Dr. Pamalaiha Shraufand stood stunned at the mention of the product name she had yet to reveal to anyone. She opened her mouth to ask how he could possibly know, “Wha—”

  “Rahh!” Celeste roared and kicked off the wall behind her. She hurtled toward the doctor, leg primed for a dangerous roundhouse. Raine's suspicions about the doctor's grace were confirmed when she assumed a low martial stance. Her eyes narrowed, carefully tracking Celeste's progress through the air. A hand vanished behind her back, the other up to defend.

  Raine dash-stepped, appearing between them. One hand grabbed Celeste’s ankle, the other intercepting the doctor's wrist. The knife she was about to throw fell to the floor, his crushing grip overwhelming her slender build. With one leg suspended, Celeste flipped upside down, her face smashing into the floor.

  Raine released the doctor, and she hopped away from them, nursing her wrist. He waved his other arm back and forth, causing Celeste's face to slide across the tiles with a groan, “What do you think you’re doing, attacking out of nowhere like that? And why is your underwear pink when your clothes are black? I thought girls liked to match that sort of thing.”

  Looking back to the doctor, Raine smiled reassuringly, “Sorry about that, Dr. Shraufand. I just got her, and we're still working on discipline.”

  “I’m not a dog, you asshole. Let me go!” Celeste’s feeble resistance was gaining steam as she recovered from the blow to her head. Raine released her, and she flopped to the floor.

  The doctor remained where she was, observing them with calculating eyes, ready to bolt. Since she wasn't keen on talking, Raine picked up her knife, frowning at its make. Its blade was softly curved, the metal folded hundreds of times. It had a square, ornately perforated guard and sharply rectangular hilt. He recognized it as a weapon usually only seen once, right before death. It was both ceremonial and practical. A tool of murder passed down through the generations, often holding more significance than an individual wielder's entire life.

  Few would understand its significance in this timeline. However, ZionLine’s difficulty was so great that it did not allow trump cards to be held forever. Regardless of the origin, techniques and secret methods kept hidden through the ages would eventually be revealed just to maintain the slimmest of edges over the competition. That was why Raine didn't mind sharing techniques with the ‘common born.’ They were all going to be revealed anyway, so he may as well benefit before then.

  Lifting his gaze from the weapon, he scrutinized the doctor more carefully, noting her stance and general calmness. The fact she still hadn't spoken a word after being attacked was the biggest giveaway.

  Kunoichi? Are the clans involved? No. They would never have let Ronexzera get away with owning the formula. She's alone? That's just as unlikely. The clans are more secretive than regular martial families. The only way out is death.

  Then, how did this little flower get here? Did she fake her death? A method that could fool the clans wouldn't be simple. Is she still injured from it? Is that why she's developing ReGen? Since I never heard of her in the past, she either left after succeeding or was tracked down by whichever clan she escaped from.

  Raised to some of the strictest training on the planet, it was no wonder Pamalaiha remained collected as Raine’s thoughts tumbled into her head. However, when he took the first step toward her, and his bloodlust slammed through her, all her training became nothing more than a useless decoration hanging on a wall thousands of kilometers away.

  There wasn’t a person on the planet who had dealt as much death with their own hands as Raine. His killing intent was sharper than a razor and heavier than a mountain. It sliced to her core, seizing her heart, lungs, and brain in a grip of absolute terror that she was powerless to resist. Death loomed. Her eyes grew wide as Raine took another step.

  He towered over her, seemingly relaxed, but only a fool would believe that. While softly spoken, his words elicited a full-body flinch, “You're the creator behind the new drug.” There was no question in his deep, rumbling voice. It slithered through her ears, swept down her spine, and joined the grip he already had on her heart like the jaws of a wild beast. “With your skills, you clearly allowed Dr. McLeary to steal your work.”

  Raine’s bloodlust flicked off like a light, allowing the return of sapience. Even without it, each of his words strummed a chord within her, causing her vision to dance. [What trickery is this? He manipulates my heart as easily as my mind. How is my luck so foul to chance upon an enlightened grandmaster?]

  Pamalaiha knew there was no escape, yet her feet moved on their own. Taking a step, she discovered her back was already against the wall. He reached her, but instead of devouring her soul like the demon he appeared to be, he flipped her knife. Grasping the blade, Raine held out the hilt, “I don't care about any of that. Keep your plans, secrets, whatever, to yourself. I only want the ReGen formula, which you don’t seem to care about anyway.”

