XAVIER’s POV

Pain reminds you that you survived but it never lets you forget what it cost you.

The first thing I felt was the ache in my chest sharp, insistent, like my ribs were still remembering the impact.

The second was the smell of antiseptic and the low, rhythmic beep of a monitor somewhere near my head.

When I finally opened my eyes, the world tilted. A ceiling, too white. A blur of movement And then Zayne, half-slouched in a chair, his arm in a sling and his shirt wrinkled from ...