Page 90 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

“Got it,” Zoé says.

By now, Emilien has parked the car in a side road. We give Zoé a moment before she nods at us and climbs out of the car, her bag with her laptop in her hand. She still looks a bit shy when she approaches the hospital, but it’s actually not a bad look on her. She will evoke sympathy like that, instead of suspicion.

Meanwhile Arden switches on the device he brought along to hear what’s going on. For a few minutes, we only hear Zoé’s breathing, then there are voices all around, beeping sounds, and someone calls out a number.

She must be inside now.

“Excuse me,” we can hear her shy voice.

“What is it, dear?” a female voice asks. “How can I help?”

“I’m waiting for someone, but I’m early.”

“Oh, poor sweetheart,” the voice says. “You can wait here as long as you want.”

“Thank you,” Zoé sounds relieved. “Is it a problem if I get some homework done in the meantime?”

“Not at all, but poor you. They give you homework over the Christmas holidays.”

“Yes,” Zoé mutters. “It’s a group project. Do you have a guest WLAN?”

“Yes.” We can hear something being scribbled down on a note. “Here, that’s the login.”

“Thank you,” Zoé says.

For a while, it’s silent; we just hear some rustling before: “I’m settled,” Zoé whispers. “I’ve put the earplugs in, so they think I’m humming to music when I say something.”

“Smart girl,” Emilien mutters.

I turn to Nox. “Then it’s our turn. Shall we, Dr. Laurent?”

“After you, Dr. Alami,” he says.

I hug Arden from behind before exiting the car. Nox and I first go to a nearby coffee shop to grab a coffee-to-go. A lot of nurses and young doctors seem to frequent it. While waiting for our order, I head to the restroom and change into my white doctor’s coat before switching places with Nox. Once we are both ready and have our coffee, we make our way to the hospital, pretending we didn’t come together. Nox has his earplugs in, listening to music, while I pretend to talk on my phone.

Once inside, I bid goodbye to my imaginary friend on the other end and put the phone aside. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see Zoé sitting and typing on her laptop. I grab my fake permit and clip it to my coat like I saw the other doctors doing in the coffee shop. Then, I march past the admission ward, mumbling my greetings to them while gazing on some sheets of paper in my hands.

Nox goes even further and stops to chat with one of the nurses, flirting a little before continuing his path. We both studied the map of the hospital yesterday—at least the part we know about—and made sure to learn it by heart. We decided not to take the same path. The archives are on the ground floor, but for the blood bank, we need to go to the basement.

I grab my phone and switch on the app Zoé installed for me. “Do you hear me, Zoé?”

“Yes,” she mutters.

“I’m following both you and Nox.”

“Nox?”

“I’m here,” he whispers. “I’m close to the archives. There are a lot of nurses around here. Let me handle that.”

“Okay, let’s split,” I mutter. “I’ll head to the basement.”

“Dr. Alami doesn’t have clearance for the basement,” Zoé whispers. “Wait, give me a moment.”

To avoid raising suspicion, I head to the restrooms and pretend to have business there, while Zoé works to get my permit approved and Nox talks to some nurses. His personality is usually quiet and reserved, but he can be chatty if he wants to. He is handsome, so, soon I can hear some giggling from the other side.

“Got you approved, Aurelia,” Zoé mutters. “Go now. There is no one in the basement aside from two cleaning ladies.”

“Surveillance cameras?”