Romans & histoires Every Breath Novel

Instead, flames lick at the ceiling, black smoke roiling over them, coming ever closer. I can’t seem to catch my breath – panic is in me, and the heat – I cough, putting my face down against my arm, trying to breathe through the fabric of my pajama sleeve, trying to get a fresh breath of air – just one – I glance behind me, but the door just looks so far – Then down at Bridgette, who looks perversely peaceful on the floor, her breath coming shallowly, a light sweat building on her brow –

Every breath cuts. Every blink shows me something new—a sky that isn’t sky, a horizon that folds in on itself like a knife through canvas. The Shatterpoint isn’t a place. It’s a wound that breathes , pulsing with the ragged rhythm of a dying thing that refuses to die. The Child grips my wrist—the good one, the one that hasn’t gone black and numb yet—but their fingers feel insubstantial, flickering in and out of phase with reality. Their mouth moves, but the words come seconds late, stretched thin by the temporal eddies whipping around us.

It was haunting her. She felt light through the curtains of her eyelids. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked down. Light. There was light and just like that she was able to breathe again as Catherine took in a shaky breath. It was forced and small but the burning of her lungs eased a little. "Just like that. Breath in and out." The person who was holding her was guiding her to breath and she followed him. It was working, she could finally breathe again. "You're doing good." That deep voice was familiar. Where she had heard it, her eyes widened slightly when she recalled who the person was.

One more— Breath.

MAYA'S POV The first true breath I took in days was in the back of the Uber, leaning against the cool window as the first grey light of dawn smudged the edges of the city skyline. It wasn't a sigh of relief. Relief was too soft, too gentle a thing for the jagged, hollowed-out feeling inside me. It was more like the gasp of someone who has been held underwater and finally, violently, breaks the surface. The air burned.

someone breathes. But they were wrong. Far beyond the forest’s edge, where the river bends towards the mountains, a pulse of light flickers in the mist. It hums with heat, with power, with rebirth. I gasp — first breath of a new life. My skin glows faintly beneath the soot. The air is cool, clean, alive with energy. My hair, once tangled and dull, flows like black silk streaked with ember. My tears dry instantly. The whisper returns — softer now.

The man was so damn tall and hefty, he easily threw her away, causing Danika to let go of Elena in the process. The air rushed into Elena’s lungs, her chest expanding as she took the first breath. Then the second one. It felt as though someone had just thrown water in her face, and she could finally breathe. She breathed, coughing and hacking up the last bits of oxygen from her lungs. She rubbed her sore neck as the tears ran down her face and her whole body trembled, unable to hold onto whatever was left inside of her.

About the choice to keep breathing even when the heart wants to stop. About the house that stays open. About the tide that comes in. Goes out. Comes in again. Always. She wrote until dawn. Then she closed the notebook. Set it on the table beside the cold coffee mug. Walked to the bedroom. Climbed into the bed that still smelled faintly of him. Closed her eyes. Breathed once. Twice. Smiled. And let the next wave come.

“It’s so hot, and this is an outdoor party. She’s suffering from heatstroke, yet she lies on the ground and continues to pretend. A cold drink will fix her right up!” Suddenly, I felt like I was about to die. My heart pounded violently, and my shoulders started shaking. I gasped for air, but nothing reached my lungs. My throat let out harsh, ragged breaths. The guests saw that something was wrong with me and stepped back in fear. “She… she’s not actually dying, is she?” Ethan’s eyes widened. His whole body trembled as he froze in place.

I barely feel out of breath, while the boys around me begin to lag behind, struggling for air with every breath. I am the first to finish the run around the castle. My body is flushed a deep red, with sweat droplets rolling down my skin splashing onto the ground. I hunch over, my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath, as the rest of the knights also begin to come to a stop. I stand, my head beginning to throb, with a pain so intense that it feels like someone has taken a knife to my skull. Sighing I pinch my temples squinting in pain. Without saying anything I head back to my chambers, to clean myself up.