Chapter 5.10

Chapter 5.10

Which would possibly be a salvation for Quinn.

Just like for Rei, because then he wouldn't have to cause her any more suffering. She would never be able to understand how much he resisted doing that to her. To her, he was probably just the one who coldly carried out his orders with no regard for casualties. Which was at least the case with the men in the dungeons.

Therefore, Rei's hope lies in making the rest of her time more pleasant and then redeeming her with the first mixture. As cruel as it sounded, he didn't want to make her suffer further or again.

He even thought for a moment about merely giving her an overdose. However, he would be risking a great deal by doing so.

Especially his job. He couldn't take that chance. There was no successor, which was why he was still here and would stay. Whether an overdose would help or cause her endless pain was unclear. He didn't want to risk it.

Every now and then, he let a quick glance slide to Quinn to see if she was doing reasonably well.

"Do you need anything?" he inquired.

"No," she brought out softly, teeth chattering. "I hope it passes soon."

"Here's your tea," Rei said, handing her the cup from the table. He was sorry she was cold, but that was all he could do.

Quinn sat up slowly, reaching for it with trembling hands as she tried to keep the blankets wrapped tightly around her and not drop the warm pillows either.

Thoroughly, he eyed Quinn before suggesting she take the pillow and curl up in the first blanket. And then to put the other blankets over it. That way, she wouldn't have to hold them and would have her hands free.

Quinn did as he suggested and put the third blanket over her shoulders so she would be warm there too. After that, she accepted the tea from Rei.

"Is it better?" he wanted to know after a while. It wore on him that they had to wait. But Elgatos was tired and needed his sleep. Already Rei feared that it would drag on endlessly until the next day.

Quinn shook her head slightly, noticing how tired she was getting. However, she was afraid to fall asleep because her body felt weird. She closed her eyes slightly. "That's what it felt like when I passed out outside," she whispered, trying to hold the cup tightly.

"How could you even be stupid enough to go out there?" asked Rei in an icy voice. That she had abused his kindness was deep in him. Actually, he was used to it from men, but then they bore severe consequences for it. "I can't do more than build a fire, give you blankets, tea, and heating pads," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Except offer you another bath."

A soft smile appeared on Quinn's lips, and her teacup fell from her hand before tipping to the side. Her eyes closed, and her breathing so shallow it was barely visible.

It felt good. Like she was weightless, and she felt like everything was finally over.

At first, Rei thought she was faking it, but when he saw that she really wasn't moving, he sat down by her bedside and checked her pulse. Actually, he was supposed to get Elgatos. He certainly knew what to do. On the other hand, Quinn looked so peaceful. This was how she was supposed to die, not leave her life in agony. That's why he couldn't bring himself to get up and fetch the older dragon.

Gently, Rei stroked her gray-brown hair as if to soothe her. "I'm sorry, Quinn. It's better to let you go rather than suffer," he said softly. He should help her, but he couldn't bring himself to torture her then. Rei was glad that she seemed to fall asleep so peacefully.

Her heart and pulse were getting slower and slower, while her breathing was also getting calmer and shallower. But it did not stop, as he had initially believed.

She was sleeping peacefully and quietly, but she was not dying.

Still, he waited for her to leave the world peacefully. Rei sat by her side on the bed the entire time, stroking her head and struggling with himself. It was his duty to help her, but his heart stopped him. To continue to expose her to the madness of the dragons would be irresponsible. Never should so much unnecessary suffering be inflicted on a woman.

Again and again, his hand stroked her hair, and he sighed.

Finally, there was a soft knock at the door, and after Rei invited the person in, Elgatos entered.

Only now did the guard notice how late it already was.

He hadn't noticed that it had gotten dark outside through all the petting, and they had missed lunch. He had lost his appetite after the bad news anyway.

"What do you think of the plan?" he asked the dragon directly instead of going into anything else.

"It's unconventional," Elgatos remarked as if trying not to put any judgment in his voice. "It sounds to me like it was Harris' job to pick out the strongest woman so that she could then be subjected to a double transformation."

"Double transformation? Are they out of their minds? And use me as an intermediary transformer, or what?" Rei snapped angrily. He shook his head in disbelief at so much insanity. All the more reason why he didn't want to do this to Quinn. Let the Supreme find someone else stupid to do the dirty work.

"Double transformations are hardly researched because the women usually die or become so strong that you can't control them. Maybe that's why she's here. So she can't wreak too much havoc if it comes to surviving," Elgatos remarked thoughtfully.

Annoyed, the guard laughed. "Of course, as if she would stay here. As soon as the transformation is finished and she survives, she'll go to the next person to transform her again. Then I'd rather let her go right now and risk my job than do that to her," he growled coldly and bitterly.

It was no guarantee that double-transformed women were more fertile and could bring procreative children into the world.

"You are already the one doing the double transformation," Elgatos said bitterly. "Harri did the transformation in a concise period, though, and she probably hasn't quite gotten used to it yet, but he has almost finished it."

Rei shook her head. That wasn't quite right. She was in the middle of it. So she wasn't finished yet. Since he had to start over, he suspected that she would be transformed again later. Half a transformation was useless.

"Do you really want to lose your job just because of a woman?" asked Elgatos quietly.

"Would there be a successor, by all means? Unfortunately, someone has to watch out for the maniacs before they do any more damage," Rei growled icily. He wasn't going to go through with this stupid transformation. Seeing the young woman already suffering was very hard.

Rei took three deep breaths before nodding his head at Quinn, saying that she wanted to start the transformation already today and that she was freezing.

"The cold could be from still being in between and slowly breaking down," Elgatos said quietly. "Do you want to wake her up and let her drink the first cup?" he wanted to know.

"No, I hope she just falls asleep peacefully. Otherwise, not until tomorrow," Rei grumbled irritably and stood up. Elgato's words hadn't precisely cheered him up.

Slowly he realized why he had been appointed: if he refused, he would lose his job and probably have to wait for the end of his life, just like many down in the dungeon.

"She's not going to die," Elgatos agreed. "Otherwise, she would be by now," he remarked quietly, glancing at the sleeping Quinn.

"Too bad. Then she wouldn't have any more suffering time, and I wouldn't have to worry about it all the time," Rei hissed indignantly. He was angry at himself for having been so stupid as to bring her back. He should have let her go. If he had known about the whole thing earlier, he wouldn't have brought her back.

"You won't get around it," Elgatos replied carefully. "She'll probably be taken to someone else when they realize you're refusing."

In fact, that would suit Rei just fine. Then he wouldn't have to feel guilty. Besides, Quinn had no business being here. This was no environment for her. And they weren't equipped to handle the needs of a transformation either.

Angrily, Rei clenched his hand into a fist, but the other, which was still stroking Quinn, remained surprisingly gentle. "Then I should hope that an overdose will help her to peace," Rei said bitterly.

"Are you really going to kill her?" asked Elgatos in horror. "You have the opportunity here to help her instead of torturing her. Besides, you will lose your profession."

Although the older dragon had spoken softly, Rei grew louder. "Help her? Have you gone mad? I'm not helping her. I'm torturing her and making her suffer because mindless dragons want to use her as a test subject!" he snapped at him, upset. What did Elgatos actually believe? Rei wouldn't be doing Quinn any favors by putting her through everything if she would end up leaving anyway. No one knew what would happen once Rei turned her.