STRANGULATE | Markicest

51 | PAINLESS

Mark woke to the sound of knocking.

    He blearily opened his eyes, unable to tell what time it was. Before he could get up to answer, the door swung open, and Antinstine stepped in, gazing around the room. There was an expecting, almost eagerness to his gaze that made Mark's stomach turn.

    Mark cleared his throat, and Antinstine's gaze flicked onto him. Amusement curled on his lip.

    "Right," said Anti with a faint laugh. "Prada told me you woke up late."

    Mark ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it down, and rose a brow at Antinstine. He hadn't wanted to see him, especially in his waking hours. It had his body all tense and stressed again.

    "What do you need?" Mark mumbled.

    "Get ready," said Antinstine. "I have another experiment."

    Mark's fists clenched under the sheets; even though they'd agreed that they'd be painless from here on out, he couldn't help but be on edge. Antinstine could be lying for all he knew—the gesture seemed just like him.

    Mark slid out of bed and stood, Antinstine's gaze never wavering from him once. It had his skin burning.

    He didn't need to change. He met Antinstine's eyes, suppressed a frown, and walked past him and out the door.

    "You slept in yer clothes?" Antinstine muttered, closing the door and catching up to him in just a few strides. Mark shoved his hands in his pockets to try and hide his tight fists; it was so unnerving walking next to Antinstine. Like an equal. He knew he would never be close to the concept.

    "You haven't cared to give me fresh clothes," Viper said under his breath. "So I've been making due with these."

    He hadn't meant for the words to come out so harsh, but coupled with just waking up and having to deal with Antinstine at the same time, he couldn't help it. Right now, he didn't care about pissing him off; he just wanted him off his back.

    Perhaps he should have denied Antinstine's offer and accepted the torture of the experiments. He hated this change of pace. It was too hospitable, too easy-going. It made him uneasy.

    "I'll have some servants send you new clothes," said Antinstine as they descended down the staircase.

Even in the prime of morning, other High Evolveds roamed the hallways. Mark had always been threatened by their presence—was extra careful not to glance at any of them, in case he caught one of their eyes—but now that he walked beside Antinstine, he felt an ironic sense of confidence. He wondered what each of them were doing—what their tasks were. Did they roam back and forth just for looks, or did they really have a purpose in the mansion?

"Besides," continued Anti with a smirk. "You should be staying here a while. Might as well get you comfortable."

A cold shiver ran down Mark's spine. Antinstine's words felt like a threat.

You're never leaving, hissed a voice in the back of his head.

"You've done a full one-eighty on me," Mark said, the words slipping out before he could think first. When he glanced at Antinstine, his expression had slackened into an unreadable one. "I was on Edwards' side, and I've only pledged my loyalty to you yesterday."

Mark hated saying those doubts aloud—planting them in Antinstine's head like that—but he was sure they were both thinking about it. How could Antinstine even think to trust him? Just because he believed that they'd both been born human? Because, in his eyes, they were similar?