Hazel’s POV
“How is he doing, Doctor?”
I jumped up from the chair the second the door opened, heart hammering so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest. Nicholas was right beside me, his hand instantly finding the small of my back, steadying me even though I could feel the tension rolling off him too.
The doctor’s face was pale, etched with exhaustion, eyes shadowed like he’d aged a decade in there. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his hands trembled as he pulled off his mask.
We had been waiting outside this room for what felt like forever, the hallway cold and sterile, the only sound the distant beep of machines and our own ragged breathing.
“We’re trying everything we can,” the doctor said, voice low and grave. “The bullets… they were poisoned. Same toxin that hit the qu
