Chapter 177

*Elora*

The world didn’t explode. It didn’t tilt off its axis or scream or quake. It just… stilled.

The nurse’s voice faded before the words were done echoing in my skull. Pregnant. The syllables clung to the air like smoke, curling around me, wrapping invisible vines around my lungs. I couldn’t breathe, not properly. My heart didn’t race, and my skin didn’t flush. It all just stopped.

A strang