a better chance of killing those fuckers with our aromium on,” Chance says.
“The aromium is what’s dangerous,” Marcus says. “The effects are ...” He furrows his brow. “You don’t start back at zero when it’s reactivated; you pick up right where you left off. So if you were ninety percent of the way to bonding, which makes it impossible to turn off the aromium, every day it’s on brings you closer to that. And if you were feeling volatile when it was turned off, you’ll be right back there. You’ll only want to fuck and fight.”
Niran scoffs. “Don’t threaten me with a good time. We said we’re in, so let’s fucking do it.”
Marcus looks up at the ceiling.
“What should we do if we find him?” Adele asks.
“Call me on the radio. We’ll use the code word eagle for him. So radio the team that you’ve located the eagle and then stay with him. Do not radio location or coordinates.” He pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Fuck it, I might as well just tell you guys the rest. Aromium is made from a flower that grows on this island. The flowers are huge and shaped like bells. They’re bright blue—very distinctive. McClain said he thinks he can make an aromium stabilizer with a component of the plant, probably the root. I’ve been low-key searching this entire island for it for a long-ass time. If you run across a plant with a flower that looks like that, dig up a bunch of them and bring them back to camp. Radio that you located...I don’t even know, just call it a pot of gold. And for fuck’s sake, don’t forget the location.”
I’m staring at him, open-mouthed, because that was a lot. It looks like everyone else, other than Nova, is doing the same. I can tell by his expression that even Niran didn’t know about this flower.
“Oh ... I get it,” Amira says. “That’s why it’s Blue Arrow Island. It’s not actual arrows, it’s blue aromium.”
Marcus nods slowly. “The compound retains the blue color from the flower.”
“How do you know all of this?” I ask him, unable to wait until we’re alone.
He exhales through his nose, meeting my gaze. “Long story, but the short version is when I was a Tider, McClain found me in the woods and turned off my aromium. He told me everything he knew because the team of scientists fled the island and he was alone. If something had happened to him, no one would’ve been left to communicate with Whitman about the aromium project. He showed me how to do everything. Order supplies, send emails as him—”