Kade’s POV
The palace bells counted out our hour like a blade touching stone—one, two—every strike another notch cut into me.
Harlan’s team moved with quiet precision behind the curtain, cycling antidotes and stabilizers, keeping the circles aglow. But for all the light and medicine in this room, the only thing that mattered was how cold Nora felt against my palms.
I pressed my brow to hers. “Stay,” I breathed. “I’m not asking nicely. Stay.”
Her lashes trembled, a snowflake shiver. The monitor ticked in a ragged rhythm: too fast, too thin, like a bird beating against glass. Rudolph prowled beneath my skin, silver winds eddying, pressing my heat into her.
“Prince Kade.” Harlan’s voice was steady, but the knuckles around his stylus were bloodless. “We’re at forty-two minutes.”
I didn’t
