Nocticadia

During Devryck’s class, Lilia researches his father, frustrated at the lack of information about him online. Vanessa became pregnant and left the study before the six women died, yet Lilia wonders if Devryck’s father killed her. She considers how to get close to him to uncover information.

After class, Devryck apologizes to Lilia for his behavior at the library. She flirts with him, hoping that he’ll respond more amiably when she asks again about Andrea, who attacked Lippincott. She asks if Noctisoma have a latency phase that might explain a delayed onset of the infection, though she doesn’t mention her mother or the study. He says that’s impossible and nicknames her “Curious Moth.”

Later, Spencer asks about the nature of Devryck’s interest in Lilia. He also reveals that Mel dislikes him because they kissed when she was drunk, and she accused him of sexually assaulting her. Despite their animosity toward each other, they agree on disliking Devryck. Spencer says that Mel likes to dig up stories and that Lilia shouldn’t trust her.

Lilia is studying for final essays when Spencer’s seamstress arrives with an extravagant dress for Lilia to wear to the gala. Lilia is hesitant to wear it around Spencer, assuming that he wants to date her despite her assertion that she isn’t looking for a relationship.

Lilia reveals to the seamstress that Vanessa is her mother and asks about both her family and Andrea. Mel told her that Andrea’s real name was June. The seamstress says that June was a burnout, while Vanessa was an accomplished young woman whose disappearance shocked everyone. The seamstress feels sorry for Lilia.

Devryck checks on Barletta, whose symptoms have worsened. He’s covered in scratches, despite lacking a weapon, and accuses Devryck of harming him. Devryck dismisses this as a hallucination.

Later, Devryck ponders Barletta’s unusual behavior, which was less aggressive and more skittish. He gets a call from a fellow Rook, who offers information on Angelo but is unable to track him down. His real surname is DeLuca, but—unknown to Devryck and his informant—Angelo has used a different last name while he’s been friends with Conner. Because of the recent appearance of Angelo on the news in relation to the CEO’s murder, they assume that he’s been killed by now.

Lippincott texts Devryck to ask him to come to the gala that evening. Devryck agrees but checks on Barletta first. He finds Barletta dead, having mysteriously pried loose a piece of stone and gouged out his eyes. Devryck is confounded, as the parasite only seeks water to escape into and breed within; it never drives its host to death by suicide away from water.

Devryck quickly deposits the corpse into a tank of water, in which the Noctisoma begin to escape Barletta’s body. Devryck will leave him there throughout the evening until all the worms have escaped. He hopes that these worms and their toxin will create a more successful elixir for his ailment; otherwise, he’ll need to find another victim.

Lilia walks into the gala. She’s intimidated by the sight of expensive decorations and rich people and moves to leave, but she spots Devryck outside smoking. They lock eyes, intensely attracted to one another, but Spencer interrupts and brings her inside.

The gala exists to fund Devryck’s research and repopulate the moths used in their studies. Inside the room is a large tank containing moths. When Spencer leaves to fetch Lilia a drink, Devryck speaks to her, asking about the nature of her relationship with Spencer and assuring her that people in the gala are staring at her because she’s “worth staring at” (337).

Lilia joins Spencer and Provost Lippincott, who is more polite this time. Lilia tries to provoke him into admitting that he knows her mother, but he merely invites her to dine with them when dinner is served. Lilia is sat next to a creepy older man, while Gilchrist sits next to Lippincott, despite their animosity toward one another. Gilchrist clearly dislikes Lilia.

The older man begins speaking to Devryck, who sits two seats down from Spencer. They exchange barbs. Lippincott keeps receiving private messages from a waitress, and the older man begins interrogating Lilia about where she’s from. He gropes her under the table, which only Devryck notices and calls out.

The others are shocked at the accusation. Lippincott is furious, as the man is a wealthy donor, but Devryck threatens him if he touches Lilia again. Lilia means to go after Devryck when he storms off, but she suddenly becomes dizzy and disoriented. Spencer takes her out for fresh air, and she again notices the mysterious figure in a plague doctor mask.

