All Chapters of Shadow bound: The beast within : Chapter 91
- Chapter 100
182 chapters
Chapter Ninety-One: The Ghost Between My Ribs
There are moments when the world feels unreal. When air turns heavy, when light bends the wrong way, when you can feel someone breathing inside you even though you’re alone. That’s what it has become for me—every heartbeat a shared rhythm, every breath echoing another’s.I used to think death ended everything. I was wrong. Sometimes, it only begins something worse.Grace sleeps now, her head resting against the pillow, her face calm for the first time in days. I sit beside her, watching the way her fingers curl around the edge of the blanket, like she’s trying to hold onto something even in her dreams. I want to touch her, to feel warmth again, but my hands feel colder than the air.Valeria’s voice hums faintly at the edge of my thoughts. It isn’t always words. Sometimes it’s only the sound of breath. Sometimes it’s laughter I half remember, the way she sounded when we were young, before everything broke. I tell myself it’s memory, nothing more. But when I close my eyes, I feel her finge
Chapter Ninety-Two: Where the Light Still Breathes
The night was quiet—too quiet. Even the winds that once sang through the ruins seemed to hold their breath, as if afraid to disturb what was left between us. I stood by the window, watching the faint shimmer of moonlight spilling across the marble floor. The reflection trembled, breaking into silver shards whenever my heart remembered how it used to beat beside his.Luca sat on the edge of the bed, head bowed, his hands clasped tightly as though in prayer—or punishment. The faint glow beneath his skin pulsed like dying embers, shadows crawling beneath it. I wanted to reach out, but the air around him was heavy, charged, and almost trembling with something I couldn’t name.He didn’t look up when he spoke.“You shouldn’t be here, Grace.”His voice—low, raw, breaking—tore through the silence like a blade.“I’ve been here since the beginning,” I whispered. “And I’m not leaving now.”He lifted his head. The light caught his face—the exhaustion, the guilt, the darkness swimming behind his eyes. T
Chapter Ninety-Three: The Breaking Sky
The storm did not begin with thunder—it began with silence.That heavy, trembling silence before the heavens decide to shatter.The ruins quaked beneath our feet, light and shadow coiling in violent spirals around Luca. The air was charged with something primal—grief, rage, power—all twisting together into a single, living force that pulsed with his heartbeat.“Luca,” I called, stepping forward despite the tremors shaking the ground. “You can fight it. You have to.”He was kneeling now, his body convulsing, a dark aura bleeding from his skin. Every breath he took came with a shudder, every second a battle between the man and the monster. His eyes flickered between amber and black, like two souls warring inside the same cage.“You don’t understand…” His voice cracked—not from weakness, but from the weight of what he carried. “She’s not gone. She’s never gone.”Behind him, the air rippled, and she appeared.Valeria.Not the woman of soft laughter and quiet strength I once knew—but a specter dra
Chapter Ninety-Four: Ashes of Dawn
The first thing I noticed was the silence.It wasn’t the hollow silence of the curse or the trembling hush before a storm. It was real silence—alive, breathing, almost fragile. The wind moved through the fallen stones, carrying the scent of wet ash and wild lavender from the hills. The world smelled new again.Grace lay beside me, half-covered by my torn cloak. Her hair was tangled with bits of soot and dried leaves, but she looked untouched by the night that had tried to swallow us whole. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, her hand resting near mine, her fingers still stained with the faint glow of the light that saved me.I watched her for a long time.There were lines on her face that hadn’t been there before, the kind grief leaves behind when no one is looking. And yet there was peace too. She had fought for me, for this small fragile morning, and I could never unsee that.The sky above us was the color of pale gold, streaked with lingering smoke. Birds were returning, timidly,
Chapter Ninety-Five: The Echoes Beneath the Ashes
The fires had long gone out.Only the wind spoke now—soft, empty, and hollow as it weaved through the ruins that once bore their names.Lucas stood on the ridge where the ground had cracked open, his shadow long and trembling in the silver wash of the half-moon. The ash clung to him like memory, like guilt that refused to fade. Below, the valley was silent—no screams, no clash of blades, no echoes of the storm that had torn through their world.Just silence.Grace knelt a few feet behind him, her hands pressed into the earth as though she could still feel its heartbeat. Her hair, streaked with dust and streaks of dried blood, fell across her face as she whispered something—prayers maybe, or names of those they’d lost. Lucas couldn’t tell. He didn’t ask. He didn’t need to.They had both seen too much.And both were haunted by the same ghost.When the wind shifted, it carried with it a faint chime. A bell? No. A whisper.It came from beneath—the low hum of something ancient, almost familiar. Th
