Page 78 of Ashes and Lilies
“What’s wrong?” Had I done something? Or was he still worried about Finn?
Julian sighed, seemingly torn by an internal struggle, before finally looking at me. “I got a phone call from my grandfather when I was coming to pick you up. He was asking about you,” he said, squeezing his hands over the steering wheel. “An unidentified body was turned in at the morgue. He’s busy now and wants to know if you or I could check if they were one of your assailants.”
“Okay,” I told him, unsure why this might upset him. Plus, how wouldJulian—or anyone besides me—be able to tell who’dattacked me? “We have time before we have to meet everyone at Professor Hamway’s house tonight,” I told him. “We can go now.”
“It’s not that,” he replied, pressing his lips together.
“I will try not to cry if it is him,” I told him. Though, honestly, I might. I would definitely have a nightmare later, though. But Julian didn’t need to know that.
Julian looked at me, brows furrowing. “That’s another reason.” He grabbed my hand and held the front against his chest. “You’re not still worried, are you? You know nothing will ever happen to you so long as I’m around, right?”
“I know…”
“Bianca,” he began. “You don’t need to go, I can…”
I smiled, and his words trailed off as I pulled my hand away.
“L-let’s get this over with,” I told him. It would ruin everything if he felt me shaking. “That way, we no longer need to worry about it.”
Julian was still frowning at me. “I wasn’t worried.”
Yes, he was, even though he might not admit to it. I didn’t know what he was worried about, exactly.
“But that’s fine,” he said, turning his attention back to the vehicle. “We’ll make it quick. I don’t want you there longer than we need to be.”
16
Viewingthe body had been surprisingly anticlimactic. It probably helped that I’d built up the scene in my head—expecting copious amounts of blood, severed guts, and splattered brains instead of the lifeless, gray, and cleaned-up crew-cut sporting man.
However, Julian’s strange behavior was more concerning. He’d left me at the mortuary door, moving to cross the sterile, silver room to look on my behalf before I blurted out that the deceased was one of my potential abductors.
He’d let out a long breath with my confirmation, and his relief hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Strange. He was a doctor-to-be. What did he have against the dead?
Still, it felt like no time before we were back at the main entrance, ready to escape the stifling confines of the hospital, when a nurse rushed into the lobby, beckoning for Julian’s attention.
Julian frowned as he looked over his shoulder. “This will onlytake one minute, darling,” he said, touching my shoulder. In the center of the room was a fountain amidst a miniature garden, and he pointed to it. “Would you mind waiting for me over there?” he asked, then inclined his head toward the door. “I’ll be just here. Don’t leave my sight.”
I nodded before meandering to the water display. Julian was very important—even as a medical student. I couldn’t begrudge him for working tirelessly to save lives. He and the nurse spoke as she showed him her notes. One of his patients was being transferred to a new floor.
I crossed my arms and looked away. The last thing I wanted was to intrude on a private conversation.
Then, I noticed a glimmering from the corner of the room, nearest to the sliding glass doors, as a melodious humming began thrilling through the air. My fingers tingled, and I looked around the sparsely filled room. No one else seemed to hear it. This feeling was vaguely familiar—but not entirely so—to something I’d come across once, a long time ago, and my chest tightened at the memory.
It hadn’t ended well then, and probably wouldn’t now.
“Jul—” I began and glanced back. But now the nurse was upset, and Julian was frowning at the chart.
Someone’s life might be on the line. I couldn’t disturb them.
But…
The music was growing louder, and the glittery light flickered again. My thoughts began to buzz, and my concerns no longer mattered. Why did I need Julian again? There was nothing wrong.
A sense of peace flowed through me, a feather-like sensation against my skin, as my legs moved on their own. My feet felt weightless, and my skirt brushed across my calves as the afternoon breeze caressed my face.
Something was shining in the distance, and it almost felt like I could touch it.
