Chapter 88

VALERIA

My heart skipped a beat.

The fever.

It was still there, lingering beneath the surface, like a beast waiting to strike. I could feel it simmering just beneath their skin, a reminder of the strange power they had wielded.

***

Reese and I finally had a moment to ourselves after the kids fell asleep. We sat on the balcony overlooking the wide expanse of the beautiful garden, and the moon glowed weakly in the night sky, casting a silver light on the swimming pool beneath.

The events of the last twenty four hours kept replaying in my mind. First, I fainted from some strange fever and ended up in the hospital. Then, I was told I was the last standing healer, and now this? The kids attacking a Beta in self-defense? It was too much to take in all at once.

The house was quiet—eerily quiet, even. The kind of quiet that should have been comforting but instead felt heavy and oppressive. I sucked in several deep breaths and turned to Reese, my eyes wide with confusion and fear.

"Abou