Page 36 of The Child of Rue Royale
“Boss, shall we?” Cassius extends a gracious hand to Marlowe, and she takes it, the affection they hold for each other radiating from their bodies. I’m going to ignore the fact that he called her boss, but it’s definitely a surprising nickname.
“Oh,” Cassius says to Marlowe and Chantal. “Can we have a moment? Just a moment.” He winks to Marlowe, and she nods, leaving the room with Chantal.
He turns to me, pulling something from his pocket. “The little extra you asked for. I don’t want to know why. But I trust it’s for good reason.”
A tiny vile of blood is pressed into my hand, and my fingers immediately wrap around it, my face shooting up to his.
“All the blood tests have come back normal.”
I press the vile to my chest, closing my eyes in relief. “Normal?”
He nods.
“How didyou get this?”
“I have my ways.” He winks again, and I can only assume he snuck into the lab in the dead of night. But I won’t ask questions. A little blood taken from a vile for tests is something I can accept.
“Do you think there’s any trace of vampire in there?” I ask, eyes averting to Aven.
“It’s just too hard to tell,” he says with a heavy sigh. “I’ll make sure the nurse knows all the house rules.” He eyes the shades and Aven. “So far, I don’t see any signs of vampirism. He’s not crying for blood, and I feel no desire for it. Though he is devilishly handsome, and that is definitely a sign.”
I stifle a grin as he continues. “But I don’t know what to look for exactly. And then, he’s never been in sunlight. So…we will just have to wait and see.”
“I can’t keep him out of the sun forever though, right?”
“Well, if he’s a vampire, you would have to.”
I press a finger between my eyebrows, trying to keep my mind from going crazy with worry.
“Get some rest. Get a routine down, and then we’ll do a test. He won’t burst into flames from a toe in the sun. So when you’re ready, we will do a test. Okay?”
I grab his cold hand and squeeze it, then pull him into an embrace. “Thank you, Cassius. For the room, for the doctor, for the blood, for everything. Thank you.”
“If I weren’t already dead, those words would kill me. A Wildes thanking me. But you are welcome. Of course. I would do anything for that child. Now, get some rest. Your eyes are so tired, and also, you’re anemic, I can smell it. Do you have iron pills?”
Laughter slips from my lips. “Um, yes. Dr. Dominguez gave me some.”
“Good. Okay. Very well. Goodnight.”
As I watch him walk down the hall, I make a mental note to tell Bastian how fond I’ve grown of his brother.
I look around the room, making sure the shades are drawn tight. I change out of my sweats and into my pajamas, going into the bathroom for the first time since I arrived. It hurt so much, the thought of being in this room, but now, it feels right. Like it’s where Bastian would want us to be. His love and his child.
I have read a thousand times not to co-sleep with your child, but I can’t help myself. I snuggle Aven next to me, staring at his dark hair, his soft cheeks. And that’s how I fall asleep, my sweet baby in my arms.
WHILE BRUSHING MY TEETH THEnext morning, Chantal lets the nurse in.
“All good?” Chantal asks, half asleep, and I nod then say through the toothpaste in my mouth, “Just a sec,” to the nurse.
Chantal shuffles back to bed, exhausted from the past couple of days.
“I’m Simone, and take your time,” she says through a smile, so I turn to spit out the toothpaste and rinse my mouth. My hair is a massive mess of knots and tangles, so I try my best to gather it into a bun on top of my head.
“Hey, Aster,” Simone calls from my room. “I hit a knob by mistake, and the shades are opening.”
My eyes meet my reflection in the mirror as my mouth falls open, and I suck in a gush of air. Bursting through the door, I want to scream, but I beeline toward Aven, the room filled with sunlight. Not again, not again, my mind screams, filling with the memory of what ash feels like in my hands.
Sunlight has flooded the room, spilling right across Aven’s bassinet. “Close it, close the shades!” I scream, running to Aven, light gleaming all over his little body.
