Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound with Shadows : Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Marcus' POVNaomi was still asleep. Her breathing had steadied sometime after midnight, and though the healer claimed she'd wake by dawn, I couldn’t stop staring at her pale face which, for some reason, was paler than usual. Almost white. I sat still, my breath held, waiting for the smallest sign that she’d open her eyes and make a sarcastic remark or complain about the sheets.But nothing.I sat by her side, elbows on knees, hands clasped, every few seconds glancing at the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her breathing was easier now. Not great, not like herself, but better. The healer had said her spiritual tether was still fragile. She said she would wake fully by dawn as long as no one disturbed her. "Her spiritual tether is like glass right now," she'd said. . That had to count for something. She also said that pushing her awake too soon could unravel her from her body again. She was fragile... easy to fracture.I sat beside Naomi’s bed, elbows resting on my knees, watching th

POV: NaomiThe name stayed there, fogged into the mirror like breath on a frozen window.Elenor. It didn’t make any fucking sense. It didn’t belong. It didn’t click. But my reflection, not me, not quite, was still staring back, lips moving in sync with mine even though I hadn’t spoken. Who the hell was she? Because she sure as hell wasn't me! And in the moment that followed, the room seemed to contract. I swallowed, looking around. It felt like walls were beginning to close in on me. The air thickened like I’d just stepped into the eye of a storm that hadn’t yet begun.“No,” I muttered, stepping backward, shaking my head vehemently.My heart was pounding now, a frantic drum against my ribs. I could not breathe. Not at all. I wrapped my arms around my throat, gasping for air through my nose."You will," the echo repeated in my head. "You will become her!" The voice laughed, and the laugh echoed repeatedly in my head.“Shut up.” I backed away, gasping, looking around. “Shut up, shut u

Naomi’s POVThe wind was cold when it touched my skin, and I shivered as I stepped outside, leaning heavily on Marcus. I felt so weak and tired. My legs felt like rubber, my bones felt like they weren't there. The sunlight didn’t warm me. It didn’t even feel like there was sun. Everything just felt pale and distant, like I wasn’t really here. Like I was watching this all happen to someone else. God. What had happened to me? Why didn’t I feel like myself?I felt horrible. I didn’t like it. I wanted to leave. Maybe,if I'd leave this place, I will surely find myself, right? I'll get to meet my best friend, my brother, my mom and dad... I sighed. It really did feel terrible. “Careful,” Marcus said, as he tightened his arm around me as I missed that step. I felt my heart thumped at his touch. We had never had such close physical contact in like... a very long time. My vision was doubling. I couldn't see much and I hated it.Logan was ahead, barking orders at the guards, making sure the b

Naomi’s POVThe room smelled like antiseptic and flowers. My body still felt like it had been dragged through a blender, but the pain was dulled now—like everything was quieter, slower, easier to manage.Layla had kicked off her heels and was now sitting cross-legged on the bed beside me like it was a damn sleepover and not a hospital recovery room. My mom sat in the chair on the other side, humming softly as she knit what looked like a terrible version of a scarf, though I didn’t have the heart to tell her that. It was hideous. But in that warm, mom way.“I’m serious,” Layla was saying, waving her hands with dramatic flair. “If Elias Hunt says one more vaguely polite thing to me, I swear I will fall in love and name our future children after Greek gods.”I snorted. “You talked to him for five minutes, Layla.”“Exactly. And in those five minutes, he said, and I quote, ‘You look well today, Layla.’ With his deep-ass voice and shoulders that could carry the weight of my daddy issues. Wh

Naomi's POVThe sunlight had shifted to something softer, more golden. That hour where everything looks like it's been dusted in honey and nostalgia. Layla sat beside me in the garden, humming a lazy tune under her breath while she scrolled through her phone. I closed my eyes for a second, the scent of blooming lavender brushing against me like a lullaby.That peace? It felt rare. Like the kind of silence that wrapped you up instead of drowning you."Hey," I said softly."Hmm?"I tilted my head toward the path ahead, where a tall figure moved with quiet steps. Like he didn’t belong in sunlight but tolerated it just for now.Marcus.His hands were in his pockets, jaw set in its usual grim line, black shirt clinging to his frame like it was trying to keep his secrets in. I watched him for a second, then turned to Layla."Can you give us a minute?"Layla looked up, blinking as she followed my gaze. "Oh," she said, eyes flicking between us. "Of course. I’ll go flirt with the old security