A full day had passed, and every second felt like it had been carved from stone—slow, heavy, and utterly suffocating. The nurses, bless their understanding hearts, had finally brought another bed into Amber’s room. It wasn’t protocol, they said, but they must have seen the desperation in our eyes. No one could have dragged us away from her side, not even if the Moon Goddess herself descended from the heavens.
Now, her room felt less like a hospital and more like the sanctuary it needed to be. Alek was curled up to her left, his hand resting protectively near hers, careful not to disrupt the IV in her arm. Alan had positioned himself near her feet, his broad shoulders slumped in exhaustion as he leaned against the edge of the bed. As for me, I’d taken the right side, watching every shall
