office, pouring herself into the relentless effort of merging the

ve, and even Noah dismissed it as not

dly put everything o

she did sit down to clear the backlog, the hours slipped away unnoticed. It was only when

ing off the last file, she stacked the papers neat

nce, heavy as a tomb. Drained,

ve been spending the even

en warm some water, she washed them down with a mouthful of cold. Her finge

Noah had never been

the sadness settle like

.

ed Madelyn awake again.

medicine. Just then, the rumble

mind and dry-swal

teps thundered in the hallway, and th

is eyes burned cold. He crossed the room in a flash, g

ce cracked as she shouted,

lamped around her wrist with such fo

to wrench his hand away, clawing and twisting, yet the effort left her tr

she could. But the second her mouth met

omething she coul

eepen. He gave a quiet grunt, jerked his hand away fr

ottle slipped from her grasp. The sound of glass breakin

d to steady herself. When she forced her gaze up

ast the pain throbbing behind her eyes an

been hurt and she needs your blood,"

ed, "Give me o

type. Why should she become the one call

you. The least you can do is make this right," Noa

st. At her feet lay the very pills she had swallow