VALIK POV
She stopped mid-step.
One moment Maethys was standing in front of my desk, spine straight, jaw set like she’d braced for impact—and the next her knees buckled.
I vaulted the desk without thinking.
The chair scraped violently across the floor behind me as I crossed the space. My hand barely caught her head before it struck the floor, fingers slipping through her hair as I went down with her, my other arm wrapping around her shoulders to break the fall.
“Maethys.”
Her name tore out of me, sharp and unmeasured.
She didn’t answer.
Her body sagged against my chest, weight limp in a way that sent something cold and vicious through my ribs. I brushed her hair back from her face, thumb catching on her temple as I tilted her head enough to see her eyes.
Closed.
Too still.
For a