Chapter Ninety-Six: The Mirror’s Song
Morning settled over the safehouse like a soft sigh. The storm had gone, leaving behind only damp earth and the faint scent of ash that drifted through the open window. Light crept gently across the wooden floor, touching the walls as though afraid to wake them.Luca lay awake, watching how the sunlight caught the dust in the air. Every speck shimmered as if alive, turning slowly before disappearing into the glow. Beside him, Grace slept, her hand resting lightly against his chest. He listened to her breathing, slow and even, and tried to match it.For the first time in a long while, the silence did not feel empty. It felt like a gift.He turned his head slightly, taking her in. Her lashes trembled, the corners of her mouth soft in sleep. A small strand of hair had fallen across her lips. He reached to brush it away but stopped halfway, afraid to disturb the fragile peace. His hand hovered there a moment, trembling slightly, before he let it fall.He sat up slowly. His body ached, the dee
Chapter Ninety-Seven: Beneath the Song
The following morning arrived with a gray sky and a silence that felt heavier than it should. The world outside the safehouse was quiet, the kind of quiet that sits in the bones of things. Even the birds seemed to have forgotten how to sing.Grace woke first. She lay still for a long while, her body curved against Luca’s. The warmth between them was steady, but there was something different about him. His breathing was uneven, caught somewhere between waking and dreaming.She turned to face him. His eyes were open, unfocused, staring at the far wall where the mirror hung. The faint reflection of light trembled across the cracked glass.“Luca,” she whispered, touching his arm.He blinked slowly and turned toward her. His voice came out low and distant. “Did you hear it?”Grace frowned. “Hear what?”“The song.”Her brow furrowed as she sat up. “There’s no song.”He looked back at the mirror. His jaw tightened. “It was here. Last night. I heard it again.”Grace followed his gaze to the glass. It
Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Return
The fire had burned out by dawn. Only a few faint embers glowed among the ashes, whispering smoke into the cold air. Luca sat awake, the gray light of morning washing over his face. He hadn’t slept.Grace stirred beside him, drawing her cloak tighter. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring into nothing. The forest around them was quiet again, as if holding its breath.“Did you hear it?” he asked softly, without looking at her.Grace hesitated. “No.”Luca exhaled slowly. His hands trembled as he rubbed them together. “It was closer this time. The song. She’s calling from somewhere near.”Grace sat up. Her voice was calm but firm. “You have to stop saying that. It’s the grief talking.”He turned his gaze toward her, and for a moment she wished she hadn’t spoken. There was a kind of fragility in his eyes, a thin line between faith and madness.“She needs me,” he said.Grace shook her head. “You don’t owe the dead, Luca. You owe the living. You owe yourself.”He smiled faintly, but it was
Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Hollow Within
The air around the ravine felt colder now. The mist hung low, coiling through the trees like breath from something unseen. Grace knelt beside Luca, her hands pressed against his face, feeling the warmth slip from his skin.He looked so pale. His lips trembled with each shallow breath. His shirt clung to his body, soaked through with water and sweat. The faint marks on his wrist still glowed faintly, like embers pressed into flesh.“Stay with me,” she whispered. “Please.”His eyelids fluttered. “Grace.”“I’m here.”He opened his eyes slowly, and she wished he hadn’t. They weren’t his anymore. The color was darker, a deep shade that seemed to swallow light. She could see something moving behind them—something watching.Grace’s heart clenched. “Luca, talk to me.”His voice came out raw. “It hurts.”She tried to steady her breathing. “I know. You’ll be all right. We’ll find someone who can help.”He shook his head weakly. “It’s too late.”“No,” she said firmly, though her voice broke. “It’s not. Do
Chapter One Hundred: Where the Light Breaks
The fire in the hearth burned low, a quiet rhythm of light dancing across the walls. The air inside the safehouse felt heavy tonight, like the world itself was holding its breath. Grace sat by the window, her fingers tracing the fog on the glass as rain whispered outside.Luca watched her from the table. There was something about the way her shoulders lifted and fell, slow and tired, like she had been carrying too many unspoken things for too long. He wanted to say something, anything, but words had never come easily between them when it mattered most.She turned slightly, just enough to meet his eyes. The candlelight caught the side of her face, soft and sad all at once. “You’re quiet,” she said.“I’m listening,” he replied, his voice low. “You’ve been talking in your sleep again.”Grace looked away. “What did I say this time?”He hesitated. “My name. And hers.”The silence that followed was fragile. She pressed her palms together, the sound of the rain filling the space between them. “I c