Zara’s POV
The world stopped moving the moment Zarek collapsed in my arms.
One second, his body was a wall of warmth shielding me, cocky smirk still etched on his lips even as he intercepted the blade. The next, he was gasping, crimson staining his shirt, and his smirk faltering into something terrifyingly human.
I couldn’t breathe. My fingers pressed against the wound in his side, slick with blood, and all I could choke out was—
I snapped at him, “He can’t move—he’ll bleed out—”
“We don’t have a choice,” Jace barked, already pulling Zarek’s arm over his shoulder. “The healers won’t come to us while rogues are still around. Help me, Zara.”
My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst. The chaos of the attack still echoed—students screaming, the scent of burning wood, the clash o
