All Chapters of BOUND BY ECHOES : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Lena didn’t sleep.Not really.Every time her eyes closed, the forest came rushing back.The hunters stepping out of the trees.The look on Vance’s face when he saw them.Hunters.Not rogues.Not random predators.They had come for her.The realization sat heavy in her chest.Gray light slowly crept through the trees as dawn began to break. The cold morning air bit at her skin, but it helped keep her awake.Across the small clearing, Vance was already up.Of course he was.He stood a few steps away, rolling his shoulders like someone loosening stiff muscles. The sword from last night rested in his hand, the blade catching the pale morning light.Lena watched him quietly for a moment.“You don’t sleep much, do you?”Vance didn’t look at her.“Sleep when it’s safe.”“And this isn’t safe?”“No.”Straight answer.Typical.Lena pushed herself up from the tree she’d been leaning against. Her ribs protested immediately.“Fantastic,” she muttered.Vance glanced at her.“You’re still alive.”“

For a long moment after Vance spoke, no one moved.The clearing felt too small for all the tension packed inside it.Kai’s eyes stayed on Lena.Sharp. Searching.Like he was trying to figure out something he didn’t like.“You should come with me,” he said finally.The words were calm, but there was steel underneath them.Vance laughed once.Short.Cold.“That’s not happening.”Kai didn’t look at him.“Lena.”Her name was quieter this time.More serious.“You know what’s hunting you.”Lena hesitated.She did.Hunters.Council orders.A death sentence she still didn’t fully understand.Kai took a slow step closer.“I can get you somewhere safe.”Vance’s voice cut in immediately.“She’s already safe.”Kai’s head turned slowly toward him.“With you?”The doubt in his voice was obvious.Vance’s expression didn’t change.“You saw the hunters.”Kai held his gaze.“I saw them.”“Then you know what they’re capable of.”Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly.“And you think you can stop them alone?”“I a

The forest stayed silent.Lena’s eyes were still locked on the darkness between the trees.Whatever was out there…it was still pulling at her.Hard.Sharp.Like an invisible thread tied somewhere deep inside her chest.She took one step forward without thinking.“Stop.”Vance’s voice cut through the clearing.Lena froze.He moved in front of her again, blocking her path.His gaze swept across the trees, alert and calculating.“Nothing’s there,” he said.“It is.”Her voice came out quieter than she meant.Vance studied her.“You can see something?”“No.”“Smell something?”“No.”“Then what exactly are you reacting to?”Lena hesitated.“I don’t know.”That was the problem.The pull didn’t feel like sight.Or sound.Or scent.It felt deeper than that.Like something inside her was responding to something outside.And she hated it.Vance watched her for another second.Then he said flatly, “We’re leaving.”“What?”“This place isn’t safe anymore.”“You say that about every place.”“Becaus

Morning came cold.Lena woke to the faint crackle of the fire, and the stiff ache in every muscle. For a second she didn’t move. The nightmare still clung to her like a bad taste, fingers around her heart, that voice inside her bones.Mine.She shoved the memory away.When she sat up, Vance was already awake.Of course he was.He stood a few feet away in the small clearing, tightening the strap on his pack. The early light cut through the trees behind him, turning the edges of his dark jacket silver.He glanced at her once.“You’re slow.”Lena frowned. “Good morning to you too.”“We’re moving.”She pushed herself to her feet, brushing dirt off her jeans. Her body protested immediately.“Fantastic,” she muttered. “Love hiking on zero sleep.”Vance didn’t answer. He just started walking.Lena hurried after him.They moved through the forest for another hour before Vance finally stopped in a wider clearing. Sunlight filtered through the branches here, thin and pale.Lena dropped her pack

Lena’s fingers tightened around the knife.The forest had gone quiet.Too quiet.“Vance…” she whispered.He didn’t look at her.But he stopped walking.“What.”“I think someone’s coming.”For a moment he said nothing.Then his head tilted slightly, listening.The shift in him was instant.Every relaxed line vanished.Predator.“Hide,” he said.“What?”“Now.”“But…”“Lena.”Her name came out sharp.Not loud.But final.She didn’t argue again.Lena slipped into the brush at the edge of the clearing, crouching behind a thick fallen log. Branches scratched her arms as she pushed deeper into the shadows.From there, she could still see him.Vance stood in the center of the clearing.Waiting.Seconds passed.Then footsteps approached through the trees.Not careless ones.Measured.Disciplined.Council hunters.Four figures stepped into the clearing.Their cloaks were dark. Weapons ready. Eyes sweeping every inch of the ground.One crouched beside the cold firepit.“Tracks,” he muttered.Ano