Chapter 21
Lukas
“Henrietta Baker,” I said to the waiting receptionist, who made a few clicks on her computer before pointing to the hallway to my left.
“Room four-thirty-one,” she muttered, barely looking at either me or Elsie.
Elsie, who was pushing away the stress of her own day, came to visit Henri in the hospital with me. Elsie, who insisted on stopping to get pastries for both Noah and Henri because ‘hospital food sucks’. Elsie, whom I couldn’t seem to get enough of.
I led the way down the hall, one bag slung over my shoulder with a few sets of spare clothes for both Noah and Henri, along with toiletries. I gripped Elsie’s hand, and she held the white bakery box in her other arm against her body.
Once at the room, I reached up and knocked. The door opened seconds later. Remy stood there looking exhausted and stressed, as I was sure all of us appeared.
However, when I stepped fully into the room, I nearly stopped breathing. Elsie also couldn’t help but gasp as she took in our friends.
Henri was sitting against the back of the hospital bed that was propped up, with the hospital table over her lap, where—of course—there was a stack of books she appeared to be looking through.
Her appearance, though, was utterly shocking.
There was no color in her face, and there was a white bandage around the top of her head, covering the injury she sustained from the fall.
Dark purple rings surrounded her eyes, which were duller than usual.
Noah was sitting in the chair next to her, and his appearance shocked me even more.
I’d never seen him look so physically ill in all the time I’d known him.
His face was somehow paler than Henri’s, his dark circles darker.
Except his eyes weren’t displaying any signs of exhaustion or sickness.
Instead, they showed only his unfettered rage.
He was on the precipice of murder, it seemed.
Ivy and Remy sat off to the side of the room, slight smiles on their faces as they looked at us.
“We brought you some treats,” Elsie said, her voice small and soft. She approached Henri’s bed, and Noah seemed to stiffen like a guard dog. Tentatively, Elsie placed the box on the table over Henri’s legs. “There are some lavender puffs, honeycomb scones, and blueberry biscuits.”
Just as Elsie took a step back, Henri reached out and grabbed her hand. The room was silent as we all watched Henri smile and squeeze Elsie’s hand. Even Noah relaxed—although only fractionally.
“Thank you,” Henri said hoarsely. Elsie nodded, and I couldn’t see her expression. Then, Henri looked up at me and smiled, nodding at me.
“Yes, thank you! The food in the cafeteria here sucks,” Ivy said, wasting no time going for the box of pastries. Everyone laughed at her as she dug in, grabbing a scone and a biscuit. Elsie looked over her shoulder and gave me a smirk.
“Still no news?” I asked, taking a seat next to Remy on the couch against the wall. There were books on the side table next to Remy, as well as on top of a chest across the room. It seemed as though everyone had been deep in research before we got here.
Noah shook his head, anger burning in his eyes. He pushed a hand through his hair. Meanwhile, Henri patted the spot on her bed next to her, and Elsie took a seat, the two of them whispering. Noah shifted his attention, watching the two of them as Henri showed Elsie what she’d been reading.
“No answers. No explanations. And no one seems to believe that this wasn’t an accident.” Noah’s voice was gravel-filled as he watched his girl like she could disappear at any moment.
“I don’t believe for a second that there wasn’t foul play involved,” Ivy added, shaking her head as she nibbled on the scone.
“Agreed. But how would each of the witnesses be sick in different ways? The medical reports for the other two said there were no magical traces.”
“That’s what we can’t figure out,” Henri spoke up, gesturing to the books laid out before her. “We’ve gone through some of the most obscure texts we could get our hands on.”
Elsie was pulling the books across the small table, reading their spines and their title pages. Her brows scrunched together as she flipped through a red leather-bound book that was fraying and barely holding together.
“Where did you get these?” Elsie asked, grabbing a different book and thumbing through the first few pages.
“This is just what Noah’s parents had. They have an ancient collection of books and brought what seemed relevant.”
Elsie nodded slowly, looking through each of the books before grabbing some of the other books. Everyone watched in confusion, not realizing that this was something she was good at.
“None of these are quite old enough. At least that’s my guess. The oldest one here is from 1807. But what if what happened to Henri is something much older?” She paused, lost in thought.
“Where would we find something like that?” Noah asked, his tone a little too harsh for my liking. I glared at him, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me.
Elsie kept flipping through the pages of the book and then looked up at me, eyes shining.
“I can look in my library. My mother collected ancient texts, and so do I. There might be something we can find. There has to be an answer for this.” She moved her gaze back to Henri, who looked weak but determined.
“We’ll keep looking through what we can get our hands on.
There are still quite a few we haven’t touched from my parents’ house.
” Noah’s tone towards Elsie was much more appropriate this time.
She nodded at him, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought.
Her demeanor seemed more nervous now than it had when we first got here, and I wondered if it was because of how Noah had spoken to her.
I could nail him for it, and I was only a few seconds away from it.
“Lukas, did you hear anything about whether they’re postponing court dates?” Elsie asked. Ivy and Remy were already grabbing at books around them, ready to get back to work.
“I haven’t heard anything from Ed.”
Elsie nodded, standing and walking to me. “Then we need to get to work.”
“We’re all in agreement that Aster is definitely behind this, right?” Remy asked, and I was already nodding.
“I—I just don’t think that’s possible. She has had her magic suppressed for the time of the case, so there’s no way she could do it.” Elsie looked like she was going to be sick as she explained. “I’m not saying she couldn’t be involved in whatever this is, but it’s not directly her.”
“That seems to be her method of operation anyhow,” Henri commented, looking at Ivy with sorrow.
My mind was whirring, clicking more pieces into place. There were a handful of people close enough to Aster in this case who could do dirty work for her. That would have a reason to do something like this.
But delaying a witness’s testimony wouldn’t absolve Aster. It would only give her a little more time before being sentenced. The evidence was irrefutable. So what purpose would there be in delaying the case?
A piece of the puzzle was indeed missing, and I guessed that the others in the room would come to the same conclusion.
“It could be anyone,” Ivy whispered, eyes haunted.
“Probably that sleazy defense attorney.” Remy’s voice held disgust that I felt equally for William Middleton.
Elsie’s shoulders stiffened, and she took a step closer to me, she looked at the floor.
“We’ll go look at Elsie’s collection, and I’ll call if we find anything.” I reached out and grabbed Elsie’s hand, and she allowed it, but didn’t grip back.
“Thank you. Both of you.” Henri’s voice had me moving my eyes to her, and it seemed she was on the verge of crying.
“Of course.” I nodded to all of them and led Elsie out of the room, who also seemed on the verge of crying.
As soon as we were out in the hall, I pulled her toward to the lift. When we were alone inside of it, I turned her toward me.
“What is it?” My suspicions were correct. Unshed tears hung in her eyes.
She was already shaking her head, refusing to look at me. “It's not the right time. We just need to get answers for Henri. I’m ready for all of this to be over.”
Her voice caught on a sob. I pulled her into my arms, aching to fix whatever was hurting her. I wouldn’t push her on it, though. Not today.