Chapter 240

Audrey

I stepped through the doors of the children’s ward, and the weight of the world settled on my shoulders. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of machines and the occasional murmur of low voices, the lights dim and surprisingly peaceful.

And then I saw her.

At the far end of the room, cradled by her parents’ arms, their faces streaked with tears, was Ivy. The little girl from the charity gala.

She looked so small in that bed, her tiny body dwarfed by the stark white sheets, her face pale and drawn. Her parents sat on either side of her, clinging to each other, grief etched into every line of their faces.

They had clearly been there for hours, days maybe, watching their daughter fade away.

“I-Ivy?” I whispered, taking a hesitant step forward.

Her mother snapped her head up first, her swollen eyes meeting mine across the dimly lit room. There was a moment of recognition-her mouth parted slightly in disbelief, her lips trembling.

“You’re… you’re the Silver Star,” she breathed. “You came…”

Inodded slowly, although I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze for long. Shame twisted painfully inside of me like a knife in my chest. I turned my eyes to Ivy, who lay so still, her breath shallow and uneven.

“What happened?” I whispered. The little girl had seemed okay at the gala just a couple of days ago-not healthy, of course, but awake and lucid and able to walk around on her own.

But now… she looked on

the

verge

of death.

Ivy’s father cleared his throat, his voice thick with tears. “After the gala…” he began, his words halting as if he was choking on each one. “She collapsed on the stairs. Hit her head on the way down. Between the blood loss and the cancer…. they don’t think she’ll make it through the night.”

His voice cracked, the last words barely escaping his throat.

“I should have carried her,” he whimpered.

your fault, honey. She wanted to walk on her own. She was so excited about being cured.” She glanced at me and let

swallowed hard, the hot, acrid taste of bile rising in my throat. The memory of that little girl’s hopeful face at the gala flashed through my mind-the way she had looked up at me with so

I had lied. To protect myself. To

wondered if it had been worth the cost. If giving her false hope

eyes wide and pleading. “Can you help her?” she

I had been trying to suppress

Chapter 240

gala… I lied. I hadn’t shifted yet. I was afraid, and I said what I thought would protect me. I’m so sorry. I should have told the truth, even if it would have made things worse for

in their eyes

14%

“I have shifted now. And I can

me, uncertainty and pain flickering across their faces. Then Ivy’s father slowly nodded, and her mother followed suit, clutching her daughter’s hand

father

+5

steadying myself, even though my heart raced. This was different from before. This was real. I couldn’t

I said, looking at her parents one last time, “from this moment forward, I will never

standing in the doorway, sent a thread

underneath me. I was exhausted, so exhausted that I wasn’t even

skin was cold to the

of me in such a short amount of time. It responded more easily than I thought it would, surging forward like a

feel it-could sense the cancer in

poisoning. This was different-harder. The cancer was a stubborn thing, deeply rooted and pervasive, resisting

gritted my teeth, focusing all my strength, pushing deeper. Sweat beaded on my forehead, the strain making my body tremble. But I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. Slowly, agonizingly, I felt the cancer

and drawn, was now brighter, her

she whispered. “You

my body drained of energy. It was only then that I realized that Edwin

he whispered, giving me a gentle tug. “You’ve

the sight of Ivy, alive and smiling,

Empty.

the same pain that Ivy had

Oct 23

Chapter 240

all,”

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