Ronan pov
The door closed, leaving just the three of us. Mother is unconscious in bed. Elena was standing frozen near the entrance. Me caught between them.
“She looks peaceful,” Elena said quietly. “That’s good. Means she’s not in pain.”
“Can you help her?”
“I don’t know.” She moved closer to the bed slowly, like approaching a dangerous animal. “I told you, I’m not a healer. My magic destroys. It doesn’t create or fix or…”
“But you have power. You can try.”
She reached the bedside and stopped, looking down at Mother’s sleeping face. Something shifted in her expression. Softened.
“She’s beautiful,” Elena said. “You look like her. Around the eyes.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
Elena reached out, hesitated, then gently took Mother’s hand.
She stood there, holding my mother
