Nora's POV
The sky outside the window had turned the color of old bruises, violet bleeding into sickly yellow. The heart monitor kept its steady, indifferent rhythm. Elias's chest rose and fell under the thin blanket, each breath a miracle I still couldn't believe in.
I hadn't moved from the plastic chair in six hours. My spine ached, my eyes burned, but I was terrified that if I blinked too long he would stop breathing. Every beep felt like a countdown.
I kept replaying the same reel in my head:
If I had gone home after the gala instead of letting Mikhail strip that emerald dress off me in the elevator...
If I had answered the phone when it buzzed at 2:14 a.m. instead of arching into him while he growled my name...
If I had been a better sister, a better guardia
