Breathless The Book Novels & Stories

BOOK 3: Chapter 21: A Dangerous Addiction She returns back to her room with a guilt-ridden heart. Her steps are uneven, unsteady, her breath shallow and trembling. The door clicks shut behind her, and she leans her full weight against it, exhaling like she's just escaped something lethal. Her eyes drift closed. Inhale. Exhale. Again. Her chest rises and falls in uneven waves as she tries to cool the fire scorching through her veins.

My breathe hitches and I forget how to breathe. I can already see the headlines forming 'heiress dies a shocking death from forgetting to breathe in the presence of a hot heir'......... yeah, that doesn't sound so good. He reaches his hand forward and brings his fingers to the front of my neck to grasp the other end of the necklace. The trail of his finger on my skin sets my body on fire and my breathing starts to become erratic. I think I hear him do a deep intake of breath but that could just be my imagination. This is pure torture.

Eli’s POV The darkness was a physical thing, pressing against my chest as if a hand had slipped beneath my ribs and was squeezing. It smelled sweet and rotten, Every breath burned, each exhale felt like I was spitting out a piece of myself that hadn’t even formed yet. I forced a shallow breath, counting the seconds between inhales. Pain flared. I clenched my jaw. Don’t panic. Panic would make me breathe faster; breathing faster would kill me. I steadied the rhythm: inhale.... slow, measured. Exhale, steady. The air was thick, but at least it was air.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six **** At midnight, the atmosphere changed completely.It didn’t start with sound, it started with absence of breath. I woke up gasping for air, my lungs were burning as if I had been underwater for hours. My chest was heavy, but there was no air anywhere. Not because the room was stuffy,but because the air itself had been emptied of life. I stumbled to the window. The courtyard below was a graveyard of total stillness. Students collapsed on the stones, not dead,breathing, but shallowly, like their lungs had forgotten how to pull in the world. Their eyes were opened wide with fear,mouths moving with no sound, as if screaming into a void that swallowed every

Rena The scent of aged paper and leather bindings fills my lungs as I stand frozen in awe. My heart flutters against my ribs like a captive bird. I've been in dozens of libraries throughout my life—they've always been my sanctuary, my escape—but nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared me for this. "Breathe, Rena," Armani whispers, his breath warm against my ear. "You look like you might faint." I realize I've been holding my breath and let it out in a shaky exhale. "It's just... I never imagined..."

No one can. I am thrashing, fighting for my life, but nothing is working. Where is everyone? I'm dying and this is the end for me. Bubbles coming out of my mouth and I can't do anything to save myself. I'm losing oxygen. "Victoria!" I hear a light voice. My shoulders start shaking. "Victoria!" It's getting louder. "VICTORIA!" It's so loud. My eyes shoot open and let out a loud gasp, I want to sit up but something is holding me down.

Now she stood at the treeline, heart pounding, staring at the faint glow of torches from the great hall. And then she felt it. The pressure in her chest surged, sharp and unbearable, stealing the air from her lungs. Her knees buckled. One hand clawed at her breastbone, as though she could pry away the invisible grip crushing her. She gasped, trembling, her breath coming in shallow, frantic pulls. “Breathe,” she whispered to herself, though every attempt felt like drowning. And then, across the distance — she felt him. A pulse. A tether. Something slamming into her spirit with the force of a storm. The air rushed back into her lungs, cold and sweet, like she’d broken the surface of a deep, da

Liam, the defiant prince who never seemed to falter, was crying, his bravado stripped away. “It’s okay,” I said, the anger from before fading into a distant memory. “Just breathe with me, alright? Follow my voice.” He nodded shakily, but the panic hadn’t loosened its grip. I tightened my hold on his arm, moving my other hand to his shoulder. “Listen, I know it’s hard. I know it feels like the air’s gone, but it’s not. I’m here, and you’re not alone.” “I feel like I’m going to die,” he admitted, the words breaking on a sob. He squeezed his eyes shut, more tears escaping. His whole body trembled, his breaths still erratic and shallow. “I can’t breathe. Alex, I can’t.”

One by one. I opened my eyes, gripping the book tighter. For the first time, it didn’t feel like I was ent irely alone. Maybe I could learn to breathe again.

Tears blur my vision as I try to keep pressure on the wound, but I know it is not enough. “What- How . . . “ I trail off when I notice his eyes. So peaceful. “It’s okay,” he repeats. His hand finds mine, weak but steady. My eyes move heavily to his hand. His grip is weak. “I am okay.” I shake my head slightly, clutching his hand with my other hand. “Can the book help?” I ask, but I can barely hear my voice. The chaos is continuing, but I cannot hear anything. I just hear his gasps. Soft, but he is struggling to breathe in. Did it hit his lungs? His heart?