Chapter 127. The Weight of Waiting

Tristan's POV

I sat hunched forward on the chair in the waiting area, elbows on my knees with my head in my hands. Each second grinding against my nerves like sandpaper. Elona was somewhere beyond those walls, pale, fragile, and unconscious.

I didn’t even realize Cris had arrived until I felt her arms around me. “Dad!” she breathed out, half a sob and half a relief. She pulled back just enough to see my face, and her expression softened instantly. “Gosh, you look like hell.”

“I feel worse,” I said, my voice raspy from exhaustion and emotion. “I can’t lose her, Cris.”

She sat beside me, not pressing me to speak, just being there. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I said it aloud. “I’ve lost people before. But Elona… She is not just anyone. I can’t-” I swallowed hard. “I won’t survive losing her either.”