53. Chapter Fifty-Three - Desiree
When we emerge from the hidden tunnel beneath the Iron Parthenon, I’m engulfed by Equinox Park’s bustling energy.
Witches spill out from the evening service of the Iron Parthenon, laughter and chatter grating on my ears.
The tall towers reach the heavens.
No one pays much attention to the steady trickle of people entering and exiting Little Death beneath the Parthenon’s catacombs, a significant change from how things were before Leigh took the throne.
But given Vyvyan’s need for control, and fear of the witches, I doubt our two species will coexist much longer.
“Thank you, Zev,” I tell my vampire companion.
He shrugs, eyes glinting with sincerity.
“Can I pass along a message for Maureen?”
“I didn’t help you to receive something in return,” Zev replies.
My spine bows.
He risked severe punishment to help me.
“How did you know that tunnel led up here?” I had no idea another entrance existed within the park.
Zev smirks.
“Vane showed me. He had a vision and said I might need it one day. Guess that day was today.”
Just when I think I’ve heard it all, Vane surprises me.
Again.
Could he have anticipated my need for help?
Cared enough to intervene?
Yesterday, the thought would have been laughable.
But after last night, and after what Vyvyan just told me.
.
.
I’m not so sure anymore.
“Are you and Vane close?” I ask, but fail to keep my tone casual.
Zev laughs.
“Jealous?”
I shake my head.
Vane could be miles out at sea.
Yet, his blood sings in my veins, clouding my judgment, whispering temptations to seek him out and demand his version of Vyvyan’s story.
Zev laughs again.
“Relax, Desiree, Vane is all yours.”
“We aren’t . . . Vane and I . . .” The words catch in my throat.
I don’t owe Zev an explanation.
“Thank you again. I hope you don’t get into too much trouble.”
“It was the right thing to do.” Zev’s gaze softens.
I turn away, but Zev catches my arm.
“Right now, you may feel alone, but that will change. Misty will come around. She misses you.”
I disappear into the trees before more tears fall.
Alone, with nowhere to go, I wrap my arms around myself, as if to hold together the fragments of my pitiful life.
Everything I thought I knew was a lie.
The truth crashes over me like a tidal wave, dragging me under, threatening to drown me in despair.
The Nest, the future I’d envisioned there, the foolish dream that once included Vane by my side .
.
.
it all shimmers in the distance, like a mirage, taunting me with its impossibility.
I wish Wilder were here to tell me everything will be okay, but he’s thousands of miles away.
Dads in prison, and Mom is the only person left in this city genetically programmed to give me the time of day.
I desperately need guidance on what to do next.
Where do I go from here?
I need her to tell me.
I need her.
?
The bustling atmosphere of Hebe Hospital engulfs me as I step through the main doors, bypassing the busy reception area.
Suddenly, a hand grasps my arm.
My breath catches, and I expect to face one of Vyvyan’s guards, but it’s a woman with curly black hair and ill-fitting scrubs.
“It’s Desiree, right?” she asks, glancing down the hall at the male security officer.
He starts our way.
Fuck.
I’m not here to make trouble.
“No. Sorry,” I mutter, trying to step around her.
The witch slides in front of me.
“You aren’t supposed to be here.”
I blink.
“I’m visiting someone. Doctor Chiara Dunn.” I shoulder past her.
“I’m sorry, but Doctor Dunn ordered you be kept away,” she says, keeping pace with me.
My eyes bulge.
My mom did what ?
No.
I must have misheard.
She couldn’t have just told me I’m barred from the hospital.
The idea is preposterous.
It is .
.
.
exactly the kind of thing Mom would do if she thought I was a threat.
“But I’m her daughter,” I say.
The healer shrugs.
“Sorry.”
The security officer casts a long shadow over us.
His uniform is too tight.
“Is there a problem here?”
I meet his menacing gaze.
“No.”
The healer’s eyes dart between the officer and me.
