Page 149 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“I am.”

“And you haven’t unlocked your secondary form?”

Diana’s eyes narrowed at the persistent questioning. “Of course not. That’s why I’ll drink the liquid.”

“And you believe this substance will magically fix your regenerative abilities long enough for you to survive the transformation?”

“Precisely.”

“You realise if it doesn’t work, you die, right?” Alex lifted her chin.

“Yes, I realise that.”

“It seems to me like your brother is sending you to your death.”

“My brother has given me a way to unlock my secondary form and become stronger!”

“How is he so sure it’ll work? It’s not like you can turn back from it, if it doesn’t. In your case, it’s all or nothing. No sane creature would risk the life of a loved one. Unless…” Alex paused dramatically. “Unless you’re lying.”

At that, Diana turned her full attention to the girl. “How dare you?”

Alex lifted a finger, forcing her to be quiet. “I just thought of something else. Maybe it wasn’t your brother who left you the note. Maybe it was those creatures he worked for.”

“Alex, quit speculating,” Viktor scolded her. The girl didn’t seem affected by the comment.

When Diana glanced Viktor’s way, she found his eyes still fixed on the vial, as if he could discern its contents that way.

“Has anyone else, other than you I mean, read the note?” Alex said. “Sometimes the mind tends to focus on stuff that reminds them of deceased relatives and refuses to see beyond them.”

“I truly don’t get you,” Diana replied.

“I’m not surprised.” Alex smiled. Then, the expression on her face changed to boredom when she faced Viktor. “Any progress?”

Diana sighed, pleased the girl had tired of asking her questions. Her body felt heavy from everything she had gone through in the past week. Too many emotions and explanations. She was grateful to Constantine for his help, but coming here might have been a mistake.

Her hand fell to the bag swung across her shoulder, and dug in to retrieve the piece of paper. She unfolded it and revealed the words. ‘Drink it. It’s short-lasting. Turn. I don’t trust them.’ Of course, she had thought about somebody else possibly having written it, but the distinctive cursive letters were in her brother’s handwriting. Luka had the hands of an artist. He had often found inspiration in sunsets or other landscapes and had immortalised them onto his canvas. It was his way to calm his mind.

Diana inspected the drawing underneath the letters. It had been scribbled with a blue pen, clearly in a rush, and it didn’t have Luka’s exquisite touch like his other works. But that didn’t make it any less valuable to her.

“What’s that doodle?”

Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed Alex fixating on her once more. The girl was now hovering over her.

“Nothing.” Diana folded the sheet.

“I think it means something you don’t understand. Is that your brother’s note?”

“Yes. Why?”

“May I see it?”

Diana backed down, because evidently Alex wouldn’t, and handed her the paper.

“It’s a transformation,” the girl said, musing over the note like a philosopher.

Diana clenched her fists. As much as she wanted to maintain a good relationship with this girl, who claimed to be one of the few here who didn’t hate her, the task was becoming impossible. “Thank you for that clarification, but I had got this far myself.”

The two women stared at the simple drawing. In the left corner was the figure of a man.

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