Kieran P.O.V.
I nod once and follow Lucian out.
We walk in silence for a few seconds.
Then Lucian says quietly, “You sure about this?”
“No,” I answer honestly. “But I’m doing it anyway.”
He smiles slightly. “That’s usually when you make your best decisions.”
Or your worst, Shade mutters.
“Get some sleep,” Lucian says, clapping my shoulder. “I’ll be there in the morning.”
“Wouldn’t stop you if I tried,” I mutter.
“You could try,” he says. “You’d fail. But you could try.”
He turns down another corridor, and I head back toward the healer wing.
By the time I step inside, the room is dimmer. The lanterns are turned low. The herbs have burned down to a faint, clean whisper of scent.
Amelia is still asleep, breathing deep and steady.
Lira sits in the corner in a chair that looks like
