VALIK POV
I didn’t stop running until the doors slammed shut behind us.
The infirmary rose around me, antiseptic and harsh lighting. All I could feel was her weight in my arms. The heat of her blood. The way her breath stuttered like it wasn’t sure it belonged in her body anymore.
“Heather!” I roared, the name tearing out of my throat raw and uncontrolled. “Heather—now!”
The room exploded into motion.
Boots thundered across stone. Metal clattered. A gurney appeared in front of me, hands reaching for her, too many hands, pulling her away when every instinct in me screamed to keep her pressed against my chest.
“No,” I growled, the word vibrating through the air like a warning.
A hand landed on my shoulder.
It shouldn’t have.
I didn’t turn. I didn’t think. I reacted.
The wall cracke
