Everything happened in fragments.
First the blast of white light.
Then Aria collapsing against Luca with lifeless weight.
Then the Patron staggering backward as though the force had struck him through the ribs.
Then the fog recoiled like a wounded animal.
And then silence.
Not a peaceful silence.
A hunting silence.
A silence that studied every heartbeat inside the SUV.
Luca pressed his fingers urgently against Aria's throat. A faint pulse answered him. Weak. Fading. But there. He felt it beneath his thumb like the world's most fragile promise.
He whispered into her hair, "You stay with me. You hear me. You stay."
Her eyelids did not flutter. Her body did not respond. Her lips remained parted in the aftermath of her scream. But he felt the child move inside her. Quick, frantic kicks. Almost panicked.
Rosetta touched Aria's hand with shaking fingers. "Luca, she needs a hospital. Now. Not a doctor's kit. Not a room. She needs a full emergency team."
