🔹 THORNE
Her eyes snagged on mine, my breath fracturing.
For a moment, the world ceased to exist—the noise fell away, the room faded, and only those eyes remained. Orbs that held galaxies locked onto mine, vast and endless, swirling with violets, blues, and black so deep there was not even a trace of the familiar grey left behind.
She blinked slowly. A single, shimmering tear slid down her pale face. Then panic flared in her gaze and jolted up and away from me.
Her head whipped around, taking in the chaos in the infirmary. Her face contorted into horror, her breathing growing labour as though she could not draw breath. She ran a trembling hand through her hair, her eyes falling back to meet mine.
I sat where I was—unwilling to scare her more than she already was. I kept my expression neutral, so that my own panic would not exacerbate hers.