“This is Desiree Dunn. She was just leaving.”
The officer’s hand clamps down on my arm.
“I’m escorting you out, Miss Dunn.”
I dig my heels into the shiny floor.
All I need is five minutes of my mom’s time.
“No, I—Hey! Release me!” My screech ricochets through the corridor.
“You don’t need to make this more difficult. Doctor Dunn insists you maintain distance for your safety and that of others,” the officer says.
I wrench free from his grasp.
“Why?” I demand, shuddering.
The memory of Mom’s face at the party flashes before my eyes.
She looked at me like I was a stranger.
Someone dangerous.
“To protect Doctor Juliette Bird,” the healer says.
Red flares at the edges of my vision.
Juliette has finally succeeded in ruining me.
She turned my mom against me.
I need to see my mom.
With a burst of supernatural speed, I dash to the elevator, slipping inside just as the doors begin to close.
My finger slams against the button, and I watch the floors tick by while my stomach sits heavy in my throat.
I need to make Mom see the truth about Juliette.
I’m not the villain here.
On Mom’s floor, I hurry down the long corridor, my gaze on the ground.
The black-haired healer and security guard have likely announced my arrival.
Time is slipping away.
Mom’s lab is easy to locate.
Her name is prominently displayed on the door.
As I step inside, the automatic lights flicker to life.
The room is empty, but Mom’s work surrounds me—books, research papers, and a square box draped with a thick cloth.
I decide to check the sign-in boards to find her when a fluttering noise catches my attention.
My brow furrows.
It’s coming from beneath the fabric.
Hesitantly, I approach the box.
The rustling gets louder.
With a wavering hand, I pull the cloth away, revealing three small bats inside.
But these are no ordinary bats; their eyes glow red—vampire bats.
I stagger back, horrified.
These must be the bats Mom has been experimenting on, while I keep the truth hidden.
I am the key to ending vampirism.
But I don’t want to be.
The loudspeaker at Hebe Hospital crackles to life, and my name echoing through the halls.
“Attention all staff and patients! Be on the lookout for a dangerous, dark-haired vampire named Desiree. She is on the loose within the hospital and considered a threat. If you see her, alert security immediately.”
Each repetition of my name feels like a physical blow.
Soon, every person in the hospital will be searching for me.
Before I face my end for the second time tonight, I need to find an exit.
But I am not ready to leave just yet.
The vampire bats rustle in their cage.
I step closer.
“It’s wrong to keep you locked up against your will,” I tell them.
Vampire bats don’t harm anyone; they aren’t dangerous.
It’s a stereotype fueled by their differences.
I wince at the devastating parallel between their lives and mine.
With a scream that shatters the stillness of the lab, I sweep my arm across the countertop, sending Mom’s research flying.
She abandoned me when I needed her most.
Beakers and burners crash to the floor.
She cares more about this hospital than she ever did about me.
I confront the board of her formulas, pick up the eraser, and wipe it clean.
If not for Wilder, my childhood would have been a game of solitaire.
The bats squeak excitedly, their leathery wings fluttering in anticipation.
I work through the rest of the lab, leaving chaos in my wake as I prop open the refrigerator doors filled with temperature-sensitive samples.
I need my mom to feel my pain.
I’m not being subtle.
She will know it is me, but I don’t care.
It’s not as if I will ever come back here.
Finally, I unlatch the metal cage and stand at the head of the room, watching the vampire bats pour out of the now-open window, their silhouettes vanishing into the night sky.
At least, they get a second chance.
Tears stream down my face as I turn to the wreckage.
It doesn’t alleviate the pain.
If anything, the pit inside me deepens to a miserable black hole.
Backing away from the destruction I’ve wrought, I race down the emergency stairs, and burst out onto the street with the hospital alarm blaring behind me.
As I run, I have no clue where I am going.
I have no home, no support system.
Nothing.
I am nothing.