Sebastian's pov
I sat by my mother's hospital bed, the antiseptic stench of the room clinging to my clothes like guilt.
The pond's damp chill still lived in my bones--or maybe it was just the memory of her soaked dress, the way her hand trembled even in sleep.
She'd survived. Barely. She was stable now.
But the fear hadn't left my chest. Not entirely.
Beta Sawyer's voice came over the mind-link, cutting through the static in my head *Cecilia just called,*
My shoulders dropped as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. The edges of my exhaustion retracted, just enough for relief to slip in.
Cecilia. Home. Unharmed.
A grim, quiet acknowledgment settled over me. Tang had done what I couldn't last night. Because I wasn't there.
"Sebastian, sweetheart..."
The voice behi
