her lip was swollen, and there was a sizable bandage on her forehead. Her left arm was in a sling, and her stiff, uncomfortable-looking walk spoke of further injuries we couldn’t see.
“What happened?” Luke choked out. He looked like he wanted to hug her but was afraid he might hurt her. I didn’t blame him.
Dr. Gilliam’s eyes shifted briefly to me, then away. That quick, furtive glance filled me with dread. Whatever had happened to her had to do with me. I was sure of it.
“Why don’t we all sit down,” she said, dropping into the recliner with a groan and a sigh.
Luke and I sat on the sofa facing her, neither one of us relaxing into the cushions. Bob sensed the tension in the room and came over to rest his head on my legs. I obediently started scratching behind his ears. I know petting dogs is supposed to help lower blood pressure, but there wasn’t much hope of that working here.
“What happened?” Luke asked again, more grimly this time.
Dr. Gilliam grimaced and looked at me. “I almost talked myself into lying about this to try to spare you. I hope I’m doing the right thing by telling the truth.”
“So it was about me?” I asked, my voice going weak. A comforting lie might have been nice, but I wasn’t sure I’d have believed it anyway. Maybe Dr. Gilliam realized that.
She nodded. “The Nightstruck kidnapped a man and his daughter. They beat him up and stabbed him, then promised they would let his daughter go unharmed if he came into the emergency room and got me outside somehow.
“There’s a lot of security in the hospital these days, of course, but it’s almost all focused on keeping the Nightstruck out, not on keeping anyone in. The guy jumped me and knocked me out.” She pointed at the bandage on her forehead. “He carried me outside and handed me over. The only reason I survived is that one of the nurses saw him carrying me out and called security. They were able to chase the Nightstruck away, but as you can see, I’m a little worse for the experience. Still, I’m going to be fine. Nothing’s broken, and I’m alive.”
“Well, then, I guess everything’s okay,” I said bitterly, my hands balling into fists in my lap. Bob wasn’t happy that I stopped petting him and stuck his cold, wet nose against one of those fists. “Stop it, Bob!” I snapped, jerking my hand away. He gave me a reproachful look, but he stopped nosing my hand and lay down at my feet.
“Becket, honey, I know you feel like this is all your fault, but I promise you it isn’t. If Piper wasn’t fixated on you, she’d probably be fixated on Luke instead. Our family would be vulnerable no matter what.”
But I knew she was wrong. It was clear that Piper had lost all interest in Luke the moment she’d been Nightstruck. He was literally too good for her. So if it weren’t for me, the Gilliams would be in no special danger.
Not to mention that I was directly responsible for the magic that had entered our city. There was no power on earth that could convince me this wasn’t my fault.
Now if only there were something I could do about it.…
“Don’t you for one heartbeat consider giving yourself up!” Dr. Gilliam said. “That is not an option. Understand?”
I nodded, because I did understand. I didn’t know what I would turn into, what I would be like, if I was Nightstruck. The Gilliams were all I had left in this city, and I didn’t think my long-standing crush on Luke would go away if I changed. Piper’s obsession with me showed me exactly how toxic strong connections could become.
I guess my silent nod wasn’t very convincing.
“I can’t tell you how much it would hurt me if you gave yourself up when you’re under my protection,” Dr. Gilliam said. “I promised your mother I’d take care of you. If I have to worry about you running off into the night while I’m gone, then I’m going to have to stop going to work.”
“I won’t run off into the night,” I promised, mentally crossing my fingers, because I wanted to keep all my options open.
I couldn’t help noticing that Luke hadn’t said a word throughout this discussion. He didn’t join in with his mother’s pleas, he didn’t tell me it wasn’t my fault. He didn’t even make any comforting gestures, like patting me on