"Callie, thank God you''re here!" Uriah sounded desperate as he rushed to meet her. "Mavis is still unconscious. It''s bad-really bad!"


    "You have to help her. I don''t care what happens to me, as long as she lives."


    "Callie, I''m so sorry. I should have protected her. I know I know I messed up." His voice cracked. "But this isn''t the time for apologies. Please. I''m begging you. Save her!"


    "I know you''re the best. Please."


    Uriah''s eyes were red-rimmed as he pleaded. Calliope barely nced at him-her expression unreadable—before heading to the back seat of her car to retrieve her medical kit.


    Uriah''s home was a secluded estate, its sprawling grounds edged by a tranquilke and reached by a winding, tree-lined drive. The ce was utterly still, shielded from prying eyes or interruptions.


    He hadn''t taken Mavis to a hospital; the local ones simply weren''t up to the task. Everything they could possibly need equipment, medicine, personnel was here, assembled in his own vi.


    Calliope took in the surroundings at a nce.


    Turning to Uriah, she asked curtly, "Do you have an operating room here? The right setup?"


    "Yes I made sure everything''s ready!" Uriah answered at once. He knew Calliope might need to operate, so, after consulting with his own doctors, he''d prepared a fully equipped surgical suite and gathered every supply he could get his hands on.


    "Let me check her first. If it''s critical, we''ll operate immediately."


    "And alert your medical team. I''ll need extra hands. No one can handle major surgery alone-especially not with Mavis in her condition."


    Carrying her case, Calliope strode toward the front entrance, brisk and purposeful. She didn''t waste words, her presencemanding the scene without a hint of hesitation.


    Uriah felt a faint sting of intimidation just being around her, but he kept his mouth


    shut. If she could bring Mavis back, he''d take whatever came.


    In thest few days, he''d prayed for nothing but Mavis''s survival-he would have traded his life for hersin a heartbeat. When she was always nearby he''d never thought about cherishing her. Now, all he had were regrets.


    He regretted every careless word, every cold shoulder. She''d loved him enough to


    risk her life, and he''d never given her even the smallest kindness in return.


    Calliope paused at the front door, then turned to look at him with an edge in her voice. "Mavis knows how to handle herself. I don''t understand how did she end up shot?"


    "She did it to protect me," Uriah replied quietly, not shying from the truth. "She took the bullets meant for me."


    "She actually took the bullets for you?" Calliope scoffed, the sound sharp and bitter.


    Uriah didn''t try to defend himself. He knew Calliope—and Portia, and the rest—were furious. Mavis had nearly died saving him. Of course they''d hold him responsible.


    He would ept whatever reckoning wasing, but now wasn''t the time.


    "I know you''re furious. But please, not now," he said, voice pleading. "Let''s deal with Mavis first. Save her-and after that, if you want to rip me apart, go ahead Do whatever, you have to. Right now, we both want the same thing: to save Mavis."