33. Sienna
Sienna
T he safehouse explodes into motion the second the SUV doors open.
People rush toward us.
Medics.
Operators.
Voices collide across the room in sharp bursts of controlled chaos.
“Get a trauma kit over here!”
“Pressure’s crashing—”
“Move, MOVE—”
I barely hear any of it.
All I see is Jonah.
Blood soaking through the makeshift bandages.
His head falling forward every time the medics shift him onto the gurney.
Too pale.
Way too pale.
“Save him!”
The scream tears out of me before I realize I’m yelling.
“Do something—DO SOMETHING!”
Hands grab my arms as the medical team wheels Jonah toward surgery.
I fight instantly.
“Get off me!”
“We need room—”
“I don’t care what you need!”
I shove someone hard enough they stumble backward.
“If he dies because you people are too slow—”
“Sienna.”
Ronan’s voice cuts sharply through the panic.
Firm.
Grounded.
I spin toward him.
His face is tense, streaked with dirt and blood from the mountain, but his eyes stay steady on mine.
“Let them work.”
My chest heaves violently.
I look back toward Jonah.
Toward the trail of blood leading through the hallway.
The surgical doors swing open.
Then shut again behind him.
Gone.
Something inside me fractures completely.
“I should’ve never come here,” I whisper.
The words barely make it out.
“I should’ve stayed gone.”
Pain climbs into my throat so hard it burns.
“He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”
“That’s not on you.”
“Yes, it is!”
The force of it shocks even me.
“They want me! Everything that happened out there happened because of me!”
“And we chose to be there.”
Ronan steps closer now.
Not aggressive.
Certain.
“You didn’t force any of us into this.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
His voice lowers slightly.
“And right now?”
He glances toward the surgical doors.
“He needs you not to fall apart.”
The words hit like a physical blow.
Because he’s right.
Again.
God, I hate how often they’re right.
I drag in a shaking breath.
Then another.
Force my spine straight.
Force control back together piece by piece.
But my hands won’t stop shaking.
And my heart still feels like it’s breaking open inside my chest.
Because this stopped being about survival a long time ago.
It stopped being about ORACLE.
Or HELIOS.
Or the mission.
Now it’s him.
And I don’t know how to survive losing him.