The corridors felt different when Valen walked them alone.
Kaelvryn's words still echoed, sharp and unyielding, but Valen forced them aside with practiced ease, pushing them down beneath the surface where they would not interfere with what mattered now.
By the time she reached the healer's wing, the urgency from earlier had settled into something quiete, the frantic energy replaced by a careful stillness, as she stepped inside, the scent of herbs and blood lingered faintly in the air, a reminder of just how close they had come to losing him.
Valen's gaze moved immediately to the bed.
Lucas lay there, unmoving, his breathing slow but steady now, the harsh tension that had once gripped his body replaced by an unnatural stillness, whatever force had dragged him to the brink had only just loosened its hold.
