Elena’s POV

I lifted my head slowly.

The ward was still crowded, still suffocating, but something inside me had finally gone quiet. Not defeated—no. Clear. Cold. I let my gaze sweep across everyone in front of me, unhurried and unflinching.

It paused briefly on Stella, lingering just long enough for her to stiffen. Then it slid past Elder Hayes, whose expression was already carved into stone, and finally settled on the middle-aged policeman standing at the center of the ...