Chapter 19

Daphne

For the first time in like forever, I stared at Zachary without hatred or disgust coursing through me.

Instead, a strange calm settled over me—one that felt wrong precisely because it wasn’t hatred. I tried to break our gaze, but something in my mind compelled me, and no matter how hard I tried, my eyes refused to look away, as though the bond itself had taken control.

And the bond… It felt calm. Way too calm for something that was unsettled before I went blank earlier.

“What did you do to me?” I asked him again as he hadn’t answered the last question.

In my head, it felt like he was the one holding my head together, and I couldn’t just do without him. It felt like my end of the bond had gone quiet—muted—while he wrapped around mine, steady and strong.

“I accepted the bond from my end.” He answered simply.

My eyes widened by a fraction, “You did what?!”

“I had to do it for your sake. You just passed out, we don’t even kno