Page 84 of The Shadow King's Brother

And then—

Darkness swallows everything.

Chapter13

Victoria Galli

My eyes flutter open.The light is harsh and blinding, and I squint, my head pounding like a drumbeat. I blink several times, trying to clear the fog, but my body feels foreign and heavy. I can’t move; my limbs feel like they belong to someone else. I try to lift my hand, but something is stopping me. I feel cold. A shiver runs through me as my brain struggles to catch up with what’s happening.

Beeping. It’s all I can hear. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Is that monitors? They’re like a constant pulse in my ears. I turn my head, trying to make sense of my surroundings. Everything is blurry, and I can’t focus. Where am I? What happened? My thoughts swim in a haze of confusion.

Slowly, I manage to look around the sterile, white room. The smell of antiseptic stings my nose. The walls are pale, and the only movement comes from the blinking lights. A hospital. I’m in a hospital. But why? What happened?

Then, I see him. Elio. My Elio.

His head is resting on the edge of my bed, his hand clutching mine. His hair is disheveled, and there’s a deep exhaustion etched into the lines of his face. I don’t know how long he’s been there, but it’s enough to make my heart ache.

I try to move, to make a sound, but it comes out as a low grunt, a weak attempt to wake up. My body’s still fighting me, not ready to face whatever nightmare I’ve just emerged from. But I need to know.

I squeeze his hand, my fingers trembling. His head lifts, and his eyes lock onto mine, dark with something unreadable—relief? Worry? I can’t tell.

“Elio...” I whisper. “Are you okay?”

He chuckles softly, shaking his head as if he can’t believe my words. “You’re asking ifI’mokay?” His voice is a little hoarse. “You’re the one who got poisoned and almost died. I’m fine. Areyouokay?”

Elio brushes a stray strand of hair from my forehead, his touch feather-light, as if I’m made of spun glass.

“Are you with me?” he asks. “Your eyes-–they’re glossy.”

Am I here? Is this real? I don’t know right now...

I see the tremor in his fingers, the blue shadows under his eyes, and the way he flinches at a sudden beep from the heart monitor.

Is this a dream? Am I still affected by the poison?

My lips curve into a weak smile. “I’m... I’m here. I think,” I whisper, barely hearing myself. The words feel muffled, like they’re traveling through water to reach him.

“Good.”

But am I really here? Or am I still trapped in that warehouse, in the grip of that monster?

Elio’s thumb strokes the curve of my cheek, tender and grounding.

“Tell me something,” I murmur. “Tell me something only you would know.”

He frowns, eyes narrowing as he concentrates.

My head is throbbing—a dull ache that pulses behind my eyes.

“The gargoyle fountain,” he says. “At the mansion... when we were kids, you always said it looked like it was crying. Not just spouting water.”

I wince. The memory lands—true and sharp.

But the vision of Eddie still tries to claw its way in.

Then Elio adds, “And that time when Gambini added too much cayenne to the meatballs, and you swore you could breathe fire... had to drink all the milk.”

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