Evaline:


    The moment I reached his bedside, everything inside me stilled.


    The world didn''t exist beyond this point - not the chamber, not the other patients waking up, not the voices, the movement, or the chaos that had begun to rise around us.


    But only him... only Draven.


    My breath came out in shallow, uneven pulls as I stood there, my fingers hovering just inches above his hand. I was too afraid to touch him.


    I felt that if I did touch him... he would disappear and this moment would slip through my fingers.


    Behind me, I heard Rowan''s raw voice breaking as he called Naira''s name.


    "Na-Naira…"


    I didn''t turn, but I heard the soft gasp that followed along with the choked sob.


    "She''s awake-she''s awake-"


    The room erupted in quiet chaos. Relief, tears, and voices ovepped, but barely any of it reached me.


    Because all my attention shifted to Draven''s hand as his fingers twitched.


    I froze as my heart stopped. Or not! It didn''t stop, instead, it mmed so hard against my ribs I thought it might shatter them.


    "Draven…" My voice came out as nothing more than a breath.


    His chest rose slowly and fell. Then did it again, and again. His brows furrowed slightly, causing a faint crease to form between them. Like he was fighting his way through something.


    Maybe through darkness, through time, and through everything that had kept him away from life.


    "Come back…" I whispered, my hand finally trembling forward until it rested lightly over his.


    And I realized he was warm now, not cold like he had been for months.


    Tears blurred my vision instantly. "You are almost here…" I breathed, my voice shaking now.


    River, Kieran, and Oscar were right beside me. Waiting, just like me. And then... Draven''s fingers curled around mine.


    A broken sound tore from my throat.


    "Draven-"


    His eyes fluttered once and twice. He seemed to be struggling, fighting, and then... they opened.


    For a second, they were unfocused. Lost. Like he didn''t know where he was or who he was. But then they found me and locked onto mine.


    And everything else faded.


    "Eva…" His voice was hoarse, weak, barely a whisper. But it was him.


    It was my Draven.


    A sob escaped me before I could stop it as I leaned forward. My free hand flew to his face, cupping it gently like I needed to make sure he was real.


    "I''m here," I cried softly. "I''m right here."


    His gaze softened, and in that moment, every wall I had built over these months shatteredpletely.


    Behind me, I heard a sharp inhale and then a chokedugh.


    "Draven-"


    And then, they were on him.


    River, Kieran, and Oscar surged forward all at once, surrounding the bed and pulling him into them without a second thought.


    "Careful-!" I gasped, halfughing, half-crying as they nearly crushed him under the force of their embrace.


    Draven let out a weak grunt, his body clearly not ready for that kind of affection.


    "Are you three trying to send him back into aa?" Elder Ren''s sharp voice cut through the moment.


    The brothers froze for a moment before immediately pulling back, though not by much. Kieran still had a hand gripping Draven''s shoulder like he couldn''t let go. Oscar was gripping his arm.


    River stood close, his hand still pressed firmly against Draven''s chest as if he was grounding himself in the reality of him being alive.


    "He''s weak," Elder Ren continued firmly. "Let him breathe."


    "I am breathing," Draven rasped faintly, a ghost of his old humor flickering through his exhaustion.


    And that broke something in all of us again. A shakyugh escaped me through my tears.


    He was still him. Even now, even like this.


    My gaze dropped over him quickly, and I didn''t miss the weakness in his body. He was still fragile despite everything we had done to make him recover.


    My power surged instantly, my hands already beginning to glow faintly. But before I could move, a firm hand caught my wrist.


    "Child."


    I looked up and saw Elder Ren. His gaze was steady and unyielding as he lowered my hand.


    "No."


    "But-" I shook my head, panic rising. "He''s weak-he needs-"


    "And so do you." His words hit harder than I expected.


    "You have already pushed yourself beyond your limits," he continued. "If you use your power again right now, you won''t just harm yourself - you may destabilize what you have already done."


    For a moment, I wanted to argue, to fight, to ignore himpletely and do it anyway. But then, Draven''s hand tightened weakly around mine.


    "Eva…" he murmured softly.


    I looked back at him instantly. His eyes looked tired, but calm. "It''s okay," he whispered.


    That was it. That was all it took for the fight to drain out of me in an instant. My shoulders sagged slightly as I nodded, blinking away the tears that wouldn''t stop falling.


    "Okay…" I whispered.


    But I didn''t move away.


    I stayed right there beside him, holding his hand like it was the only thing keeping me standing.


    Because maybe it was.


    Time blurred after that as Elder Ren and Healer Cao checked everyone.


    Rowan was still beside Naira, refusing to let go of her hand as she weakly spoke to him.


    I stayed anchored to Draven, watching him, memorizing his every movement, every breath, every blink. Because I had waited so long for this.


    And now that I had it, I didn''t want to lose a single second of it.


    Eventually we had to move.


    "We should move them out of here," Elion said quietly.


    Elder Ren nodded. "Carefully. They''ll need rest."


    Slowly, I helped Draven sit up slightly, supporting him as best as I could despite my own trembling limbs.


    "You okay?" I asked softly.


    He gave the faintest nod. "Better now."


    My lips trembled into a small smile.


    Liar.


    But I didn''t call him out on it.


    I didn''t realize how much I had been holding myself together until I moved. Because the moment I pushed myself upright, the world tilted.


    Hard.


    My vision blurred with darkness creeping in at the edges.


    No-


    Not now.


    I swayed slightly, my hand instinctively reaching out to steady myself. But my body didn''t respond fast enough.


    "Eva-?"


    Someone called my name. But it sounded distant, fading. And then, everything gave out.


    The exhaustion I had been holding back for so long finally imed me. And as darkness wrapped around me, thest thing I felt was someone catching me before I hit the ground.