BOUND BY SHADOWS

Cassian’s breath was a ghost against my skin, his forehead pressed to mine, his grip ironclad as if he feared letting go would shatter us both.

The bond between us hummed, a steady pulse of energy thrumming beneath my skin, a silent reminder that whatever we were—whatever we had become—couldn’t be undone.

But he was still fighting it.

Still resisting.

I lifted my chin, forcing him to meet my gaze.

“You’re holding back,” I said, my voice quiet but sure.

His jaw tightened, red eyes flickering with something unspoken.

I slid my hands up his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my fingertips. “Why?”

Cassian exhaled slowly, tension rolling off him in waves.

“I don’t trust myself,” he admitted.

My brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

He stepped back, putting distance between us, but his hands clenched at his sides, like he was resisting the urge to reach for me again.

“When I fought them tonight…” He hesitated, his expression dark. “I lost control.”

I held my breath.

Cassian’s red eyes flickered with something raw, something haunted.

“I wasn’t just fighting to protect you. I was fighting because I wanted to destroy them.”

His fingers flexed, shoulders rigid as he forced the words out.

“And the worst part?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“I liked it.”

A shiver coursed through me—not from fear, but from understanding.

Cassian wasn’t afraid of his power.

He was afraid of what it was turning him into.

I stepped forward, closing the space he had created, ignoring how his body went rigid at my approach.

“You think that makes you a monster?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

I reached up, brushing my fingers along his jaw, the tension in his clenched muscles betraying how hard he was fighting himself.

“You’re not.”

His breath hitched.

I pressed my palm flat against his chest, over the rapid pound of his heartbeat.

“You didn’t lose yourself. You came back.”

Cassian let out a sharp exhale, his lips twisting in a bitter smile.

“You don’t understand,” he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair, frustration bleeding through the bond.

“Then make me understand,” I challenged.

His red eyes locked onto mine, unreadable.

For a moment, I thought he might let me in.

That he might finally tell me everything.

But before he could speak, a sharp pain lanced through my chest, so sudden and overwhelming that my knees buckled.

Cassian caught me instantly, his arms anchoring me before I hit the ground.

“Sienna?”

I gasped, clutching my ribs, my vision swimming as an unnatural coldness crawled through my veins.

Cassian’s grip tightened, his panic rippling through the bond.

The world fractured.

I wasn’t in the forest anymore.

I was somewhere else, somewhere wrong.

Darkness coiled around me, thick and suffocating, whispering in a language I couldn’t understand.

And standing at the center of it all was a man in white robes, his face obscured, his presence unnatural.

He turned to me, his gaze sharp, dissecting.

A slow, eerie smile spread across his face.

“Ah… there you are.”

A sharp pressure crushed my skull, and I screamed, clutching my head.

The world snapped back into place, and suddenly I was on my knees, gasping for air.

Cassian crouched before me, his hands gripping my arms, his red eyes burning with panic and fury.

“What the hell just happened?” he demanded.

I swallowed hard, my entire body trembling.

“I—” My voice broke, the man’s whisper still coiling in my head like a parasite.

Cassian’s grip tightened. “Tell me.”

I forced myself to breathe, to push through the lingering chill in my bones.

“I think…” My fingers dug into his arms, desperation twisting in my gut.

“I think the Council is inside my head.”

Cassian went deadly still.

His breath came slowly, controlled—but I could feel his fury through the bond.

He reached up, cupping my face, his fingers trembling against my skin.

“They’re tracking you,” he said, voice razor-sharp.

I nodded, my body still wracked with shivers.

Cassian’s fingers brushed my temple, his touch gentle, grounding.

“Can you still hear them?”

I hesitated, closing my eyes, searching for the presence that had invaded my mind.

But it was gone.

The connection had vanished, leaving behind a lingering sense of dread.

“No,” I whispered.

Cassian exhaled harshly, his grip still firm on me, as if letting go would somehow pull me back into that darkness.

But his rage was still there, simmering beneath the surface.

“They’re getting stronger,” he muttered.

I swallowed. “So am I.”

Cassian’s gaze flickered to mine, something dark and unreadable passing through his expression.

Then, without warning, he pulled me against his chest, arms wrapped tightly around me.

For a moment, I froze.

Not because I didn’t want this.

But because Cassian didn’t give in easily.

And right now, he was clinging to me like I was the only thing tethering him to this world.

Slowly, I lifted my arms, wrapping them around his waist, pressing my cheek against the solid warmth of his chest.

His heartbeat was erratic, his breathing uneven, his entire body coiled with tension.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

For the first time since this all began.

Cassian wasn’t just protecting me.

He was letting me protect him too.

I pressed my lips against his shoulder, a whisper of reassurance.

“We’ll figure this out.”

Cassian’s fingers tangled in my hair, his grip unrelenting.

His breath shuddered against my temple.

“Yeah,” he murmured.