“I’m so sorry,” he said again, and this time there was no mistaking the truth in it. “The impact caused severe trauma. The healer did everything she could, but…” He trailed off.
Something inside me collapsed.
I cried. Quiet, broken sounds that seemed to come from somewhere deep. My body felt disconnected from the grief tearing through me, like I was watching it happen from far away.
Patrick reached for me, his hand brushing my arm in what might have been meant as comfort.
I recoiled instantly, a sharp, visceral disgust cutting through the haze. “Don’t touch me,” I rasped.
He pulled his hand back immediately. “I won’t hurt you,” he said. “I swear.”
I tried to push myself upright again, driven by the overwhelming need to leave, to get away from him, from this place, from everything. My
