All Chapters of Bounded Beyond The Abyss: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Elise stumbled into the base, each step heavier than the last, the shadows stretching long and cold along the dim corridors. Inside her, a storm raged—wild, fierce, and barely contained. Since the last battle, her powers felt like a living thing clawing to break free, unpredictable and raw. She clenched her fists tight, desperate to keep the chaos at bay.From the corner of her eye, she caught movement. Soren appeared beside her without a sound, his expression unreadable but sharp.“You’re... off,” he said cautiously, his voice low. “Something’s wrong.”Elise forced a tight smile, though her heart pounded like a drum. “I’m fine,” she said quickly, the lie bitter on her tongue.He studied her, eyes narrowing just slightly, catching the faint tremble in her hands, the way her breath hitched when she tried to steady herself. “You don’t seem fine.”She turned away, brushing past him. “I said I’m fine.”But as she disappeared down the hallway, Soren’s gaze lingered on the faint flicker of

When Elise woke up, a deep soreness settled into her body, an aching reminder of what had transpired the night before. A heat crawled up her neck as memories rushed back—his hands tracing her skin, his lips pressing against hers, the way he had unraveled her piece by piece.She wasn’t drunk. She wasn’t under any spell. She had given herself to him willingly.And she didn’t know why.Her breath hitched slightly as she turned her head. There he was—Vael. Lying beside her, his face devoid of its usual arrogance, his features softened in sleep. His unruly red hair fell across his forehead, and for the first time, he looked… peaceful.Her throat tightened.They were supposed to be enemies.But were they really?She had chased him, convinced he was responsible for the destruction of her family. Yet last night, when she had looked into those burning eyes, when she had heard the raw sincerity in his voice, she had believed him.He wasn’t the one who took everything from her.That fact should

The sheets were tangled, the scent of burned spices and sweat still clinging to the air—remnants of their last chaotic stop in the kitchen before they finally made it to his bed.Elise lay on her side, one leg draped lazily over Vael’s. His fingers trailed soft, distracted patterns over the bare skin of her back, but his gaze was fixed on the ceiling, where faint shadows flickered from the low fire across the room.She didn’t speak. Neither did he.But this time, silence didn’t feel like a minefield.It felt like… a truce.“You know,” Vael murmured, finally breaking it, “for someone who threatened to kill me the first time we met, you’re very comfortable in my bed.”She arched an eyebrow, lips brushing the side of his throat. “For someone who claimed not to trust me, you let me fall asleep beside your knives.”“I didn’t say I trust you.” He rolled to his side, hovering over her now, voice low. “I said I like the way you look when you’re dangerous.”Elise smirked, though the expression

The sun had barely kissed the horizon when Elise sat on the stone bench outside the compound, her hands clasped lightly with Soren’s. The morning air was crisp, mist curling low across the training grounds like silent ghosts.Soren’s voice was calm and steady. “Inhale through the nose. Count to four. Hold.”Their hands glowed faintly, her unstable power pulsing like a flickering heartbeat through their link.“Exhale slowly,” he instructed, watching her closely.She obeyed, her breath shaking slightly.The power inside her always clawed at the surface in the mornings—feral, sharp, unwilling to settle. But Soren helped ground it, and helped her. She hated to admit how much she’d come to rely on it.The rest of the team passed by in twos and threes, gear slung over their shoulders, heading toward the mission briefing. And like clockwork, the teasing began.“At it again, lovebirds?”“What do you two do out here before dawn, huh?”“Soren, I think you’re just using ‘power regulation’ as an

The door creaked open with a low groan as Elise stumbled into her room, the heavy scent of smoke and rain still clinging to her hair and clothes. She barely managed to kick off her boots before collapsing face-first into the bed. Every part of her ached—there had been more monsters than usual today, more blood, more screams, more damage to clean up. She hadn't even healed from the last skirmish.Her body screamed for rest, and for once, she listened.Darkness took her.A sliver of moonlight traced the edge of her windowsill when her eyes blinked open. Her mind fogged by exhaustion, Elise stirred slowly, reaching for the blanket—And froze.Someone was breathing beside her.Warmth. Presence.Her heart lurched into her throat as she rolled over in panic.“Vael?!”There he was, lying beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world. One arm under his head, the other draped casually over the blanket, his hair tousled, lips slightly parted in sleep. His normally unreadable expres