Page 127 of Bound By Darkness

Long enough to know I won’t be leaving this place.

Not alive.

The air presses against me, thick and wet, clinging to my skin like a second, rotting flesh.

The walls breathe.

I swear to God, they breathe.

In and out, slow and patient, like they're waiting for me to give up.

Maybe this is how it ends.

Not with a gunshot.

Not with the clean mercy of a blade.

But with slow, creeping madness—the pit itself swallowing me whole.

And the worst part?

It'sher.Aoife.

The sister I once swore to protect.The girl who used to wrap her arms around my neck and laugh into my chest.She was never supposed to see this life, let alone become a weapon sharpened by it.

But she put me here.

She watches from above, silent and cold.

She made the pit my grave before the dirt even touched me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t stop the hallucinations.

Doesn’t stop the voices.

Bridget’s voice—“Come home, Ri.”

Saoirse’s laughter—“Daddy?”

I reach for them, clawing blind at the walls.

At first, I knew they weren’t real.

I told myself it was a memory.

Madness.

The dark playing tricks.

But now?Now I’m not so sure.

I speak to them.

I beg.

I promise.

I lie.

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