#Chapter 85: Miracle

DEREK Aiden had barely stopped talking the entire visit. He’d rambled about his favorite Moonstone warrior stories, asked if I could teach him how to throw a proper punch once his shoulder finished healing, and told me—very seriously—that he planned to make his own battle armor. Out of cardboard and duct tape, of course. It was the most alive I’d seen him since the attack. Stronger. Louder. Bolder. Every day, he reminded me more of Elena—and myself. The version of me I used to be, before guilt and regret carved it into something colder. It was getting harder to leave him after each visit. I wanted to stay. To linger. To tuck him in and read him stories and be there when he woke up with bedhead and morning breath. But Elena kept her boundaries sharp and clear. I was grateful she was letting me see him at all. Still, hope was a dangerous thing. By the time I got back to Silverclaw, my chest ached from wanting more than I had any right to ask for. The estate was warm