~ZEPHYRUS' POV
When Lucian and Zade left the chamber, the room felt larger than it should have.
I remained propped against the pillows, though the effort of sitting upright had already begun to weigh on me.
My core pulsed unevenly beneath my ribs. It was a dull ache that spread slowly through my chest, like something inside me was trying to stitch back together but kept missing the thread.
Alaric remained in the room. He stood near the foot of the bed, hands loosely clasped behind his back, face angled slightly in my direction.
In that moment, he did not feel like a king.
He felt like my older brother.
I stared at the ceiling for a long time, counting the slow rhythm of my breathing, trying to ignore the way my core faltered every few seconds.
It was exhausting.
"I miss her," I said finally, the words left my mouth before I could measure them.
Alaric's face remained calm, unreadable to most, though I could tell the small shifts in his expression.
