“Thalia…” Rosy whispered, the name barely escaping her lips.

But Thalia didn’t reply. Her vision blurred, the walls tilting, the ceiling spinning, and the voices fading around her. One moment she was standing, the next her knees buckled beneath her and her entire body gave out. She collapsed, like someone had unplugged every cord holding her to life.

George reached the corridor that exact second. The moment he saw her falling, everything inside him tore apart.

“Lia!” he shouted, sprinting to her, dropping to the floor beside her. His voice cracked, shaking violently as he tapped her cheek.

“Lia, look at me...Thalia!”

But she didn’t move, her eyelashes fluttered and...