ATASHA’S POV


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    “My Lady.” Rio’s voice cut through my haze, pulling me back. I turned my head toward him, struggling to


    focus.


    “Take me to the infirmary,” I managed.


    The words scraped out of me, but even speaking them seemed to steady the storm building inside. The pressure in my chest swelled, wing at my lungs until every breath felt shallow, stolen. It wasn’t just pain anymore—it was energy, raw and restless, flooding my veins. My body shook with it, and I pressed a hand hard against my ribs as if that alone could hold it in.


    Rio’s eyes darkened with worry, but I didn’t give him the chance to argue. “Now.”


    As he slipped his arm around me and guided me forward, I realized the sensation wasn’t pulling me apart aimlessly. It had direction. Each step made the burn inside me shift, not easing, but straining toward something ahead. My legs trembled, yet I kept moving because I could feel it, the energy was pointing me.


    Leading me.


    And where it led was clear… to the wounded.


    The cries from the infirmary grew louder as we approached, the scent of iron and herbs mixing thick in the air. My chest tightened further, and the pressure twisted sharp enough to bring bile to my throat. I knew if I didn’t release it, it would tear me from the inside out.


    Rio held me steady as we crossed the threshold. Despite this, all I could think was that I needed to reach them, the broken bodies scattered on those cots. The thing inside me demanded it.


    He supported me firmly and guided me into the small infirmary, where healers were already rushing between the wounded. The air was thick with the smell of blood and herbs.


    “My Lady…” Mendez’s eyes widened the moment he saw me. “Are you alright? You look-”


    “Take me to the one with the worst wounds,” I cut him off. My voice was rough but steady enough to leave no room for doubt.


    Mendez didn’t hesitate. He nodded and quickly led me toward the far side of the infirmary, where the most critically injured soldiers had been ced.


    There were people everywhere, soldiers being carried in, healers rushing with bowls of water and bundles of herbs, attendants running with bandages. The chaos pressed in from all sides, but I didn’t care. My body screamed at me to move faster, to find someone, anyone, to heal.


    “My Lady… this ce-” Mendez started, his voice uncertain as if he wanted to warn me.


    “I know, Mendez.” I pressed a hand over my mouth for a moment, fighting the urge to vomit blood, then forced myself to bend over the soldier sprawled on the cot in front of me. His chest barely rose.


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    Without another word, I pressed my palm to his chest and let it out. The pull, the thing inside me that had been thrashing, spilled forward.


    Relief hit me instantly. The pressure eased, the raw urge that had been tearing at my insides loosened its grip. The pain vanished almost as quickly as it hade, leaving me trembling.


    Almost immediately, gasps rippled through the room. Whispers followed, but I ignored every single one of them. All I felt was the soldier’s body reacting under my hand. The ckened wound across his side lightened, his breathing deepened, and color pushed back into his face. His eyelids fluttered, and then he opened his eyes, staring at me in shock.


    I pulled my hand away. But for some reason, my body demanded more. I moved to the next cot, a man choking on his own blood, and pressed my hand to him. The coldness inside me bled out with each burst of healing, leaving warmth in its ce. One after another, the soldiers shifted from near death to waking, coughing, alive.


    The room went quiet, too quiet. The frantic shouts and footsteps slowed, then stopped altogether. It was as if the entire infirmary was holding its breath. I could feel dozens of eyes were on me, but no one raised their voice against me. No one shouted “witch.”


    When I finally lifted my gaze, I realized they were all staring. I couldn’t tell who started it, whether it was one of the healers, or a soldier I had just saved, but someone dropped to a knee and said clearly, “Greetings to the Northern Consort.”


    <i>The </i>words carried echoed inside the small infirmary and the others followed. One by one, voices rose, men bowing their heads, women lowering their gazes. “Greetings to the Northern Consort.” The silence broke, not with condemnation, but with recognition.


    And for the first time, I stood in front of them with no way to hide what I was. But I knew better than to stop moving. “Lord Cassian is… fighting outside of this walls,” I said.


    “My Lady…” Mendez’s voice faltered, but I didn’t give him the chance to finish.


    “Lord Cassian is fighting outside these walls,” I repeated, my voice carrying further than I expected. The soldiers and healers stilled, their eyes fixed on me. “The North needs everyone of you. We cannot break now. We must stand together, fight together, or we will lose everything.”


    I forced myself upright, even though my body still trembled from the strain. My eyes swept the room, meeting as many gazes as I could. “As the wife of the Northern Lord, I will not hide. I will stand by him. I will stand by all of you.”


    For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then a soldier I had just healed pushed himself upright on his cot. “Fight for the North!” he shouted.


    Another answered. “Fight for Lord Cassian!”


    The words spread, shouted louder each time until the entire infirmary shook with the echo of their voices.


    Relief poured through me. I didn’t know where my courage to reveal myself hade from, but it was either this or let the thing inside me tear me apart.


    Cassian might be furious when he found out, but I couldn’t regret it. Not when these men needed hope. Not


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    when I could actually give them a chance to live through this night. Not when all I wanted was to survive.


    My eyes fell on Mendez. He stood frozen, staring at me as if he didn’t know who I was anymore. I steadied myself and spoke to him directly. “Let’s gather every soldier who still has breath in them. Anyone I can heal, bring them to me.”


    “But, my Lady—” he started, hesitation in in his voice.


    I shook my head sharply. “This is the only thing I know, Mendez. If I stop, I’ll break. If I keep going, we all have a chance. We will survive this night. No matter what.”


    Mendez’s lips pressed into a line before he nodded. “Yes, my Lady.”


    The healers moved faster, soldiers were carried in one after another, and I ced my hands on them, letting the strange new power flow until my body ached.