Chapter 50
Tamaro fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, his hand wrapped tightly around Elijah's fingers like a lifeline. Tears had left his lashes wet, his breath hiccupping between shallow pulls of air. Elijah didn't move—not until Tamaro's grip slackened and his crying gave way to fragile silence. Joshua kept watch from the corner, eyes flicking between the two, unmoving and alert. Before Elijah stepped out, he leaned close to Joshua and said quietly, "We'll take care of Tamaro first. No one gets near him unless he wants them to." Joshua gave a slight nod, his face unreadable, but the message landed. Out in the hallway, Akiro was a picture of unraveling: slumped on the bench, shoulders caved in, the bottle near his foot empty but still upright, like it hadn't given up on him yet. When Elijah steppe
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