"Let’s focus on this later. Right now we need to get him out of that coma before the toxin spreads to his brain." Dr. Quinn pointed out.
"So how can we do that?" Milo asked, his brows knitting together.
"Marchetti is trying to fight the toxin from inside him, but he’s too weak now to take control. I’m guessing Marchetti has stopped trying, probably because the toxin has started affecting him too. If he could shift, his body might burn through this faster than any medicine we could use on him."
"So make him shift, then." Dax said casually, as though it were even possible to make Saint shift on command.
"Make him shift, like it’s that easy." Quinn shot back. "The coma is blocking everything that usually triggers him, anger, fear, instinct. I’m not sure any of that can reach him right now. Let’s look for something that could possibly make him shift, anything we think might help."
"What about people he cares about? Maybe Alyssa." Milo suggested, his eyes darting toward the door where Aurora and Alyssa were.
"He’s shifted before when she was in the room with him," Dr. Quinn added.
"We can’t say for sure that’s what made him go feral that day," Dax countered.
"But he mentioned not wanting to shift right in front of her," Milo reminded them.
Dax stared down at Saint, jaw tight, his mind racing through every version of the man he’d known for twenty years, lying there like there was barely any life left in him. He racked his brain, trying to think of anything that could trigger Marchetti beyond the anger and fear they already knew about, but nothing clicked.
"We need to find whatever can bring that beast to the surface before this thing kills him." He said finally. "Whatever it is."
Aurora sat upright, rubbing her hand against her eyes before turning to face Alyssa, who was now fully awake.
"Oh, you’re already up?" Aurora blurted out, voice still groggy with sleep, the morning sun beginning to slip in through the window pane.
Alyssa nodded, mumbling a good morning as she tried packing her hair into a bun. Aurora greeted her back.
"I need to get Nina so I can get ready for school," the girl sighed.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and Nina peered her head in.
"Good morning, ma’am," Nina greeted, stepping fully into the room.
"Aurora," she corrected with a smile.
"I brought all your school things so you can get ready here with Aurora by your side," the nanny announced, and Alyssa sprinted toward her, wrapping her in a grinning hug.
Nina carried Alyssa to the bathroom, leaving Aurora on the bed while she tidied the room before any of the other nannies came in to do it themselves. A few minutes later, Alyssa walked out of the bathroom in shorts and a singlet, Nina trailing behind her.
Nina helped Alyssa into her school uniform while the girl sat on the bed, struggling with her socks.
"Let me help," Aurora said, picking up the other sock from the bed and crouching in front of her without waiting for an answer.
"What are you thinking about, Alyssa?" Aurora asked, concern coloring her face.
"I’m fine," Alyssa lied through her teeth, though her expression gave her away completely.
"Doesn’t seem like it. You’ve been fighting with that sock for almost a minute, and even after putting it on correctly, you keep pulling it back off."
"Is my uncle awake now?" Alyssa asked, finally looking up at Aurora. "I want to see him before I leave for school."
"I don’t think he is," Aurora answered, her mind drifting back to Saint.
Alyssa went quiet immediately, not asking anything further. Aurora noticed the shift in her mood but stayed quiet too, letting the moment settle, letting the girl sit with her thoughts before heading off to school.
Aurora stood, realizing just how attached she’d become to the child.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and hopped off the bed. "Are you coming with me to school?" Alyssa asked, arms outstretched.
Aurora was caught off guard by the sudden request, biting her lip as she searched for an excuse.
"You can’t wait for me to shower and get dressed. I think Nina should just take you to school like usual."
"I want you to come with me, and you look fine just like that. Besides, we’re taking one of Uncle’s cars." Alyssa whined.
"Umm, I don’t think so. I need to stay and check on your uncle, see how he’s responding to his medicine." Aurora tried to hold her ground, but the look on the girl’s face immediately changed her mind.
"Don’t be scared, I’ll talk to Uncle Dax and get him to let you come with me," Alyssa reassured her, already pulling Aurora out of the room and down the hallway.
Alyssa ran ahead to where Dax stood outside Saint’s door, closing it quickly before she could see inside. The two of them huddled together for a few minutes, her hands clasped in a pleading gesture, and within a minute Dax agreed to whatever she’d asked, pointing to four guards stationed in the hallway to go with them.
Inside the car, Alyssa couldn’t stop talking, asking Aurora question after question about her school life, her family, anything she could think to ask.
Aurora answered the ones she had answers to, and the ones she wanted the girl to know, but she went quiet the moment Alyssa asked about her mother.
"Uncle is always protective of what he loves, and when he doesn’t see it, he gets angry and his eyes go totally dark. Do you think something’s wrong with Uncle, or is it just his peripheral view catching the light and blending with his iris?" Alyssa asked, brow furrowed in confusion.
Aurora stayed quiet, thrown by the question, though she had noticed his eyes darken before too. Just then, the car pulled to a stop in front of a massive golden gate.
"My school looks like a princess island," Alyssa bubbled, climbing out the moment the driver pulled into the school compound.
"Yeah, it does look exactly like something from Sofia the First," Aurora agreed, thoroughly amazed by the building in front of her as she stepped out too, two guards trailing behind them.
A Black woman around Aurora’s age walked out of the building toward them, stopping in front of Aurora and Alyssa before lifting the girl onto her hip.
"Good morning, Miss Meridian. Meet my uncle’s wife," Alyssa introduced, chuckling.
The teacher extended her hand for a handshake. "I’m Miss Meridian, her homeroom teacher." Aurora shook her hand nervously.
The kid laughed harder. "Your cheeks are red, Uncle’s wife," she breathed out between giggles as the teacher carried her into the building, leaving Aurora hurrying back to the car with Nina, trying to hide her own smile.