Chapter 63: EX 63. Join My base.
In one of the quiet medical rooms of the selection area infirmary, Elizabeth lay motionless on the white hospital bed. Her skin was pale—unnaturally so—and her once-raven black hair remained a snowy white, draped over the pillow like a fragile veil. The room was dim, lit only by a soft overhead light, casting long shadows across the tiles.
Leon sat beside her, hunched over on a stool, his elbows resting on his knees. He hadn’t moved in a while. His hands were clasped tightly around Elizabeth’s, the one attached to an IV line that trickled a steady drip into her veins.
His mind replayed the healer’s words like a curse.
"Physically, she’s perfectly fine and we can’t find anything wrong."
Leon had nearly lost it then.
He’d shot up from his seat, his voice laced with fury. "How the hell does that look fine to you?" He had pointed toward Elizabeth who looked so frail and far from fine. "If you don’t know what you’re doing, go find someone who does. I don’t want another excuse—I want her awake."
It had taken the arrival of another healer who was older and more experienced, with the kind of calm that came from years on battlefields and warzones—to settle Leon down.
"She’s not in danger," the second healer had said gently. "Her condition seems to be the result of extreme spiritual exhaustion. She just needs rest and in time, she’ll recover."
Only then had Leon sat back down, fists unclenching. But the guilt hadn’t left.
Now, as he held her hand in silence, he whispered, "Lizzie... I’m so sorry."
His voice was low, nearly a breath. "If I had been just a little stronger... maybe you wouldn’t be like this. Maybe I could’ve protected you better."