Chapter– The Lie That Binds Us

The medics had just taken Nico into the west wing infirmary when the power flickered again.

Twice.

Then all the lights went out.

I stood in the hallway, arms wrapped tightly around my body, unable to stop trembling. My skin still smelled of smoke. My throat was raw from screaming his name. But it was the silence that felt the loudest now—the hollow, pulsing quiet that followed trauma.

Lucien stood next to me, his eyes fixed on the door the medics disappeared through. He hadn’t said a word since we carried Nico out of the flames. The fire had burned away more than just...