Chapter 161 Chapter 161

Chapter 161 Chapter 161
The air in my lungs felt thin, like every breath was being pulled straight from my chest, and my body burned hot. That sharp, dragging graze against my neck sent a jolt through me—half fear, half longing as something thrummed deep in my bones.

My own teeth ached when I saw how his pulse vibrated underneath his skin, and for a split second I forgot how to speak, how to move, how to do anything but lean into the heat of him.

But then I felt it—the tremor running through every muscle in his body, like he was holding back a landslide with nothing but his own sheer will.

“No…” The word tore out of him, ragged and raw. “No, I can't do this.”

He fought against something on the surface, but I could still see it in the way his jaw locked, the way his hands shook where they held my wrist, the way his eyes flickered—one moment golden and slitted, the next warm amber and human, warring for control like an electric circuit fluctuating between currents.

"Asher? W-what's wrong with you? Withwith
"You, Crystal." He huffed out, almost desperate,e and I froze. Starting at him wide-eyed. "You're what's wrong with me."

I gasped, and with a sudden, violent effort Asher wrenched himself back.
He rolled off me so fast the mattress bounced, stumbled to his feet, and stood there swaying, chest heaving, sweat glistening down his bare skin. He looked at me—wide-eyed, terrified, and burning—and then he looked away, like the sight of me was the only thing keeping him from losing the last shred of himself.

“I...I can't,” he said again, quieter this time, more to himself than to me. “I just can't.”
Before I could even push myself up, before I could call his name or reach for him, he turned. He wrenched the door open so hard the hinges groaned, and he was gone.

“Asher!”

I scrambled off the bed, bare feet hitting the cold stone floor, and chased after him barefoot. The corridor was dark and twisting, and ahead of me I heard the heavy thud of his own bare feet, running fast and hard, like he was fleeing from himself. I burst out the front doors just in time to see him vanish into the tree line, swallowed instantly by the shadows.

I skid to a grinding halt at the threshold of the main door, and the night air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it.

I was torn between chasing after him and going back in to get the others, but...

"Shit!" I cursed, sprinting down the worn stone steps and towards the tree lines Asher had disappeared through.

Branches whipped against my arms as I disappeared beneath the canopy, chasing the only sound left of him.

"Asher!"

\---
Down the hall, in the quiet of their own company, the sound of the heavy oak door slamming open cut through the dark like a blade, and Aquila sat up urgently. Nayara stirred tiredly beside him, her arms still wrapped around his waist.
"Did you hear something, Nayara?"

“Mm, probably just dogs hunting,” she murmured, half to herself, half to him. “Stop moving around so much,” she complained.
"No, I don't think those were---

Crystal’s voice, sharp and terrified, cutting through the night:

“Asher!”
Nayara's own eyes snapped open, and before Aquila could get out of bed, she was already out. She crossed to the window in three long strides as she peered out into the silver dark and caught the small silhouette of the girl in the pale dress running straight for the tree lines.
“Oh no, no, no.” Her voice was sharp and full of panic. “Aquila! Get her back here. Now.”
"On it." Aquila reacted immediately as he moved towards the door, snapping his fingers to slip into more appropriate clothes and shoes as he bolted for the stairs. He took them three at a time, heart hammering in his chest, and Nayara was right on his heels, slipping into her silk robe.
But by the time they burst through the front doors, Crystal was already gone.

"Shit! " He cursed out loud, chest heaving as he stared into the dark. When he turned back, he saw the faint glow of a lamp in the main library doorway, and Seth buried underneath a pile of books. Anger flashed red and hot in Aquila's eyes because he'd been there and didn't even try to stop Asher or Crystal from going out there in the dead of night.

He was scared that the corruption had acted up again, and even more worried for Crystal's life, because if that was the case, he had to find them fast.

“Damn it!” Aquila slammed a fist against the doorframe, wood splintering under his knuckles as he stared back at Seth. “I should have seen this coming.”

Nayara appeared at his elbow, already wrapped in a dark cloak, her expression grim but steady. She rested a hand on Aquila's arm, stopping him from lashing out at the sleeping Seth.

“It is not his fault,” she said firmly. “ His body is undergoing the final shift; he's going to be out for a while." She said gravelly as she tore her gaze away from his sleeping form.
“Then I am going after them.” Aquila’s jaw set hard.

He took a step forward, but her grip tightened, unyielding.
“Aquila—stop.” Her voice dropped low, sharp with warning. “Before you rush into the dark blind—there has been talk of hunters in the woods. Be careful out there.”