Madison’s POV
After we came back to home from the council hall m******e, the room felt too still. I noticed how the air felt heavier than it felt before we left for the council. I had been counting breaths, his, not mine, marking the rise and fall of his chest like a promise I could keep if I just stayed focused enough.
Then there was nothing to count. My hands were already working when I realized. Reflex. Hope clinging to habit. I pressed my palms against his chest, poured everything I had left into the familiar pathways, whispered the same words I had whispered a hundred times before.
“Please,” I said quietly. “Just… stay.”
Magic surged, then resisted. Slid off something final and unmoving. The healer beside me shook her head, slow and careful, like she was afraid to startle me. I no
