Evaline:
The first thing I felt when I woke up again was the coldness of a hand under my own.
My lashes fluttered open slowly, the ceiling above swimming in soft, golden light before my eyes adjusted. The scent of herbs and dicine still lingered faintly in the air, mingled with the crisp mountain breeze drifting through a half-open window.
It took only a second to realize where I was - the sa room, the sa quiet that pressed down like a weight on my chest. And then I turned my head to the right.
Draven.
He was still there, lying motionless on the bed beside mine, the sa serene expression carved into his face. His chest rose and fell faintly, as if he was just... sleeping. But I knew better. I felt better.
My fingers tightened weakly around his hand.
The mont my eyes landed on him, mories ca flooding back - my helpless attempts to heal him, the way my power had given everything and still failed to bring him back.
And the mont I rembered, the tears started.
Not loud sobs this ti, just quiet, endless streams that slipped down my face like they belonged there. There was no sound in the room except for my soft, ragged breaths and that of the monitor.
I thought I had run out of tears after the first ti, after watching him lying there like that. But apparently, grief didn’t end when you stopped crying. It just sank deeper, settled inside you until it beca sothing else... sothing heavier, sothing hollow.
The emotional pain was so unbearable that it made every physical wound I had ever had feel insignificant. There was no comparison, no asure to it.
I pressed Draven’s hand to my cheek and whispered his na, my voice breaking on it.
Nothing.
No warmth through the bond. No answering spark. Just that haunting silence where his presence used to be.
After that... everything blurred.
The next few days... or maybe hours, or weeks, I couldn’t tell anymore... rged together into one long, endless stretch of ti that made no sense.
I refused to move away from him.
Every ti soone entered the room, I stayed exactly where I was, sitting or lying beside Draven’s bed, holding his hand. Sotis I would talk to him, just a whisper here and there. Sotis I just stared, waiting for a twitch, a flicker, anything.
My mates ca and went, their voices soft and careful.
Kieran tried the most - asking to eat, to drink, to at least step outside for fresh air. River would stand silently at the door for long stretches, like he was watching over both of us but too afraid to say anything. Oscar... he didn’t say much either. His eyes spoke enough.
They were all breaking too, in their own ways. I could feel it through the bonds, their pain, their exhaustion, their guilt. But I couldn’t do anything for them when I couldn’t even breathe without feeling like my chest was splitting open.
Every ti soone placed a tray of food or water beside , I ignored it. I didn’t have the strength to eat when Draven was lying right there.
What kind of comfort could I allow myself when he was still trapped in that cold stillness?
Sotis I blad myself until it hurt to think.
What if I had stopped him from leaving that day? What if I had dragged him to Kieran the mont I saw those black veins?
Those black veins...
The mory made my stomach twist. I could still see them so clearly, creeping just beneath his skin. I couldn’t stop wondering if they had sothing to do with what happened to him.
But I couldn’t focus on that for long. Every ti I tried to think, my mind drowned in grief all over again.
Hours, days, weeks... ti ant nothing anymore.
All I knew was the rise and fall of Draven’s chest, the silence of his still form, and the ache that refused to fade from my chest.
It must have been dayti again - the faint light from the curtained window told that much. I was lying on my side, facing Draven, my hand loosely holding his. The air slled stale, the room dim and heavy.
Then, suddenly, the door opened.
I didn’t move.
I didn’t care who it was anymore - my mates, the healers, anyone. The sa scene had repeated so many tis I had stopped reacting.
But then, the soft shuffle of footsteps ca closer. Soone crossed the room, and then, all at once, the curtains were yanked open.
The blinding sunlight burst into the room like an explosion, so bright it stung my eyes. I gasped, blinking rapidly as tears spilled again from the sudden brightness.
"Why..." My voice ca out hoarse, weak. "Why would you-"
But my words died when I finally turned to look.
"R-Rowan?"
He stood there, frad by the sunlight, the sa tall, steady figure I’d always known.
He glanced at Draven once, his jaw tightening. Then his gaze returned to ... unreadable at first, but full of sothing that made my throat close up.
Shadow of a pain that mirrored my own.
Before I could say anything, he crossed the room in two strides and dropped to his knees beside my bed. Then his arms were around , warm and strong, and the dam inside broke all over again.
I hadn’t realized how much I needed that... the feeling of soone just holding without saying anything, without trying to fix what couldn’t be fixed.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t tell to stop crying. He just held tighter as my body shook with sobs that refused to end.
I cried until I couldn’t breathe, until my throat burned and my hands clutched helplessly at his shirt. And still, he didn’t move.
When I finally had no tears left, when all that ca out were shallow, trembling breaths, he finally leaned back enough to look at .
His eyes were moist as if he was holding back tears, but calm in that quiet, grounded way only he could manage. He reached for the table nearby, poured a glass of water, and pressed it into my hands.
"Drink," he said softly.
I stared at the cup for a long mont before taking a small sip. Then another. The warmth of the water slid down my throat, grounding more than I expected. Before I knew it, I’d finished the whole glass.
It was the first thing I had willingly swallowed in what felt like forever.
He silently watched the whole ti. When I lowered the cup, he took it from my hands and set it aside carefully.
For a mont, neither of us spoke. The sunlight poured across Draven’s bed, highlighting the stillness that had once been filled with life.
Finally, Rowan turned back to . His expression shifted slightly... still soft, but determined.
"Eva," he said quietly, his voice carrying a gravity that made my heart stutter. "It’s ti you listen to what I have to say."
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