"The poison has fused itself with his spiritual veins. It is no longer simply circulating through his body—it has become part of him."
A crease formed between Kade's brows.
"I don't understand."
"It is alive," Elias replied. "That is why no one recognized it."
His golden gaze never left the unconscious child.
"It feeds continuously upon its host. Every meal this boy has eaten, every drop of nourishment that entered his body, every attempt his own bloodline made to repair the damage inflicted upon him... all of it was consumed before his body could benefit from it."
The implications settled heavily between them.
Kade's eyes drifted back toward Cooper's emaciated frame, taking in every sharply defined rib, every bruise, every scar that marked skin stretched painfully thin over fragile bones.
"So that's why he continued starving," he said quietly, more to himself than to Elias.
The old man nodded.