  Celeste recovered enough to climb back to her feet. She stared daggers at the woman, pointing to her ear, then sliding her fingers across her lips. [I knew Mel was full of shit. No freckles. Fuck, why am I thinking about that nonsense right now? This bitch tried to kill me, and she knows… If he finds out, I’m so dead.]

  Pamalaiha’s gasp was such a tiny thing that it was impossible to see through her surgical mask. [He doesn’t know? And she can hear his thoughts, too? Is that why she attacked me? I have too many questions to pounce at conclusions. I must answer him. He will get what he wants even if it means my death, and I do not care who controls the formula; only that I receive a dose before my time ends.]

  Standing tall, Pamalaiha took the fifth breath of the Kaladra, easily regaining her composure. Her voice was soft yet heavily accented, “I will give you the formula. I only wish to know how you made it work.”

  Raine’s thoughts raced to put together the pieces revealed by her statement. She knows I already used it. Of course, she must have seen me take it from the security footage. With her clan’s skills, getting it would be simple. But how does she not know how to activate it? Unless…

  Pamalaiha’s toes curled as his thoughts came so close to revealing the secret, then halted, leaving her in tortuous anticipation. His deep voice caressed her ears again, “You’ve been watching me. You came in here now to spy on me. Since you don’t know how to activate it, I’ll tell you. For a price.”

  Celeste remained quiet, unmoving other than her eyes, which danced between them as she hung on to every thought and word. Now that she knew the woman’s desires, she was poised to distract Raine if his thoughts came close to revealing the secret. After all, if they lost this little leverage over the doctor, she could ruin everything.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Pamalaiha nodded deeply, knowing she had no choice if she wanted to survive. The poison she took to escape her home would soon overwhelm her, and only the ancient remedy could save her, “Name your price, and I will pay it.”

  “First, the formula,” Raine stepped to the side, motioning with his arm for her to lead the way, “How much ReGen have you synthesized?”

  She walked by, her body naturally stiffening from the proximity to one who could end her in an instant. Despite knowing exactly how wide the gap between them was, the fine hairs on the side of her closest to him flexed as if each wished to reach out and brush against him. [Foolish girl! Do you fear him or wish for his seed? Is this the demonic attraction to the powerful that Nana always warned of?]

  On her way by Celeste, the two locked eyes. [I would wager my soul this trashy charlatan is trying to use him. Good luck, fool. If grandmasters could be so easily tamed, they would not rule the world. One so young as he already possessing a domain and such powerful psychic emanations has a limitless future. Hearing his thoughts will not save you; it will only draw you deeper into his clutches.]

  Celeste felt the woman’s hostility, and her lip pulled up to reveal her canines. [I’ve got to get rid of this hussy before she ruins everything. She’s strong. If Raine hadn’t stopped us, I might have died. Whatever training he’s got planned next, bring it on. Kunoichi or whatever doesn’t mean shit. If she makes a wrong move, I’ll kill her no matter what.]

  She was pulled from her thoughts as Raine walked by and jabbed a finger hard as metal into the soft flesh below her collarbone, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten. I don’t know what got into you, but we’re going to have a long discussion about it later.”

  “Ouch!” Celeste recoiled from his touch and then chased after him. She already had an excuse prepared, “I learned about her from my research on the company. I knew she was dangerous. I saw her knife and panicked.”

  They followed Pamalaiha out of the lab and down the hallway toward another door marked with an eighteen. Raine’s gaze remained on the diminutive doctor, his voice oozing with warning threat, “You sure that’s the story you want to go with?”

  “It’s not a story!” Celeste tried, but Raine’s sensitive ears easily picked out the quiver behind her faux anger.

  “Today’s training just tripled. Lie to me again, and I’ll cut you loose entirely. Next time you don’t want to tell the truth, keep your mouth shut instead. Silence I will abide, another lie, and we. Are. Done.”

  Celeste tried not to panic, but it was impossible. Her world felt like it was collapsing for the twelfth time that day. She obediently followed behind him, head down and biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. [Shit-shit-shit! He's serious. Damnit, I almost ruined everything! I shouldn't have opened my big fucking mouth.]

  Pamalaiha wanted so badly to snicker, but a lifetime of training was not so easily cast aside. She stood before her lab’s door, and it dutifully hissed. Inside was much the same as Dr. Krillian’s workplace, though not destroyed. In contrast, it was immaculately organized. Raine noticed the cube-shaped space in the corner where a server once sat.

