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She had tired herself out.
I think after hearing that I would leave with her, she had finally let herself relax, and she’d fallen asleep in the chair even though they had brought a small cot for her to stay on, and there was also a couch. However, she insisted on sitting right beside me until I fell asleep every night. Slowly climbing out of bed, I stepped into my slippers, grabbed a blanket from the couch, and placed it over her before walking to the door.
I wanted to walk—to see more than my hospital room. Maybe go outside, though I knew that wasn’t possible even if it was dark out.
“Miss?” Thelma stood from her chair, coming over to me quickly. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, thank you. And thank you for sitting here every day. You must be bored out of your mind.”
“Not at all. I am glad you are feeling better. Did you need the doctor?” She was already moving to get her phone.
“No,” I said, quickly sticking out my hands. “I was hoping to take a walk.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t know if that will be best, miss.”
“Please? I don’t know how much longer I can just sit here, and I’m not tired enough to sleep yet. Ten minutes. And of course, you’ll be with me.”
Her frown deepened, and she checked the empty hall. She reached up to speak into some super-secret microphone in her sleeve or something like a spy and said, “The Ademere wishes to take a walk. We’ll be going through the left.”
“Ademere?” I grinned. “Eaglet?”
Since I wasn’t the Adelina yet, that was my title? No one had told me that.
“Yes, miss. For security reasons, we needed a new code.” She nodded, stepping back so I could come out. “Fine. We’ve secured this side of the hospital so you can walk this way. But we will not be able to go outside.”
“That is fine. But secured?”
“Yes, miss, it’s how we change shifts without disturbing or drawing any attention while we are here,” she replied.
“How many people are here?”
“The Adelaar called for eight.”
“Eight?” I gasped. “That is a bit much. Don’t you think?”
“I do not seek to think. I follow orders,” she replied, reminding me of Iskandar. “And it is not as if eight of us are on at once. There are four during the day, and then four during the night shift.”
“Where are the other three?” I only ever saw her and one other man outside my room.
“One on the bottom floor. One at the hospital security room to watch the cameras. One outside your room, and one in the stairwell,” Thelma said, and to prove her point, she opened the stairwell, where a man with short, auburn hair stood. Layland was stitched onto his shirt.
“Miss.”
“Hi.” I waved. “Thank you for being here.”
He nodded and stepped out of my way. He did not seem like the chatty type, either. Was this part of their training?
“It is better for us to use the staircases over the elevators to go down.”
We were on the hospital's topmost floor, so there was no other way to go but down.
Thelma walked behind me. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was used to it or worried about me falling and wanted to catch me. Either way, I was fine on my own so long as I didn’t move too fast. And two levels below me was a giant window, allowing me to look into the hospital courtyard. I saw a few doctors talking, but no patients as it was night. The view of trees and houses in the distance were peaceful to look at. The view in my room was better, but it felt good to move.
“Oww. Vicky.”
The voice was soft, but it was a voice for sure. I glanced around to make sure I wasn’t hearing things. However, Thelma was moving to the railing, looking down and then back up, confused as well. She lifted her wrist. “Is anyone in the staircases?”
