The silence that followed her sister's weakening breath did not come gently, nor did it soothe, but pressed inward like a weight that no body could bear for long, as though the world itself had grown too heavy to hold.
Elara felt it settle upon her shoulders, not as something external, but as something that rooted itself deep within her chest, wrapping around her heart and tightening with every second Sarah's strength slipped further away.
Her hands did not move from her, her fingers trembling as they pressed against fabric soaked with warmth that should not have been fading, her breath uneven as she fought against the truth forming before her.
The power that had once answered her now lingered at the edges, uncertain, flickering in response to her fractured state, no longer flowing but waiting.
"…no," she whispered, the word barely forming, her voice hollow, her gaze locked upon Sarah's face as though it might anchor her to this moment.
Her chest tightened painfully.
