Infected

Mixo left me on the balcony after warning me about Ithil. I mean, it was not like I didn’t know what I was getting into, but seeing him like that… it was messing with my mind.

But I couldn’t afford to dwell on it. I needed to figure out how to get to my parents.

First, I had to try to contact my siblings. Then, I would go find Mom—she would know what to do about Dad.

From the other room, I heard Mixo and Neha saying their goodbyes. Their voices were faint, but their tense energy lingered. Over it all, I could make out Ginevra’s slow and unsteady heartbeat.

What was going on with him? He had said he was fine that night, but now he felt weak. Shouldn’t a vampire—and a Geriseuz at that—heal faster if he was hurt? Or was there something I didn’t understand about how his kind worked?

I was still trying to make sense of it when I felt Ginevra’s presence behind me.

“I guess we can never escape fate,” he said and I turned to face him.