Shatter (The Daevas #1)

18 • Nerves

On the next day, all of us returned to the hospital to see Alistair and the Swinton sisters.

There were many doctors and nurses inside Liz's room, and as we entered, everyone looked. The nurses all giggled and batted their lashes as Gabriel, Axel, and Roman walked in.

Roman ignored them, Gabriel slightly blushed, and Axel grinned boyishly. I, on the other hand, quickly walked past them, since Liz gestured to me with an elegant hand. There were tulips beside her bed. Big, beautiful Semper Augustus' that awed me. My mother loved this flower; only it was too expensive for her to buy, and it was rare.

"Miss Carlson!" she cried. And then, as if remembering that it was the twenty-first century now, she cleared her throat. "Venise! Lovely bulbs, aren't they? My favorite." As she saw my gaze directed to the bulbs beside her, her eyes were shining brightly.

I looked up at her and smiled. "They are."

"I know," she agreed, sighing happily. "They are the most beautiful buds I have ever seen. It's quite rare before in my time, this Semper Augustus," she whispered. "And I've only seen them once, back in 1820, when my husband brought me dozens for my twenty-third birthday. I fell in love with the sight of it immediately, and with my husband all over again!" She bent over to the side where the bulbs were, and she touched and smelled them thoughtfully.

The exquisitely rounded, perfect petals had blushed into colour in the morning light; they were clearly a deep blood-coloured crimson slashed like a silk doublet with white. They were simply captivating.

I looked over at Alistair who was smiling down at her, and I didn't know why, but I sighed in relief. I don't know. Maybe I was just relieved that, even though Liz had a husband before, Alistair seemed not to care at all.

And if she had a husband way back two centuries ago, did that mean she had children?

"Who are they from?" Georgie questioned, sidling up beside me, her violet eyes wide and glowing.

"Thing is, darling, I do not know who gave me this!" she exclaimed.

"Isn't there a card attached?" Axel asked with one eyebrow raised.

"No," Liz said ruefully. "But I thank that person."

Something was wrong here, but I ignored it for now. The nurses were starting to take the dextrose off her left hand and clearing the oxygen tanks away. The doctors were writing something on their clipboard, looking at Liz every now and then, nodding in approval at her state of condition.

Whoa. There sure were plenty of doctors and nurses inside the Van Allen hospital suite. Liz must have been in such a terrible coma that every doctor had to care for her. It also must be very extraordinary -- bordering on a miracle -- that she woke up in good spirits.

I shivered at the thought of what Alexander did to her. Why would he do such a thing like putting Alistair's girlfriend in a coma? What did he really want? I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing slowly. I didn't know what was up with that man.

I also really did not know what he wanted from me that he had to talk to me inside my mind. Why he could control me, like I was some kind of marionette, being pulled by strands of strings and controlled all around, I did not know.

What are his intentions? I thought silently. No one seemed to notice me, and I was grateful for that.

And then...slowly...just a teeny fraction...my head turned to look at Roman. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking distant, grim, and unbearably handsome. His brows were knitted together, pulling down into a deep frown, like he was thinking of something deep and uncertain.