The morning after Noah's surgery, the hospital ward was quiet, the stillness broken only by the faint beeping of machines and the rustle of nurses’ footsteps. Sunlight filtered in through the windows in dusty beams, falling across the pale sheets that covered Noah's small frame. Jace hadn’t slept.

He’d spent the night in the narrow hospital chair, his body curled awkwardly, one hand locked around Noah’s. Every time Noah stirred, even slightly, Jace jolted awake. He didn’t want to ...