Semua Bab Bound by Crystals and Shadows: Bab 11 - Bab 20

The first light of dawn crept across the camp, brushing over the torn tents and the wounded lying in quiet rows. Smoke still lingered in the air, faint but bitter, like the taste of something burned beyond repair. I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders as I stepped out of the healer’s tent, the cold morning air biting against my skin. Everywhere I looked, people were moving slowly — exhausted, broken, but alive. Some sat in silence, staring at nothing. Others tended to the wounded who had made it through the night. The faint hum of the crystals that protected the camp had weakened into something so soft I could barely feel it anymore. At the center of it all stood Corin. The warriors had gathered around him, their voices raised in weary frustration. He stood tall, his sword strapped to his back, his sand-blond hair ruffled by the cold breeze. Even without saying a word, everyone looked to him — as if he were their anchor, their unspoken leader. We can’t

I turned to Elara. “ Thank you… for everything.” Elara smiled faintly this time, though her eyes were still clouded with worry. “ Just promise me one thing, Liora. Don’t lose that light inside you, no matter what you find out there.” I nodded slowly. “ I promise.” I found a thin strip of leather lying on Elara’s table — worn, soft, and almost forgotten among the rest of her things. My fingers traced along it absently as I caught my reflection in the mirror again. It still felt strange, staring at myself. The woman in the glass looked like me, but also like someone I didn’t know. I sighed and reached up to touch my hair. It was long and thick, falling in loose waves past my hips. It felt untamed — wild — just like everything inside me since I woke in this strange place. Maybe if I fixed it, I’d feel a little less lost. I split my hair into two halves and began twisting each side backward, my fingers moving on their own, as if they remembered something my mind di

The forest changed with nightfall. Colors that had been soft and glowing under the afternoon light deepened into shades of violet, teal, and silver. Crystals hidden among the roots began to shimmer faintly, casting a soft glow that seemed to drift with the breeze. The air smelled of moss and something florally, almost like some kind of flower and rain mixed together. It was beautiful—but strange. The kind of beauty that made your heart beat faster because it felt alive. Corin walked ahead of me, quiet as always, his boots barely making a sound on the moss-covered ground. Every now and then, he would glance over his shoulder, making sure I was still close. I didn’t say much. I couldn’t. The forest had stolen my words. When we finally stopped, the sun had long disappeared. A large tree stood nearby, its trunk wide enough that three men could’ve stood side by side and still not reached around it. That was where Corin chose to make camp. “ Here,” he said, dropping his pack on

I blinked at her, my mind trying to catch up. “ And how old are you?” “ One hundred and thirty-two summers,” she said proudly, as if it was nothing at all. My mouth fell open. “ One hundred and—” I stopped, shaking my head. “ That’s impossible.” Katana threw her head back and laughed, the sound deep and musical. “ She thinks you’re a baby still,” she teased Corin. Corin groaned softly and rubbed the back of his neck.“ You never change, Katana.” “ I’d hope not,” she said with a grin, then turned her gaze back to me. The humor faded from her expression. Her eyes glowed faintly again, that same soft green mixed with gold. She studied me for a long moment—too long. It made me shift uncomfortably. Corin stepped closer, his hand brushing mine again, almost protectively. “ Katana,” he said softly, his voice carrying a warning. She raised her hands in surrender, smiling. “ Alright, alright. I won’t scare her. But you can’t deny it, Corin—you feel it too.”

The morning air was thick with mist and silence.Birdsongs tried to pierce through it, but even that seemed unsure of itself. The fire from last night had died down to pale ash, and the scent of smoke clung faintly to my hair as I adjust the strap of my satchel. Corin hadn’t said a word since dawn. Fine. Neither had I. We walked side by side through the magical woods, boots crunching over damp moss and fallen leaves that shimmered faintly under the light. The forest pulsed softly with life—blue ferns curling open, silver pollen drifting through the air like tiny stars—but none of it felt peaceful. Not with the tension sitting heavy between us. I could still hear Katana’s words from last night echoing in my mind. Don’t get separated from him. The danger to the Heart Crystal is yet to come. And that damned look she gave me when she said there was something in my aura. I didn’t even know what that meant, and Corin—he’d said nothing. Pretended it didn’t matter.