Chapter 30 The Shadows We Bury

• I sat there for what seemed like hours, my back against the cold, rough tree bark, my mind racing with Cyrus’s words. His voice lingered in my thoughts, filled with a certainty that suggested he knew something I didn’t. You can’t escape who you are. Those words repeated in my mind, eating away at me like a parasite feeding on my fears.
• What had I turned into? And even more troubling, what was I becoming?
• I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away, but the heaviness was overwhelming. My breath came in quick gasps as I fought to keep panic at bay. I needed to concentrate. I had to find Julian. But despite my desire to move, my legs felt heavy and unresponsive. Fatigue weighed me down, and a sharp pain throbbed at the back of my head.