Chapter 39
She cleared her throat quickly, her eyes flicking around the room before settling back on the group. “He’s no longer with us,” she said, and though her voice stayed steady, there was something tight in it. “You won’t need to worry about any involvement from him moving forward. His clearance has been revoked, and we’re handling
the transition internally.”
Her tone left no room for follow-up, but it said plenty. The silence that followed was thick and a little too long
before she moved on to the next item on the agenda. I didn’t lift my eyes from the screen, but my mind was
already spinning. Jason’s name wasn’t just a personnel issue-it was a threat, a reminder, a puzzle piece that
didn’t fit neatly into the official story. I logged the red flag quietly and kept my mouth shut.
After my shift, I walked straight toward Richard’s room. The lights were low, the quiet hum of the lamp buzzing
faintly from the far side of the room.
I sank onto the couch like my body had decided for me, the weight of the day dragging me down. Still in my
work clothes, one shoe kicked off, the other half on, phone slipping from my hand to the cushion beside me—I
told myself it was just for a minute. Just until I could breathe again.
My mind felt foggy, distant, half-asleep, and then actually asleep.
I was just going to rest for a minute.
What I didn’t know was that Richard was watching.
Richard
She looked so small, curled up like that. It felt wrong, seeing her there, shivering slightly, breathing soft and
uneven. Simon had said she should be in the suite, but maybe not like this. On a couch that clearly wasn’t designed for comfort. She wasn’t sleeping well, that much was obvious. I shouldn’t have moved her-but
watching her like that, I couldn’t not.
I moved carefully. Lifted her gently, held her for just a moment too long, then carried her to my bed. She didn’t wake. I pulled a spare blanket over her, and as I tucked it around her shoulders, her hand brushed mine.
That one touch stayed with me.
The next morning, I walked into the healer’s office with a weak excuse about strain in my arm.
“You’re stabilizing faster than expected,” he said slowly, tapping the screen. “I thought your system would stay
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volatile for at least another week.”
I didn’t respond. I just stared at the scan until he turned back toward me.
“Has anything changed?” he asked, his tone deliberately casual.
+25 BONUS
“She’s staying in my suite now,” I said. “We’re not-nothing’s happening. She’s just… there. On the couch, usually. Sometimes in my bed.”
The healer nodded like he already knew. “You don’t need to explain it to me. Your readings are what they are.
Whatever this bond is doing to you-it’s stabilizing things. You shouldn’t be apart from her for long periods,
not at this stage. It’s too dangerous.”
“Don’t say anything,” I told him. “I know you know what she is to me.”
He studied me for a moment, then nodded again, more slowly this time. “It’s not my business to interfere. But
if she’s what I think she is, then you already know how rare this is. How much worse it could’ve been.”
“I know,” I said. And I did.
“Stay near her. Let her stay near you. Don’t keep pushing her away. You might not get that many more chances
to pull her back.”
I left without another word.
But that night, she slept in my bed.
We didn’t talk much as we moved through our usual end-of-day routines, but something about the quiet felt
different-softer, less guarded. I finished responding to a message on my phone, and when I looked up, she was
just… watching me again. Like she had something to say but wasn’t sure how to start.
“You don’t have to keep carrying all of it alone, you know,” she said eventually. Her voice wasn’t accusatory.
Just tired. Honest.
I looked at her for a long moment. “It’s not your burden to carry.
“Maybe not,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t help. If being near you makes things easier-if it makes
the pain even a little less-I’ll do whatever I need to do.”
My throat tightened, and I had to look away. That was the thing about Amelia. She didn’t offer lightly. When she
said something, she meant it.
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“I won’t ask that of you,” I said quietly.
“You don’t have to. I’m already here.”
She crawled under the blanket without another word. And I didn’t sleep on the far side of the bed.
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