sending his fist at the attacker.
A crash reverberated through the room. Adrian let out a stream of curses. Nova shone the flashlight toward him.
There was no attacker, no blackmailer. Their assailant had been Adrian’s own reflection in the dresser mirror, which had shattered from the punch.
“Okay,” he grunted, cradling his hand against his chest, face twisted with pain. “I’m officially done attacking people before I get a good look at them.”
“That might be for the best,” said Nova, but her words were distracted.
Her attention had snagged on the top of the dresser, where a few chunks of broken mirror had fallen to the surface.
The helmet was gone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ADRIAN PACED AROUND the waiting room. Simon was sitting at the edge of one of the sofas, his hands clasped and his fingers twitching against his knuckles. They hadn’t spoken much since their arrival at the hospital. Hugh had gone ahead to see Max, as the only one who was immune to him. The only one who was supposed to be immune to him. Adrian’s confession had been on the tip of his tongue ever since.
It was so frustrating to be out here when there was no reason that he couldn’t be in the room with Max right now. His tattoo would protect him. All he needed to do was tell his dads about the tattoos, explain that, actually, he was immune to Max’s power, too, and he could be back there with his brother.
But the words wouldn’t come. There would be too many questions. Explanations he wasn’t ready to give.
So instead he paced. Back and forth. Past the fake potted plants. The tables full of fashion and celebrity magazines—one, he noticed, had his dads’ faces in a small box on the cover, but Adrian didn’t read the headline. Nothing mattered right now except Max.
Sweet rot, why wasn’t he back there with him?
It felt like hours before finally, finally, Hugh emerged through the swinging double doors, a smile plastered across his face. Hope surged through Adrian’s veins. Simon launched to his feet.
“He’s going to be okay,” said Hugh.
It was all he managed to say before they were embracing one another. Hugh pulled Adrian against him, squeezing tight around his shoulders, and then Simon had his arms around them both. Adrian fought to hold back the tears of relief that threatened to spill over. He ducked away, letting his dads hold each other a moment longer while he gathered himself.
“The doctor says he’s been through the worst now,” Hugh continued, his voice rough with emotion. “They expect a full recovery, though there will be a scar that I’m sure he’ll be proud to show off for the rest of his life. And Max is … He’s good. Weak still, but good. He’s in high spirits. If things weren’t in such disarray at headquarters, we could probably take him back by the end of the month.”
“Headquarters?” said Adrian, spinning to face them. “He can’t go back to headquarters.”
“Not anytime soon, obviously,” said Hugh, running a hand through his blond hair. “It will take a while to rebuild the quarantine. He’ll just have to stay put until then, but I know the staff here is going to keep him comfortable. They say he’ll be able to move to a new room in a few days, one that’s intended for longer-care patients.”
“Hold on,” said Adrian. “The quarantine? You’re going to rebuild the quarantine?”
Hugh and Simon stared at him, baffled. “Well … of course we are,” said Simon. “He can’t stay at the hospital forever.”
Adrian shook his head. “No. You can’t!”
“What are you talking about?” said Hugh. “What did you think would happen?”
Adrian stepped back. “I just thought…”
What had he thought would happen once Max was able to leave the hospital? That he could come home to the mansion? That he could share the basement with Adrian, be brothers for real?
That wasn’t possible. Not with Simon living under the same roof.
But to go back to the quarantine?
“This can’t be the only option. He hates the quarantine. And now that we don’t need him for Agent N—”
“We still need to protect him,” said Simon. “He’s a threat to prodigies everywhere, which means he can be targeted anytime.”
“Or weaponized against us,” added Hugh. “And it’s dangerous for him to be out in the world. You’ve seen the trouble we’ve had to go through just to make sure no prodigy healers accidentally wander past his room while he’s here. No. It’s safer for him at headquarters, where we can keep an