Page 100 of Fallen Empire
Savannah exhaled through her nose like it hurt. It probably did.
Then came the left foot.
One step.
That’s all it was.
But to me?
It felt like watching someone drag themselves out of their own grave.
Her breaths came short and ragged, but she didn’t stop. Didn’t look for help. Her fingers gripped the walker like it was the only thing anchoring her to this world.
“You good?” Millie asked, her voice just as tight as Savannah’s grip on the side of the walker.
Savannah didn’t answer right away. Just huffed, then muttered, “Define good.”
A half-laugh escaped Millie before she could stop it.
“I mean… you’re vertical, so that’s a win.”
Savannah smirked, but it faltered when her knee buckled slightly. She caught herself before anyone else had to.
Ruth moved forward in a flash, steadying the back of the walker. “You want to sit and try again later?”
I’d moved off the bed, close enough to see any sign that she needed me. Savannah’s jaw locked. She didn’t look at any of us when she spoke. “No. I’m walking.”
Another step. Slower this time.
She was gritting her teeth so hard I thought she might crack a molar.
But damn if she wasn’t doing it.
And I couldn't stop watching her.
The world kept spinning around us. Monitors beeping, the muffled sounds of hospital chatter bleeding in from the hallway, but my focus stayed locked on her.
Not because I was worried she’d fall.
But because I didn’t want to miss a single second of her rising.
That phoenix fire I’d seen in her once—the one she tried so damn hard to bury—was alive again. She was still ash-covered and bruised, but she was standing in the fire and refusing to burn.
“You sure you’re not just trying to impress the hot nurse?” Millie teased, eyeing Ruth with a smirk.
Savannah snorted, half-laughing, half-wincing. “At this point, I’d flash her if it got me out of here faster.”
Ruth didn’t miss a beat. “You flash me, sweetheart, and I’ll make sure you stay another three days just for the paperwork.”
Millie choked on a laugh. Savannah’s next step was wobbly, but she was still moving forward.
And me?
I stood behind her, completely useless, completely awestruck.
This wasn’t recovery.
It was resurrection.
