Chapter 78

_Leah’s POV_

The days that followed blurred together in a strange mix of fear, exhaustion and fragile hope.

Kayden survived.

That thought alone kept me breathing.

The first night after he woke up, I barely slept. I stayed by his bed in the hospital room, sitting in the stiff chair beside him. My fingers were wrapped around his hand as if letting go might make him disappear. The steady beeping of the machines became the rhythm of my heart. Every rise and fall of his chest felt like a miracle.

He slept most of the time. His body was healing but slowly. The dark magic had left deep scars inside him. The doctors explained what they could, but even they admitted there were things they did not fully understand. Magic did not follow human rules.

I watched his face while he slept. His lashes rested against his cheeks. There were faint shadows under his eyes. He looked calmer like this, younger somehow and more vulnerable.

You saved him, Athena said softly inside me.

“We saved him,” I whisper