Chapter 126: What Bound Us

Caitlin stepped back from the bed, feeling the tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She was caught between the urge to comfort Zendedari and the suffocating weight of knowing that he teetered on the edge of something she couldn’t begin to understand. The line he walked between sanity and madness was thin, treacherous, and terrifying. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she made a promise she wasn’t sure she had the strength to keep. “I will protect you, Zen. You have my solemn word. I won’t let you down. I’ll see you through this, no matter what.” There was silence for a long moment, Zendedari’s dark, penetrating gaze locking with hers. His voice, when it came, was laced with a quiet intensity that sent a chill creeping down her spine. *And then?* The question hung in the air, like a shadow she couldn’t shake. He watched her with a lazy, almost predatory look, his black eyes gleaming in the dim light. *Do you intend to leave me, Caitlin? You save me, and then you think t