“Cole,” Cinder said warmly. “Good to see you upright.”
“Good to be upright,” I said.
Cinder raised an eyebrow when he saw Phoenix, but I just sent Cinder a calm look. Cinder didn't seem fazed, but Nancy spoke up. "He's authorized."
Cinder hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. Just stay off the equipment.”
I caught Phoenix’s faint grin.
The room smelled like cleaner and cold metal. A tremor ran down my spine before I could stop it. The clinic. The binding. The restraints. Phoenix stepped closer, silently offering his nearness as an anchor.
Cinder began the physical. Reflex tests, balance, eye tracking. Nancy noted my responses as well, watching my breathing more than my movements.
Phoenix hovered—not overbearing, but present. Solid. “Look at the pen,” Cinder said.
I followed it, answering his questions automatically.
Then he pressed the stethoscope to my chest.
The dragon stirred beneath my ribs—warm, restless, pushing gently at the contact. The vibration hummed through the cold metal. Cinder blinked, startled. “Your heart rate fluctuated.”
A sharp spike of fear shot through me. But Nancy stepped forward immediately, her tone gentle. “Cole, deep breath. In through your nose. Out through your mouth.”
I obeyed. The dragon settled. Cinder waited, then listened again. “Better. Probably stress. Considering everything…you’re doing extremely well.”
Nancy nodded. “Your heart rate responded instantly. That’s a good sign.”
Cinder moved to motor strength tests next. No tremors. No dizziness.
“Okay,” he said finally, tapping his tablet. “Neurological function is normal. Physical response is strong. Cardiac rhythm stabilized.”
My pulse hammered.Please. Please.
Cinder looked up. “Cole Armstrong…you are medically cleared.”
I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Thank you.”
Before anything else could happen, a staff member poked his head in. “Cole? The league needs you for All-Star media. Now.”
I froze.
All-Star media.
Me.
Phoenix was at my side before I turned. “I’m coming with you.”
He said it with a strange tension in his voice, something tight and fraying at the edges. I made a mental note to check later, to sit him down and make him talk, because something was wrong. But right now? My future was calling.
The hallway leading to the media room felt too bright, too open, too loud. I’d been in press conferences a hundred times before, but never like this. Never with the weight oflast night still clinging to my bones. Phoenix hung back with Nancy, and I knew she'd look after him. One day I hoped to be facing the press holding his hand.
“Cole!” the first reporter called. Then another. Then a third.
“Cole, how does it feel to be the Western Division’s Last Man In?”
“Cole, what does this selection mean to you after the…recent events?”
I lifted my chin. “I’m honored. And grateful. The fans made this happen.”
