LOGINMireille's POVThe glare I was throwing Reyes right now could have melted solid steel. What the actual hell? How dare this small lad scoop me up over his shoulder like a sack of laundry in front of half the hospital staff?"Her lungs are completely clear, sir," the nurse said, tucking her stethoscope away into her coat pocket. "No severe smoke inhalation. She's good to go."She turned toward the door, but Reyes immediately stepped straight into her path, crossing his arms like a brick wall. "Check her again, nurse. Everything. Chest, pulse, oxygen levels—run it all one more time.""She is fine, sir," the nurse repeated, holding back a exhausted sigh."You heard her, I'm fine!" I snapped, swinging my legs off the side of the examination bed and glaring up at him. "I need to go check on Azrielle right now."Reyes stepped up, dropping both hands onto the edge of my bed, trapping me in place as he leaned down to eye level. "Azrielle is fine. In fact, she's completely out of danger. Can yo
Declan's POV"What..." I whispered, my voice trembling with a dark, lethal rage. "...did you just say?""Did I say something?" Skye murmured, holding her hand up to the light of the elevator mirror, inspecting her manicured nails like they’d suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the universe. "Oops. Silly me."The flippant tone hit me like a splash of oil on a burning flame. I closed the distance between us in a single stride, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and yanking her hand down. She gasped, her head snapping up to frown at me."Skye," I groaned, my voice dangerously low, trembling with a dark, suffocating rage. "What did you just say?""Declan, you heard me clearly, didn't you?" She stared right into my eyes, her lips curving into a cold, self-satisfied smile that made my stomach turn. "That’s the result for not staying away from you. People get hurt when they don't listen."I tightened my grip, the metal walls of the elevator suddenly feeling like a suffocating cag
Declan's POVThe sirens wailed, cutting through the chaotic night air as the ambulance tore down the boulevard toward the hospital.I didn't let go of Azrielle for a single second. The moment we burst through the emergency room doors, the medical team took over. They transferred her fragile, trembling body onto a gurney and began barking orders—oxygen saturation, heart rate, smoke inhalation checks—as they rushed her straight down the corridor and into an examination ward.My hands were covered in soot, my knuckles raw, standing frozen in the middle of the hallway while the double doors swung shut behind her.A nurse immediately approached Mireille, holding out a clipboard and insisting she go to triage to get her own lungs checked for smoke inhalation. Mireille didn't even glance at her."I'm not going anywhere," Mireille snapped, her hair matted with ash and her clothes smelling of scorched plastic. "I am staying right here until I know Az is out of danger.""Ma'am, you need to be e
Declan's POVWe were still jubilating our win in the hallway, adrenaline humming through my veins, when a deafening outburst shattered the noise from the far side of the arena.The floor shuddered beneath our skates. Shouts turned into frantic screams as people began running in every direction, a tide of panic sweeping through the corridor. My heart dropped straight into my stomach. The first and only thought that hit my brain was her.Azrielle.A venue worker rushed toward our group, waving his arms wildly. "This way! Follow me through the side exit—now!"He pushed open an emergency door leading outside, but I barely felt my feet moving. I just wanted to get out, to get into the open air and see if Azrielle was fine. We spilled out into the cold night among the surging crowd, and my eyes frantically swept the area, searching desperately to catch even a single glimpse of her.No. No, God, no. I couldn't bear to lose her again. I hadn't even gotten to tell her the truth. I hadn't apolo
Azrielle's POVOh my heavens, what just happened?His arm was wrapped around my waist like a steel band, holding me so firmly to his lap it felt like he never wanted to let go. We just sat there, frozen in time, staring into each other's eyes. His dark, wild gaze pulled me in so intensely, so dangerously, that for one terrifying, insane second, I felt the overwhelming urge to lean down and place my lips on his.I was still completely lost in my own dreamland when a sharp, screeching voice shattered the air."What the hell, you fucking bitch?!" Skye roared.The harsh sound snapped me straight back to reality. I regained my senses instantly, my face burning as I practically jumped off him, scrambling back onto my feet in the narrow aisle.Every single pair of eyes on the bus was glued to me. Jeez. I flicked my gaze toward the front and of course, my eyes landed straight on Mireille. She was leaning back in her seat, practically glowing with pure, unadulterated entertainment. She was enj
Azrielle's POVI was still turning over Arthur's letter in my head, the same seven words looping without mercy like a static hiss in my mind.Declan intentionally lost the game to target you."He wouldn't purposefully throw a game just to get my attention," I said out loud, my voice tight as we crossed the damp pavement. "That's—no. That's absurd. I don't buy it.""Well." Mireille didn't even look up from her phone, her thumb flicking rhythmically across the glowing glass. "It sounds like something he’d do if he was desperate enough.""Give me one reason he would ruin his own stats for a stunt like that.""I can't." She held both hands up in mock surrender, her eyes sparkling with that infuriating, knowing look. "But I also can't give you a single reason Arthur would lie to you about it either."That was the exact thought making my throat tight. Arthur didn't deal in idle theories, and he certainly didn't send me hunches dressed up as fact. Whatever he'd written in that file, he'd wri







