Page 236 of Bound By Crimson
He barely knew her.
He’d only ever heard her voice.
He didn’t know the weight she carried.
He didn’t know she’d been branded by blood.
He didn’t know that the walls she spoke through were the same ones trying to bury her alive.
She stood up. Sat down again.
Wrapped her robe tighter.
Her heart had been pounding since sunset.
You have to do this.
For Noah.
For herself.
For every version of her that had been too afraid, too broken, too polite to ask for anything.
She needed to be brave now.
What if he’s not there?
What if you’re already too late?
That one stopped her cold.
He said he’d only be in town for a month.
It was almost over.
She closed her eyes and drew in a breath so deep it felt like it might shatter her ribs.
Then she left.
Quietly.
Down the hall.
Out the garden door.
Barefoot on the stone path.
The stones felt colder than usual tonight.
Sharper. Like they’d grown edges in the dark.
She walked slower than she meant to.
The distance to the wall felt longer—like it was pulling away with every step she took.
Her breath fogged the air in front of her.
When she finally reached the wall, she pressed her palm to the ivy-covered stone.
