Nyxias POV
The weight of the room presses down on me like a suffocating fog. My heart races as Verena’s breathless “What?” cuts through the silence like a knife. Her voice trembles, and she clutches her chest, her breaths coming out in shallow, uneven gasps.
“Verena!” Nikolai rushes to her side, his hands steadying her shoulders.
My own body is sluggish, but I push the bedding aside, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The room tilts as dizziness washes over me. My wounds might have healed thanks to Verena, but my head feels heavy, my skin clammy.
Verena’s panic is palpable, her tear-streaked face a portrait of anguish. “He has a mate mark?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
I hesitate, her question throwing me off balance. “Y-yeah, why?”
Her chest heaves as though t
