LOGINThe doors swung open a second time, and Dr. Liana stepped out. Her scrub top was damp now across the chest and under both arms, and there was a stain on her sleeve I didn't want to look at too closely. She pulled her mask down and it left a red line across her cheeks.For a long moment she just stood there, breathing hard, like she'd been running. The alarms were still going off behind her, muffled now as someone closed an inner door.Hazel took a step toward her. "What happened? Is she—""She's alive," Dr. Liana said, holding up a hand to stop him before he could barrel through the doors. "But her heart stopped for just under a minute. We got her back, but only just." She wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist. "The condition is more aggressive than I initially thought. Her rib fractures are more extensive, and now there's fluid building around her heart. She's fighting, but her little body is working far too hard.""Then do something," Hazel said, his voice cracking. "Fix i
They didn’t let us into the main infirmary right away. Hazel and I stood in the narrow corridor just outside, shoulder to shoulder, breathing the sharp scent of antiseptic and something else I couldn’t name. The walls were a pale, tired green, the kind of color that’s seen too many anxious faces.Hazel hadn’t spoken since they took Hagar through those swinging doors. He just stood there, arms crossed tight over his chest, jaw working on nothing. Every time a nurse hurried past, he flinched.After what felt like a very long time, Dr. Liana came out. Her scrub top had a fresh damp patch near the collar, and the little lines around her eyes looked deeper than they had an hour ago. She pulled off her gloves one finger at a time, and that small, deliberate motion told me more than I wanted to know.“She’s stable for now,” Dr. Liana said, before either of us could ask. “But we’ve found the source of the problem, and it’s serious.”Hazel’s whole body went still. “What kind of serious?”“Haga
The clinic pavilion was quieter than the main infirmary. That was exactly why we had chosen it.Malcolm carried the tray himself the porridge, the thinly sliced roasted gosling, the ginger ginseng soup still steaming gently under its lid. I carried the milk for the twins. Lira walked beside me, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets, her breath visible in the cool morning air.Nobody spoke much on the way over. We were all still carrying last night with us.The sentinel at the door stepped aside the moment he saw Malcolm. Inside, the room was warm, softly lit. The twins’ crib sat near the window where the morning light came in pale and gentle.Hazel was standing in front of it.He was holding a glass of water with both hands, staring down at Hagar and Sarah with an expression that was somewhere between exhaustion and fierce, quiet devotion. He hadn’t heard us come in.“Morning,” Lira said softly.He startled, spinning around. Water sloshed over the rim of his glass.“Li— Lir
She turned.“Tell Angie I said…” He paused, searching for the right words and not quite finding them. “Tell her I remember. What she did for us back then. I never forgot.”Lira held his gaze for a moment.“Tell her yourself,” she said softly. “She’ll want to hear it from you.”“I’m afraid of it,” Hazel sighed.“It’s okay, got your time before talk to Angie. Anyway, that’s for tonight, make yourself comfortable here. I’ll take my leave now.”“Um why too rush?” Hazel asked.“We got some problems, a mysterious caller.” Lira shrugged. Hazel’s eyes widened slightly. “A mysterious caller?”“Yeah.” Lira leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Someone’s been calling Malcolm. Different voices, same unknown number. We don’t know what they want yet but the timing is suspicious.” She glanced at the twins, then back at Hazel. “Which is why I need to get back.”Hazel was quiet for a moment. Then, hesitantly “Does it… does it have anything to do with why the Rogues came for us?”L
Lira found him in the small recovery room at the end of the infirmary hall.Hazel was sitting on the edge of the bed, back straight, like he was bracing for something. The twins were laid side by side on the mattress behind him freshly cleaned, wrapped in soft white blankets that the nurses had found somewhere. They were sleeping now, their tiny chests rising and falling in the same quiet rhythm.He didn’t look up when Lira walked in.She pulled a chair close and sat down without being invited. That was Lira’s way she never waited for permission to care about someone.“Hey,” she said simply.Hazel glanced at her sideways. Cautious. Like he wasn’t sure if kindness here came with conditions.“I’m Lira.” She smiled, easy and unhurried. “I’ve been Angie’s friend for longer than either of us would like to admit. I’m not here to question you or guard you. I just thought you shouldn’t be alone right now.”Hazel said nothing. But his shoulders dropped half an inch.Lira leaned forward
We sprinted through the long corridors toward the infirmary, the sterile scent of antiseptic growing stronger with every step. My mind was a storm of memories I had tried to bury. Hazel. The son of Yoan, the woman Nathaniel had left me for. The child who was a living reminder of the betrayal that once shattered my life.When we burst through the double doors, the air was thick with the sound of a baby’s frantic wailing."Luna, stay back!" Dr. Liana called out, but I pushed past her.In the center of the room, huddled on a medical cot, was a young boy, maybe eight. His face was smeared with dirt and dried blood, his clothes torn to rags. Clutched in his arms were two tiny, shivering infants—twins wrapped in a single, filth-stained blanket.He looked up, and for a second, I saw Nathaniel’s eyes looking back at me in betrayal."Angie?" he rasped, her voice cracking. "Is it really you?""Hazel," I breathed, my feet rooting to the spot. Malcolm stood like a wall behind me, his hand h
He stared at his hand, his eyes wide with a mix of agony and dawning horror. "It’s not supposed to do that," he rasped, his voice trembling. "This is my bloodline’s steel. It should recognize me. Unless..."He looked up at mom, his face pale. "Unless I’m carrying the very thing this sword was bu
“What the hell is that?” Allison lurched to his feet. “Why is it making noise?”“It’s still active!” Dad barked. “Get it into the fire—now!”No one moved and the light died for no reason.Moonlight vanished from the windows as if something had reached in and crushed it, plunging the mansion into
“Then I’ll fight harder.” His voice turned to steel. “I’ll fight dirtier. I’ll do whatever it takes. Because failing isn’t an option anymore. Not when I have you and our baby waiting for me.”He kissed my forehead, long and lingering, as if trying to memorize the feel of me against him.“Trust me
Midnight struck, and as the clock chimed, Malcolm’s eyes finally snapped open, a full hour after Dr. Liana had finished her frantic examination. The room was deathly quiet, the air thick with the scent of antiseptic and the lingering, metallic tang of blood."Malcolm," I whispered, my voice soft







