Chapter 136

Nicolas POV

The steady beeping of the monitor was a cruel reminder that I was alive when so much of my soul was burning with ghosts. I lay half-upright in the hospital bed, my breathing uneven, the IV tugging at my arm whenever I shifted. The accident had rattled me, but it was nothing compared to the storm of memories battering my mind.

I closed my eyes, and there she was-Viona.

Her cries, her blood, the night I had stood outside the healer's quarters as if distance could shield ...