Page 224 of Emylia

“Take her to my mom,” I said, voice hollow.

“I said I’m fine,” she repeated, more firmly now.

I ignored her. So did Maalikai.

“What about you? I'm not meant to leave you,” he said, his voice low but cutting through the haze.

My hands trembled violently.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t speak.

I was afraid that if I reached for her again, I’d kill her for real.

“It’s fine,” I whispered. “I’ll be fine. She’s the only one that matters.”

“You guys aren’t listening,” Evie groaned. “I’m fine.”

Maalikai’s gaze lingered on me for a moment longer. Then he caved.

“Go straight to your room. Wait for me there.”

Before Evie could argue, he scooped her into his arms and carried her away—protesting, and most importantly breathing.

And I did as I was told.

My legs moved, but I wasn’tthere.

I wasn’t anywhere.

Just—echoes.

Of her name. Of the sound she made when she collapsed. Of the horrifying silence that followed.

Aftershocks rolled through me, each one worse than the last.

One breath at a time.

One trembling step after another.

Gods.

I’d almost killed her.

By the time I made it to the house, my clothes were soaked, my hands still trembling, and my thoughts looping in a spiral I couldn’t break.

A long walk around the perimeter of the ward had helped, at least a little. But I still barely remembered climbing the stairs. The weight of the fear still pressing on my chest.

When I opened the door to my room, Evie was sitting cross-legged on my bed. Bundled in my favourite blanket–which, by some unspoken agreement, had also become her favorite blanket. Her hair half-dried and sticking out like angry flames around her face.

She looked up when I entered. “You’re dripping wet.”

“You almost drowned,” I said flatly.

Her eyes softened. “And yet here I am. Resurrected thanks to you.”

I let out a breath that wasn’t quite a laugh and not quite a sob. “Don’t.”

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