Avela’s POV
Pain shot up my arm like fire the second I tried to move. I groaned, eyes fluttering open, everything blurry and bright. Hospital lights. Beeping machines. Antiseptic smell burning my nose.
And then I saw him.
Blue eyes. Tired, red-rimmed, but still the clearest, most beautiful blue I’d ever drowned in.
Lucas.
For a second I thought the pain meds had me hallucinating. Because why else would he be sitting right there, leaning forward in the chair, staring at me like I was the only thing in the world?
I blinked. He didn’t disappear.
I pushed myself up slowly, wincing as the room tilted. His hands were on my shoulders instantly—warm, careful, steady.
“Easy, baby. Don’t move too fast.”
His voice. God, that voice. Low and rough from no sleep. Real.
“Lucas?” I whispered, li
