The world tilted and spun as Valencia’s legs buckled beneath her, the weight of everything she had just done crashing down on her all at once. Maximus’s arms tightened around her, but it was too late. Her vision blurred, the edges of her consciousness flickering like a dying flame, and then everything went dark.
When Valencia woke, she was in her room, tucked under the soft, cool sheets of her bed. The smell of lavender and faint traces of incense filled the air, calming her restless mind for a brief moment. But as soon as her eyes fluttered open, the memories came rushing back, too quickly, too violently. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she bolted upright, gasping for air.
Maximus was sitting at her bedside, his expression unreadable, but there was a tension in his posture that s
