8
Theo
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
I stood in the dining hall with Maxwell, Caleb, Benji and my nieces. Pierce had been enjoying a late night glass of wine, and Adriel had his nose in the middle of a thick book when the group of us barged into the hall to tell Pierce what happened to his daughter.
Maxwell cleared his throat. “I said, Lark has chicken pox.”
At his repetition, Pierce examined each of us. His face didn’t betray any of his emotions. I had no idea what he was feeling.
On the other hand, Adriel’s face was a mix of horror and disbelief. He slammed his book shut, and I knew he was annoyed because he didn’t even bother to bookmark his page.
“What?” he roared, standing. “That cannot be possible.”
Pierce calmly looked at Maxwell. “Is this true, doctor?”
If I still had a heartbeat, it would have been racing. I resisted the urge to look at Maxwell.
Please lie,I thought desperately.Please, please, please lie!
“Y-yes,” Maxwell said with a nod.
I tried no to wince.That’s not a very convincing lie, but at least he did it.
Maxwell cleared his throat and continued. “It’s difficult to know for certain what the condition is, given her half-vampire blood, but that’s my best guess as a physician. Her symptoms match those of a human, except for the telltale red irritation and spots. I’m operating under the assumption that her vampire heritage, known for clear and blemish-free skin, is contributing to the fact that she appears healthy and normal.”
Okay, maybe he’s lying a little better than I thought,I admitted.
As Maxwell spoke, Lark was busy scratching herself as if she really did have chicken pox. Benji added to the illusion by gently scolding her and telling her not to scratch, as much as she really wanted to. Pierce hummed in thought as he took this in.
“Are you serious?” Adriel asked, staring at Maxwell. “Is this some kind of a joke?”
“Not at all,” Maxwell said with a shrug. “I’ve examined Lark thoroughly and this is the conclusion I’ve come to. You’re welcome to disagree with me, and even to get a second opinion, but as far as I know, I’m the only doctor in the entire city who has knowledge of this family’s secret.”
Adriel’s eyes widened.
“So I’m just supposed to believe this?” he demanded.
“Adriel.” Pierce raised a hand to his brother. “It’s all right. I believe him. After all, he has no reason to lie and his logic makes sense to me.”
I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. If Pierce believed Maxwell, this was going to work after all. The mild guilt I felt about orchestrating a lie paled in comparison to the happiness I felt that Maxwell would be able to stay here.
“I suppose you’ll be living in your old room until the illness passes,” Pierce said. “Very well. I’ll make preparations with the clinic to let them know you won’t be available for that time.”
“Thank you,” Maxwell said.
Adriel stared incredulously at Pierce. But if he wanted to disagree, he kept it to himself. He glanced down at his niece, Lark, who was still pretending to be itchy. Without another word, he picked up his book and stormed off.
Caleb looked sheepishly at the rest of us. “He’ll be okay. He just hates being wrong more than anything.”
“Yes,” Pierce said. “I imagine he’s quite irritated that he planned for Theo to be cut off from humans, and now a human must live among us.”
I met Pierce’s gaze, even though he didn’t look back at me. What was he thinking right now?
Pierce leaned over to pick up his daughter. She grinned widely in his lap.
“How are you feeling, honey?” he asked.
