Chapter 6 – A Shadow Touches Her
583 Words
Lina landed on her knees before she even realized they had crossed again. The ground beneath her felt different this time—solid stone, cold enough that it burned through the fabric of her jeans. The air smelled like rain and metal, as if a storm had passed minutes ago but hadn’t bothered to leave.
She coughed, forcing breath back into her lungs.
“Please—just one world that isn’t trying to kill me.”
He stepped beside her, as silent and unshaken as ever. No dust on him. No ragged breath. Not even a crease in his clothes.
It was infuriating.
“What realm is this?” she asked, pushing herself upright.
“It isn’t a realm,” he said. “It’s between them.”
Her head snapped up. “Another seam?”
“No. Something older. Something… quieter.” His voice softened, which somehow made it worse. “You’ll be safe here. For a moment.”
A moment.
She was starting to hate that word.
The space around them was dim, lit by faint streaks of silver mist drifting upward like reversed snowfall. Walls of ancient stone arched overhead, curving into darkness. It felt like a forgotten cathedral carved into the bones of the earth.
Lina hugged her arms around herself. “Why does everywhere we go look like the inside of a nightmare?”
“Because you still see with mortal eyes.”
“And you don’t?”
His gaze slid to her—not cold, but something deeper, unreadable. “I lost that luxury a long time ago.”
Before she could ask what that meant, a tremor ran through her chest. The sigil blazed suddenly, without warning, heat threading across her ribs like molten wire.
She gasped. “It’s burning.”
He moved toward her instantly. “Lina. Look at me.”
She shook her head, pain spiking. “Something’s wrong—”
“No,” he said, steady, grounding. “It’s because we’re closer to the source.”
“The source of what?”
His hand hovered near her cheek but didn’t touch. His restraint was sharper than any shadow she’d seen.
“Your origin.”
Her heart stumbled.
Before she could speak, a wisp of darkness peeled itself from the far corner—thin as smoke, almost invisible. It slithered across the ground, drawn to the pulse of her mark.
She froze.
Another tendril followed. Then another.
“They shouldn’t be able to reach this place,” he muttered, stepping in front of her.
“Then why are they here?”
“Because you called them.”
“I didn’t call anything!”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
The sigil flared brighter.
The shadows pulsed, responding like wolves scenting blood.
Lina’s breath trembled. “Make them stop.”
“I’m trying,” he said, voice low, sharp. “But the bond is reacting faster than I anticipated.”
“The bond?” she echoed. “You keep saying that—what bond?”
His jaw tightened. “The one that wakes when you’re near me.”
Her skin prickled.
Before she could process the meaning, one shadow broke from the others—faster, eager. It shot across the stone floor and brushed against her ankle.
Lina screamed.
He caught her before she fell, arms locking around her waist as the world tilted sideways.
The shadows recoiled as if shocked—but the touch had already happened.
And Lina felt something inside her… shift.
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