“My brother… what have you done?” she sobbed, pressing trembling hands against his arms, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. “Stay with me… please stay with me.”
Her cries echoed down the hallway.
A neighbor rushed in after hearing the commotion.
Together they carried Marcus outside and hurried toward the nearest healers’ hall.
The healers rushed him immediately into the inner chamber.
Aria collapsed onto a bench outside, uncontrollable sobs shaking her body.
Her white blouse was soaked with Marcus’s blood.
Her trembling hands were stained crimson.
“You cannot leave me,” she whispered again and again. “Please don’t leave me…”
Hours crawled by.
She paced outside the chamber doors, whispering desperate prayers to the Moon Goddess.
Finally, after nearly two hours, a healer stepped out.
Aria rushed toward him immediately.
His expression was grim.
“Your brother remains in critical condition,” he said quietly. “We stopped the bleeding… but his spirit is fading. It is as though he has lost the will to live.”
Aria felt her knees weaken.
“The next twenty-four hours will be crucial,” the healer continued gently. “All you can do now… is pray.”
He walked away.
Aria remained standing there in silence.