  Seeing the direction of his attention, Pamalaiha shook her head, causing a few dark strands of hair to come loose from her bun, “I did not keep the formula there. Trusting such an easily compromised system would be foolish in the extreme.”

  Raine clicked his tongue. If I knew that, I would have let them get away and tracked them back to Juan Pauel. Allowing Celeste to capture him will go a long way toward clearing her name.

  [He’s still thinking about helping me? I… Fuck.]

  When Raine simply stared at the doctor, waiting, Pamalaiha flinched. The memory of his powerful domain blasting through her mental ability's meager defenses was still raw. During her upbringing in the clan, she had tasted the tender mercies of many domains and, once, even a peak grandmaster's demesne. Only the latter could match what she felt from this dangerous young man. The fact he achieved such killing intent at his age was beyond unprecedented, bordering on the impossible.

  Making her choice, she briskly hustled to the other side of her lab and picked up two vials of clear liquid.

  She extracted a few drops from each vial using a syringe, then mixed them in an eye dropper. She tilted her head and squeezed one drop into each eye before holding the dropper to Raine. He did one eye first, giving the substance time to work. With the other eye closed, he spun in a circle, now seeing the fluorescent writing covering every non-occupied centimeter of the walls.

  She pulled a notebook made with actual paper from a cabinet and passed it to him. The pages were crammed with scribbled notes and diagrams in the same fluorescent ink. Raine took his time, flipping through the pages and wishing he could easily send the images to Morty for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the nature of the ink made that impossible.

  “That contains the original remedy and painstaking research it took to derive a product with the potential to actually function. Unfortunately, I am missing the final ingredient, which you possess,” there was hopefulness in her expression, mixed with a serious dose of disbelief that her woes would so simply be solved. “Each batch costs millions to produce and results in three vials. I only had the budget for one batch per month. Here is all that remains of the most recent iteration after you… borrowed some.”

  Celeste’s muscles coiled, her ears aching to pick up Raine’s thoughts that never materialized. His focus was solely dedicated to watching Pamalaiha as she unlocked a sealed cabinet by scanning her irises. Inside was a single full vial of brownish-green liquid.

  Raine placed it in a protective case from a bottom shelf. He added the notebook, eye dropper, and the two vials that would allow him to read it, “Good. Make as much as you can, exactly as you made this batch. You no longer have budget limitations.”

  Celeste sighed when he turned to go, quickly following on his heels and leaving the distraught doctor behind. She called out, her voice trembling, “I-I don’t have… I poisoned myself! Please. I need to know the final ingredient, or I will be of no help to you!” She threw herself on the floor, “I swear to serve if you will only give me the means to survive!”

  Raine observed her coldly for long seconds, “Your people are known for their duplicity. Currently, this is the only means I have to entice your cooperation.” He lifted the case, shaking it gently. Her shoulders slumped, the brief breath of hope bleeding from her as he continued, “But the threat of your death isn’t why I’m allowing you to continue producing the formula. There are any number of talented doctors who could take up your work. I'm leaving you in control of your destiny because you left that place. If you were like them, you would have stayed.”

  Raine paused dramatically, allowing his words to register. Seeing the hope rekindled in her bright blue eyes, he hammered in the final nail that would bind her to him forever, “Show me who you are, Dr. Pamalaiha Shraufand. Show me I can trust you. If you do, I promise to help you fulfill any desire your heart could possibly hold. If that's life and freedom, you'll have it. If you want something more, whether it be fame, wealth, power, or revenge, it doesn't matter. I'll give it all to you.”

  I can't let her die. She's far too useful. I hope she takes the deal. If she makes enough ReGen for my people, there won't be a power in this world capable of stopping us. I really will give her whatever she asks for, and much, much more.

  Thoughtfulness turned to unbridled gratitude that her mask couldn't hide. Pamalaiha nodded twice, accepting her new master and praying in her heart that he was more deserving than the last. “I will show you.”

  “Good choice. How long do you have?”

  “Two weeks. A month at the most.”

  “Well then, get to work. When your time is almost up, or you prove yourself, I will cure you. We will discuss your future when your life no longer hangs in the balance.”

  Just hearing that he wouldn’t use her life as a blade against her throat when they negotiated put Pamalaiha at ease. She silently vowed to make the most of this opportunity. She bowed again, touching her forehead to the floor, “As you wish.”

  Satisfied, Raine left, a meek Celeste on his heels. Wearing a complicated expression, she glanced back at the prone doctor as the door slid shut.