Thank fuck.

“And Pika?”

“Haven’t seen him.”

Shit, he better be alive.

Skittles was alive.

Cal was alive.

As much as I hated this bastard, he’d kept two of the most important things in my world breathing.

Eleanor would never have to know I’d been the reason Skittles almost died. I wouldn’t have to live the rest of my life with Cal’s ghost judging my every action.

I ground my teeth, cursing the weight of thankfulness as it slithered beneath my hate. “What do you want? A fucking thank you? They’re hurt because of you. My islands have been infiltrated because of you. Eleanor and my goddesses are in danger because of you!”

He flinched, clasping his hands in front of him. “I owe you an apology, Sinclair. You’re quite right that I now have to live with the knowledge that I am the reason so many guards—men who I knew on a first-name basis—are dead. However...” His jaw clenched. “I am not responsible for your goddesses being in danger. That’s entirely on you.”

“What?” The cage swam as I thrashed to get free. “You fucking hypocrite. You called my brother to kill me, and you stand there thinking my girls’ lives are better off? How stupid do you have to be?”

Acid splashed up my throat.

Greyness feathered over my vision.

My leg switched from throbbing to beating like a war drum.

Do. Not. Pass. Out.

Goddammit!

I blinked, shaking my head and willing my heart to stop racing.

The doctor squatted to his haunches, his voice low and hushed. “Keep your voice down. The longer they think you’re incapacitated, the more time you have to recover.” He sighed. “In full disclosure, I patched Drake up too. The stab wound in his shoulder was shallow. The strangulation effects minor. A few stitches where you grazed him with a bullet. However, your punches did some damage. Regardless of your condition, Sinclair, you almost killed him three nights ago with your bare hands—”

“Three nights ago?” I groaned as adrenaline made me sick. “Three fucking days?”

“You were in surgery for a long time. Your body needed time to heal. Once you’ve eaten something solid, you’ll regain your strength—”

“What sort of sick game are you playing?” I snarled. “Do you really think my life hasn’t been drastically shortened thanks to your snitching? You betray me, yet you fix me. You welcome my worst enemy, and you fix him too. You have the fucking balls to tell me Cal and Skittles will survive, all while you condemn the lives of innocent women? Do you honestly think Drake will free them? Is that what this is about? You think he’ll act merciful and stop my sexual trading? Bullshit! He’s already enslaved them to a nightmare. He’ll rape them until they beg to die. You just sentenced them to hell, Campbell—”

“You shattered the voice box of Calico and almost killed Neptune and Jupiter! That was my last straw, Sinclair! I’m a doctor. I swore an oath to protect and nurture, not repair what you break. And I didn’t call him, alright?!” He flinched, lowering his temper. “Well, not directly. A coup was not my intention.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” I stiffened, ignoring the hiss of guilt for what I’d done to three goddesses who’d tried to murder the only girl who mattered to me.

He looked at the ground, genuine contrition on his face. “I only ever wanted to protect the girls you so callously turn into desperate whores. You’ve gone too far.”

My hands curled, the handcuffs jangling. “You, as well as anyone, know how well they are treated. You’re the head of their medical care, for fuck’s sake. They’re healthy and happy—”

“Healthy is debatable, and they’re definitely not happy.”

“Depends who you ask.”

He scowled, a flicker of loathing on his face. “I have asked, and I don’t like their responses. That’s why I called your company. I told Peter Beck that elixir is far too potent. Long-term use is showing massive adverse reactions on the nervous system. I suppose Drake overheard somehow or got a hold of phone records. Who knows? But he contacted me and sounded legitimately concerned. I wasn’t aware of the, eh...feud between you. My judgment of the matter was compromised because of my building worry over the girls. They’re all suffering the same symptoms.”

“What fucking symptoms? They’re fine—”

“Heart palpitations, increased resting BPM, chemical stress, insomnia, anxiety.”

“And you’re blaming that on elixir? Symptoms that could be caused from anything.”

“I’m telling you my hypothesis on a drug that hasn’t been strictly monitored or tested that is now revealing severe side effects. Someone is going to die from it, Sinclair. Mark my words.”

Metal bars bit into my back, driving my pain to a distracting level. I needed to sit up. I needed drugs to numb the agony so I could think straight.

Forcing my voice not to crack with discomfort, I hissed, “Let’s ignore the fact that you went behind my back, enlisted the help of a psychopath instead of coming to me with your issues, and dumped us all in a clusterfuck that will only end with me dead and the goddesses that you’re so concerned about being molested and left in far worse condition than I currently keep them in, and focus on a key couple of things.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Okay...”

“Where is Drake right now?”

“He’s completing the final sweep of the villas, looking for the goddesses you evacuated.”

“Did you tell him where they are?”

“Of course not.” He wrinkled his nose. “My duty is to them. I did this for them. I enlisted the help of a bastard all because Blossom, Sailor, and Jealousy won’t last much longer if you continue—”

“What about Jealousy?” My heart rate increased, making the cage swim again.

If Jealousy betrayed me too, I honestly didn’t know how I’d react. She’d been the closest thing I had to a female friend before Eleanor arrived. If she’d turned around and stabbed me in the back, then trust would be severely scrutinised for being the worst possible thing in the human psyche.

“Jealousy has been suffering the most.” Dr. Campbell’s face tightened. “She stayed quiet about the side effects. I only found out because she fainted in Divinity a few weeks ago, and I was called to attend. Her pulse, Sinclair, was two-hundred and thirty. That’s excessively high. Two forty is usually the max before serious complications occur. Her heart palpitations took three hours to subside, despite the use of beta blockers and blood thinners. I fear she’ll have a stroke. Elixir has scrambled her usual chemical pathways. Her nervous system is haywire—”

“If this is so serious, why didn’t you come to me sooner?” My breathing turned shallow. “You know enough about me to know that I would’ve done something to help.”

“I have tried to make you see sense, Sinclair. I warned you elixir was too strong.”

“Strong is different from suicidal.”

“Elixir will end up killing a girl one day because of your negligence. You can’t keep playing god. I won’t let you.” He sighed, smoothing a hand over his thinning white hair. “Look, I made a mistake enlisting the help of your brother. When he offered to persuade your mind about ceasing the use of elixir, I shouldn’t have agreed. I should’ve known anyone related to you wouldn’t be of rational mind.”