Despite his status, Sylus was not completely invincible. As soon as he became the leader of Onychinus, he began changing his food tasters like gloves . Over the years, he could no longer count how many times they had died . Such was the job. To check the food and be prepared to die on the spot, neither Sylus nor his assistants Luke and Kieran remembered the names of the tasters anymore. The last one died three months ago, and all this time, she had been the new taster. She wore a strict suit and took her job calmly. All thanks to her Evol and training since childhood. She had learned to identify poisons by taste and symptoms, and her Evol healed her, giving her many opportunities to experiment. And yet, despite her knowledge and abilities, she knew that Zone N109 was not a place to rush into sharing information. She took a job without mentioning her abilities.
Sylus was used to changing his food tasters. No one stayed longer than 3-4 months, so he had stopped remembering their names. He took her on without a second thought, warning her only: "If you get poisoned, no one will save you. If you say something you shouldn't, you'll be killed." That was all they said to each other, so he felt nothing for her, not even the slightest interest. He was a cold and reserved man who knew what he wanted from life, namely success. He wasn't interested in women, preferring solitude in his penthouse, with jazz music playing in the background, while the sounds of chaos could be heard constantly outside the window. Besides, he couldn't let just anyone get close to him. N109 was cruel to everyone.
It was another business meeting. In the restaurant, Sylus sat at one end of the table, and to his left, she sat with her usual stern expression. Despite the business conversation, she wasn't listening. The less you know, the better you sleep. Especially since the food hadn't been poisoned for the last three months, so... She simply enjoyed her meal, finding in it a small measure of her presence here. She heard a phrase from Sylus's business partner, who suggested they eat. She looked up, noticing how servants brought them various dishes. Several small portions of different dishes were placed in front of her.
“Excuse me, let me check the food first, sir.”
Receiving a short nod and a cold stare, she began to eat and drink. Everything was fine until she felt a familiar bitter taste and a bloody cough came on. She smiled, wiping her lips with a napkin and glancing at Sylus
“It's poisoned, sir.”
Sylus' cold features gave way to caution. He was used to hearing only “Safe,” so the warning cut his ears. He turned to her in surprise. All the previous tasters, whether male or female, had died immediately after tasting the poison, suffocating, coughing up blood, in agony. But here she sat as if nothing had happened. The only trace of her conclusions about the food was the red color on the napkin. Blood. Usually cold and reserved, for some reason she was now smiling as if she had tasted something truly delicious. For some reason, this caught his attention. His gaze shifted to the man at the other end of the table, and his Evol immediately immobilized him.
“I didn't think you would decide to do something like that after all.”