Chapter 31

Hannah’s pov

“You have to promise me that my father and stepmother aren’t allowed to see him,” I told Dr. Conway as EMTs started removing Liam from the palace.

Tears stained my features and Liam looked defeated. I explained to him countless times that it was for his good. That he needed that medication if we wanted to keep him alive. He told me that he understood, but I knew the look on his face well. He was hurt that I was having him taken away. It broke my heart to see him like this.

I brought it up to Sebastian the night before and he agreed that if I wanted to keep him alive, it would probably be best if he was surrounded by doctors who knew what they were doing. It pained me to see that he agreed with Queen Magnolia and Dr. Conway, but he also had a good point that I worked at the hospital and could see Liam whenever I wanted. I could make sure that no unwanted visitors were allowed in his room.

“I promise, no one outside of the list you provided will be allowed near him,” Dr. Conway assured me.

I grasped Liam’s hands before he was placed in the ambulance. They didn’t trust that he could make it to the hospital without the ambulance, so I agreed to it.

I looked at my brother with tear-filled eyes.

“I promise, I’ll be there soon,” I told him gently.

He gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I watched as they shoved him into the back of the ambulance. As they slammed the doors shut, I flinched at the loud sound, hoping that it didn’t frighten Liam.

Magnolia stood at the Palace entrance, watching the ordeal go down. I could feel her eyes on the back of my head, and I felt a sudden chill going down my spine. I wouldn’t dare look at her. I wasn’t sure what kind of game she was playing, but she was starting to get on my last nerve.

She messed with Sebastian’s life a lot I’ve noticed during my time at the palace, and now she was starting to mess with mine.

What was her game?

I decided to brush the thought out of my mind and go to the hospital. I was already late for work, and I didn’t have an excuse for Dr. Davis this time. Thankfully, Sebastian sent Lewis to return to the palace once he was also dropped off at the hospital to see Emily. Lewis was waiting for me at the front of the palace doors, ready to take me to work.

I smiled my thanks to him before sliding into the car. I felt a knot forming in my stomach the closer we go to the hospital. For a moment, I couldn’t help but worry that my father would be waiting for Liam as soon as he got there.

Thankfully, there was no sign of him as we got to the hospital. I went straight to the locker rooms to put on my white work coat and brush my messy hair into a ponytail. Once I was dressed for work, I went straight to Liam’s assigned room.

I was relieved that he was comfortably in his bed and no longer looked like he wanted to cry. He was hooked up to an IV and was sipping on some water. He beamed up at me as I entered his room. He was 19 years old, which was only a year younger than me, but because of his condition, he acted as if he was still a child. I always made it my mission to care for him when I could.

“Hannah!” He said happily as I entered the room.

“How are you feeling?” I asked him, sitting at his bedside. “I’m sorry you have to be here again.”

“I’m okay,” he said gently. “As long as I get to see you this time.”

I held onto his hands tightly, not wanting to let him go.

“Of course, Liam,” I assured him. “I promise that it won’t be like last time.” After a pause, I added. “But I do have to go to work. So, I’ll check on you later, okay?”

He nodded with a smile.

“Okay.”

I left his room and made my rounds to each of my patients. Dr. Davis has been trusting me to do my rounds myself. He assigned me 5 patients and each one seemed to be getting better every time I saw them. For a couple of them, I had to adjust the dosages of their medication; I marked down any changes to their conditions and did a bit more test work. My patients were kind to me; one older woman, in particular, could always see when I wasn’t okay.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind, dear,” she said to me, her eyes twinkling with wisdom and compassion.

I tried to maintain my professionalism, but she somehow always knew how to bring everything out of me.

“It’s my brother,” I told her after a little while of resistance. “He’s here and I’m worried for him.”

“Well, he has the best doctor in the hospital to care for him. I wouldn’t worry too much,” she said with a wink.

It made me smile. I thanked her before ordering some more tests for her condition and leaving the room. It was nearing midafternoon and I knew it was about time to take a lunch break. I told Dr. Davis I was going to my desk to have some lunch and he sent for a nurse to check on the testing I had sent to the labs.

I sat at my desk, staring at the sandwich I had the kitchen maids at the palace prepare that morning. I wasn’t particularly hungry. I decided to do a little more research on Sabastian’s condition. I hadn’t seen him at all, but Nora could sense that he was around the hospital. I didn’t want to bother him and possibly anger him, so I left him alone for the most part. But I still really wanted to do some research to see if there was anything that could be done to ease his discomfort during the full moon. The last full moon was terrible, and I nearly lost my life trying to fight him away. I wasn’t sure I could be as lucky this next full moon.

I grabbed an empty notebook out of my desk and started jotting down notes.

I was startled as a presence appeared behind me. I turned to see Dr. Davis staring down at me with a frown.

“More research?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. “I thought he was better?”

I was hesitant before answering; I wasn’t sure how much I should tell him.

“It worked that time,” I told him. “But it won’t work every time. It’s a temporary fix. I wanted to see if there’s something more permanent.”

“Need some help?” He asked. “There were some more books we didn’t check out at the library. I’ve been kind of curious myself.”

I rose my gaze to meet his.

“You want to help again?” I asked, surprised.

He nodded once.

“You’re one of the best doctors I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” he told me, a small smile creeping on his lips. “It would be a shame if you died at the hands of the beast. Especially if there was a way we can stop it.”

I felt flattered by his compliment, but I thought about how Sebastian acted when I returned home from dinner the other night. I wasn’t sure if spending more time outside of the hospital with Dr. Davis was such a good idea.

“He’ll be angry,” Nora warned, she could sense my hesitation.

“But we could use as much help as possible. If we explained to Sebastian our intentions, he couldn’t possibly be angry,” I told her. “Plus, he’s so wrapped up with Emily right now. He probably wouldn’t notice.”

However, that’s what I said last time too, and he was waiting for me at home, angrily. I swallowed the knot forming in my throat.

“I hope you know what you are doing,” she said, uneasily.

I looked back up at Dr. Davis and gave him a polite smile.

“That would be great, thank you,” I said to him. He looked relieved at my response.

“Great, we will go to the library after work!”