Marrying a Warhound (Cassian) novel Chapter 187

**TITLE: Brute 187**
**Chapter 187**

**ATASHA’S POV**

“No,” I breathed, my voice barely a whisper, yet it felt like a scream trapped within the confines of my chest. “How could he be corrupted? How?” The question spiraled in my mind, gnawing at the edges of my sanity.

I didn’t wait for Kaelith to offer an explanation; I was too consumed by the urgency of the moment. I pressed my palms firmly against Cassian’s chest, pouring every ounce of warmth and healing energy I possessed into him. It felt like a desperate act, a last-ditch effort to save him from the darkness that threatened to engulf him.

As I focused, my vision began to blur, the edges of the courtyard warping and tilting like a painting smeared by rain. My head felt unnaturally light, as if something vital had been scooped out and discarded into the cold, unforgiving snow. My fingers shook uncontrollably, making it nearly impossible to maintain contact with his skin.

“Stay with me,” I murmured, my voice a fragile thread in the chaos. “Cassian, please. Just stay.” Each word felt like a prayer, a desperate plea to the universe to keep him tethered to this world.

The dizziness intensified, a vicious grip tightening around my throat. My sight dimmed further, and my knees buckled beneath me, the cold weight of despair creeping up my arms. It was a heavy sensation, slow at first, but then it surged, twisting my stomach into knots.

I was on the brink of losing consciousness.

I could feel it, the encroaching darkness at the periphery of my vision, inching closer with every heartbeat Cassian lost.

Then, in an instant, everything shifted.

My ability surged deeper into him, a sudden rush that caught me off guard. I gasped, feeling as if I had plummeted through an unseen chasm. This time, it didn’t merely skim the surface of the corruption; it sliced through it, penetrating to a place within him that had eluded me before.

My body reacted on instinct, a primal urge to withdraw, but I found myself trapped. Something within him latched onto me—not physically, but through that delicate thread of healing I had woven into his very being.

Kaelith moved forward sharply, his expression morphing into one of shock, as if he had just been slapped.

“Impossible!” he exclaimed, his voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. “How is this even possible?”

I wanted to ask what he meant, but the darkness surged faster, pulling me into its depths.

My muscles betrayed me, giving way before I could resist. The last sensation I registered was my hand slipping from Cassian’s chest as the ground rushed up to meet me.

But there was no impact. No cold snow to cushion my fall, no distant sounds of chaos or the biting chill of the air against my skin.

Everything I had clung to—Cassian’s voice, the courtyard, the blood staining the snow—vanished in an instant. I was falling, and it felt like an endless descent, as if gravity had forgotten to release its hold on me.

My vision dimmed, even in the darkness, the edges of my perception blurring until I could no longer discern where my body ended and the suffocating cold began. Another drop echoed above me, sharp and hollow, taunting me with the last remnants of air I could not reach.

I tried to scream Cassian’s name, to call out for help, but no sound emerged. My body crumpled under the pressure, my chest and skull buzzing with static. The darkness tightened around me, smothering every last sense I had left.

Then, something shifted.

A rush of air slammed back into me with such force that my entire chest convulsed. My throat tore open as a gasp erupted from within, and the stinging cold air hit my face like a slap. My eyes shot open before I could think, and instead of the murky depths of water, I found myself staring up at a ceiling.

I gasped for breath as if I had just broken through the surface of a frozen lake. The air was sharp and invigorating. My hands trembled against the surface beneath me, and the darkness that had enveloped me was gone, replaced by a harsh, blinding light that made my eyes water.

I was no longer underwater.

And as the room gradually came into focus around me, one chilling truth struck me harder than the rush of air in my lungs.

I had no idea where Cassian was, or if he was even still alive.

“I’m glad that you are finally back,” a familiar voice echoed in my ears, grounding me in the reality I had returned to.