Nia’s Pov
He stood near the window, one hand braced on the glass as if the world outside needed holding up. His other hand held a phone pressed to his ear. His voice was quiet, controlled, but there was something sharp in it like steel pulled tight.
His shoulders were tense, broader than I remembered, rigid like he was fighting not to break something. Or someone. Even from behind, his presence filled the room powerful, grounded, yet… shaken. I had never seen him shaken.
And then my gaze shifted.
Two healers stood beside the bed. One dipped a white cloth into a bowl of water stained pink and red. The cloth dripped slowly, the water hitting the bowl with a soft sound that felt too loud in the silence. The other healer crushed herbs in a small stone bowl, her movements steady and deliber
