Sinnett finally finished after a few more rough rounds, his thrusts slowing only when Cinder could barely make a sound.

    She was trembling horribly as they both climaxed, her body left overstimulated and exhausted, and her breathing was shallow as well.

    His locs, still very much alive, slid carefully around her waist and wrists. They picked her up as if she weighed nothing, cradling her exhausted body against his chest.

    Her head hung loosely against his shoulder, and she mumbled something incoherent under her breath.

    Sinnett chuckled lowly and walked towards the bathroom. The door slid open without him touching it, since his locs pushed it aside.

    He stepped into the shower and turned the water on, letting the warm stream wash over both of them.

    Cinder whimpered softly. He held her under the spray, running his hands over her body to clean her, with a surprisingly gentle touch.

    Her scales, that were faint along her body, soon disappeared. Then he finally frowned.

    "Too bad."

    It wasn''t good enough. He hadn''t pushed her far enough yet... her horn hadn''t shown either, which he wasn''t really satisfied with.

    Still, there was time for that later.

    For now, he washed her carefully, making sure no marks were left too visible. His locs helped, untangling her hair and brushing along her arms to comfort her.

    When they finished, he dried her off and carried her back to the bedroom. He laid her down gently, tucked her under the sheets, then exited the room to the kitchen.

    Sinnett wasn''t exactly a chef, but he knew what she needed: sugar and protein.

    He pulled out two plates, made simple sandwiches, and grabbed a bottle of cold milk from the fridge. He poured her a full glass and another for himself.

    Then he added sugar cubes to a bowl. A lot of sugar.

    When he returned, Cinder was awake, staring at the ceiling, dazed and silent.

    He plopped the tray down beside her, sat at the edge of the bed, and smirked. "Eat," he said simply.

    She blinked up at him. "Don''t want to," she muttered, glaring down at the dreadful white cubes before her.

    He picked up a sugar cube and pressed it to her lips. "Not asking."

    She opened her mouth reluctantly, letting him push the sugar onto her tongue. Her body responded immediately, a little jolt of energy, and she actually enjoyed it, because she usually consumed bitter things to keep the toxicity of her poison.

    Sinnett fed her another, then handed her the milk.

    Cinder grumbled but obeyed, taking slow sips. Milk dribbled from the corner of her mouth, and he wiped it off with his thumb.

    They sat in silence for a moment, till she was back to her energized self and was able to see properly.

    "Cinder," he called, not sparing her a glance as he kept his gaze on his phone.

    She swallowed thickly. "What?"

    "How do you cure your poison if someone else gets it?"

    Cinder stiffened. Why was he asking her that now? Her fingers tightened around the glass, then she exhaled.

    "I honestly don''t know," she whispered. "I''ve never had to cure someone before."

    He narrowed his eyes. "You sure?" Sёar?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She nodded slowly. "I mean, maybe something that neutralizes my poison naturally? Like blood from someone immune…"

    Sinnett sat back. His mouth twisted into a thoughtful frown.

    "And who would be immune?"

    Cinder hesitated, then looked down at her hands. "You," she whispered. "Probably you. Your blood. Your body is different or maybe similar."

    Sinnett smiled faintly. He already figured that, but hearing her say it pleased him.

    "And what about Zero?" he asked casually, like he was asking about the weather.

    At her name, Cinder flinched.

    Sinnett caught it immediately.

    "Cinder," he said, voice lower, colder now. "You know what you did. It''s alright if you were forced to, but you know it was bad."

    She shook her head and looked away. "I didn''t actually mean to... my hate for dragons and then doing anything crazy because I had nothing to lose."

    "Cinder."

    She swallowed, guilt written all over her face. Tears welled up, but she blinked them away.

    "I poisoned her," she admitted finally, her voice cracking. "Slowly... not enough to kill her right away. Just enough to weaken her, make her... lose her mind. Her people started it." She broke off.

    Sinnett didn''t react. He just watched her quietly, letting the silence choke her.

    Cinder wiped her face with trembling fingers.

    "I thought... if she was weak, the guild would stop trusting her. Would leave her behind, and then we''d make her join us, at least because she wasn''t as bad as her people."

    Sinnett leaned back, running a hand through his locs. His expression was unreadable, but inside, cold rage was building.

    She wasn''t wrong. She had every right to hate her own race, considering the amount of rejection she must have received because of how she was.

    And the fact she was cared for by humans also made it complicated, because she was raised to hate them.

    Yet, he wasn''t sure if he could believe she was changed and sorry for what she did, or if she was just manipulating him to think so.

    He didn''t move to hit her or yell.

    He just smiled. That quiet, dangerous smile that made her skin crawl.

    "You''re lucky I like you," he said. "If not... I should have killed you the moment you showed up. You should be grateful too."

    Before she could respond, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He reached for it and glanced at the screen with curved brows.

    Informant 117: Mister Varrow, Zero was confirmed dead a few minutes ago. She died as a result of blood poisoning and her mana couldn''t regulate properly. Only Guild Master Veylan and Yumiko knows about this.

    Sinnett frowned but typed back.

    What about Nova? Is she there?

    Informant 117: No sir, she left just before Zero stopped breathing.

    Sinnett froze for a second. His smile faded, replaced by a blank stare at his screen. He didn''t move, he just stayed still, staring at his informant''s message.

    Dead. The word repeated in his head, and his silver eyes dilated, slowly.

    Zero was dead, and Cinder was responsible, which was bad. If anyone found out she wasn''t guarded by the Asylum''s gates, then they would send a massive team to take her down.

    Fighting back was the only possible way to escape, and she wouldn''t break a sweat, but then with the new recruits...

    Asher, the new students... especially Nova who wouldn''t blink an eye to destroy her. Then he would have to defend Cinder.

    And be tagged an enemy too.