Apologize?
"Aeliana's health is really down," he said, his voice serious. "She might die."
I felt my heart stop, just for a moment. The words hung in the air, cutting through the night like a blade. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought to keep my expression neutral. But inside, something was unraveling.
Aeliana... dying? No. That couldn't be true. It shouldn't be true. I wasn't supposed to care this much, wasn't supposed to feel like someone had just kicked the ground out from under me. But I did. I cared way more than I wanted to admit, even to myself.
The woman beside me, who moments ago had been the center of my attention, touched my arm lightly. "Hey," she started, her voice soft, probably trying to be comforting, "do you want to stay? We could..."