I slip out as she starts pawing through her magazine again.
As I exit the library, my tablet pings with a new message. Pulling it out, I feel leaden dread in my stomach as I read the notification.
HEALTH MANDATE:WILSON, THEODORA
LOCATION:ELECTUS SATELLITE INFIRMARY
APPOINTMENT:21:00 (IMMEDIATE)
PROCEDURE:ROUTINE BLOOD PANEL.
NOTE:MANDATORY. NO DELAYS.
Routine? There’s nothing routine about this. Has Janine Hart come for me?
Fuck.
—Alexis!—
—I saw the notification…on my way to sickbay now…don’t go in until I get there—
Moving through the shadows of the ivy-covered stone walls, part of me can’t help thinking it would be better to run.
No, Theo. See the plan through. You’ll be OK, Alexis will be there.
I see Lex waiting for me on the front steps of the tower. By the tight set of his jaw, I can tell he’s worried too.
“Ah, Ms. Wilson,” he says, his voice stern for the benefit of the peacekeepers. “You received the medical summons. I’ll escort you.”
The guard in the foyer looks up briefly, then leans back in his chair, completely bored.
—I’m freaking, Lex. Will Janine be able to tell I’m not under her spell?—
As soon as we turn a corner, he grips my shoulders. “The Lumina will protect you. And whatever happens, she is not leaving here with you, I promise.”
“I trust you.”
A female healer looks up as we enter.
“I brought in a student for a blood draw, Healer,” Alexis’s voice is cool and professional.
“Ms. Wilson? Thank you for being prompt.” She looks towards the two people standing by Wes’s bed. “Doctors, would you like me to take the sample?”
“Yes. Theodora, come here,” Janine Hart commands. “Take a seat.”
I do as I’m bid while Alexis leans against the doorframe, the perfect picture of a bored supervisor.
—Everything is going to be OK, pulu—
The healer wipes my arm with an antiseptic wipe. “Relax,” she murmurs.
“You can leave us, Professor,” Jonquil says.
“It’s no problem, I can wait. I’ll have to escort to her dorm anyway.”
The healer slides in the needle. I flinch.
“Absolutely not. We may be in Havengard, but HIPAA still exists,” Janine snaps at Lex. He grunts, looking bored. “Fine, I’ll wait outside. I’d rather not watch students get prodded and poked anyway. I'll leave you to your privacy."
