Chapter 124

Aisha's POV The hospital smelled like war. Blood. Burnt fur. Ash. It came with the wind that pushed through the half-opened windows of the Neutral Hospital, a reminder that the harmony everyone thought would last had shattered at the border. The failed war with Brayden and the vampire had left wounds far beyond those we could see, and they were arriving here in an endless stream. I had not left this building for three days. The moment I stepped out of one room, another stretcher appeared. Emma walked beside me, our coats soaked in dried blood, our hands trembling with the same bone-deep exhaustion. We weren't doctors tonight. We were shields against death itself. "Make space," I barked, my voice raw as we reached the triage area. The floor was slick with footprints, the air thick with metallic heat. Warriors lay everywhere, groaning, their bodies silver-burned and slashed. "Left wing!" Emma called, pulling the next victim from the hands of the guards. He was barely conscious, silver bu