Spencer chases after the figure. Alone, Lilia falls, too ill to move. Someone arrives and takes her away to a car, and she faints.

Lilia awakens in the cell under Emeric Tower, handcuffed to the bed. Devryck appears and says that he didn’t want to risk having an unconscious woman in his office or be seen taking her to her room, lest rumors spread, so he brought her there. He handcuffed her for her safety, as she was sleepwalking.

He says that she was drugged with berries in which Noctisoma-infected moths lay their eggs. The hallucinogenic berries made her ill, but he analyzed a trace of her vomit under a microscope and found no actual Noctisoma parasites.

He says that Spencer has been accused of drugging Mel with the berries and assaulting her, but this wasn’t proven. Devryck is concerned because university cameras caught him carrying Lilia to his car, but he grows more concerned when she mentions that she’s been spied on by the plague doctor figure.

Worried that the footage and Lilia’s drugging will have him arrested, he asks her to vouch for him; she says that she will only if he makes her his paid assistant. They argue, but he ultimately agrees, threatening that she’ll regret it if she breaks any of his rules.

Devryck is frustrated with Lilia. He lied to her about the plague doctor figure, saying that she may have hallucinated it, but he knows it’s a Rook. He wonders if Spencer, as a newly initiated member, is messing with her, but this doesn’t explain the night of the gala.

He visits Lippincott, who’s still upset with him for insulting the rich donor. Devryck asks if Spencer is spying on Lilia, but Spencer has accused Devryck of wearing the garb and punching him in the face after the gala, with a black eye to prove it. Lippincott also brings up the footage of Devryck bringing Lilia to his car and tells him not to cause more scandals.

Devryck is furious but agrees not to let Lilia mess up their plans. He understands that there was tension between his father and Lippincott and doesn’t want to invite Lippincott’s ire.

Lilia meets with Dean Langmore to explain her story: She saw a plague doctor figure, Spencer ran off, and Devryck found her and brought her to the car. However, she lies and says that she threw up in his car, ran off, and stayed in the chapel, where there are no cameras.

When Langmore questions her claims, she accuses Spencer of drugging her drink with the berries. However, Lippincott manages her scholarship, so in the interest of avoiding a scandal, she agrees to drop charges against Spencer as long as she and Devryck aren’t investigated. She urges Langmore to investigate the plague doctor figure.

Lilia visits Devryck’s private lab in the basement of Emeric Tower. There are rooms where corpses are transported, stored, and cremated, as well as a lab and office, where she finds Devryck’s pet cat.

They begin their work, and Devryck explains the Noctisoma toxin’s capacity to alleviate autoimmune diseases. Lilia asks many questions and is met with annoyance. Eventually, she’s dismissed, and he walks her to the bus stop for her safety. On the way, they banter playfully.

Suddenly, Devryck suffers a seizure. She wants to call for help, but he manages to tell her no. When he recovers, he admits to his disease and why he’s studying Noctisoma. The cure that he’s been developing isn’t safe enough to allow him to publicize his research. She attempts to comfort him, but she realizes that he hates being touched.

Lilia tries to fall asleep. Her arm aches from where Devryck tightly grabbed her amid his seizure, but the sensation stimulates her into fantasizing about him sexually. She masturbates and then considers her long-standing sexual fascination with older men.

She has a night terror about her mother, and she finds that pressing on the bruise that Devryck’s grasp left helps distract her from the panic.

Lilia shows up to her next shift wearing the lipstick she wore to the gala, which she believes Devryck liked. He notices. She says that they should name the moths they study, and her naming spurs discussion of book characters and romance novels.

She performs various chores for the lab, and he again walks her to her bus stop. She teases him about female students being attracted to him. He says that under different circumstances, he would’ve pursued Lilia, and she says that she would’ve let him.