Chapter 175


    I quickly excuse myself from Joyce and his group and rush from the room, with Charlotte following me..


    “The doctor should be in with her now,” Charlotte said. “Mark sent a guard to retrieve her just as I left to


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    find you.”


    “Good,” I said. We did not speak again as we hurried through the hallways and up the stairs.


    Finally, when we made it to the room, we found the doctor tending to Elva in bed while Mark watched


    1. on. He greeted me when I came to stand near him.


    “How long has she had a fever?” I asked. I hadn’t been gone all that long myself. She had seemed


    okay


    before I left, but I had not thought to take her temperature.


    “She only really started to feel bad in the past twenty minutes or so,” Mark said. “At first we thought she


    had overexerted herself when ying, but after sitting for a while, she still didn’t feel better. When I


    touched her forehead…” He lifted his hand and red at it like it had betrayed him. “She was burning


    up.”


    We watched on for a while, as the doctor examined and tended to Elva. When she finally stepped back,


    she caught sight of me and motioned me over. I hurried to her. Elva was sleeping soundly in the bed.


    “This fever is not as severe as those in the past, partially because we caught it so quickly, but also, I


    believe because of the continued treatments and care we’ve taken over the past weeks,” the doctor


    said. ”


    The fever itself is already going down.”


    “So she is okay?” I asked.


    “Yes. She will be herself tomorrow. For now, she only needs rest. We will continue to monitor. Call me if


    I am needed, else I will check back first thing in the morning.”


    “Thank you, doctor,” I said.


    She nodded. “She’s a brave little girl, and a fighter. She will be fine.”


    I thanked her again for the added assurance. Then Mark walked her to the door.


    I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Elva as she slept. The doctor had spoken true, she did not seem


    to be in as much pain as usual. Her sweating was minimal, and when I touched her forehead, it was


    only


    warm and not hot.


    Staying in the pce had been doing wonders for her illness. The high end medical care and


    treatments


    might just have been saving her life. The problem, of course, was that this was all only temporary As


    soon as we left, Elva’s health would likely decline again.


    +15 BONUS


    With an elimination ceremony only a day and a half away, that unpleasant reality was creeping in on us


    sooner rather thanter.


    I couldn’t let that happen. I had to make sure we stayed for as long as we could.


    I needed to speak with Julian.


    I stayed with Elva for a few hours, until the fever truly decreased. Mark continued to stand diligently at


    the door. I wondered when he slept.


    He immediately noticed when I came closer to the door.


    “It’s after midnight, Piper,” he said.


    “I just need to go for a walk to clear my head.” It wasn’t a total lie. More of an omission. If my walk just


    so happened to take me by Julian’s door, well, who would know? “Can you keep an eye on her? She’s


    resting and shouldn’t wake.”


    “Of course,” he said.


    I hated leaving her while she was under the weather, but nothing could dy this. Julian may have


    disappeared during the day, but it was possible he was holed up in his room, simply avoiding everyone.


    That wasn’t entirely like him, but I couldn’t rest until I was sure.


    Elva’s future rested entirely in his hands.


    So as not to arouse suspicion in Mark, I walked toward the stairs and then down them. Once I was out


    of his line of sight, however, I veered down a series of hallways to bring me to the second staircase,


    which I quickly climbed.