Round 371

The book's presence changed everything—again. The walls' breathing stopped entirely when Abby touched them, the sudden silence more unsettling than the rhythm had been. The fluid coating the stone pulsed with an eager beat that matched Silra's quickening breaths—her fear feeding it somehow. The creature behind her shifted its grip, fingers digging into her hips possessively as it watched the walls react. "Stop," Abby hissed, trying to pull away but the entity held firm. "We don't know what touching it will do." "You misunderstand," the thing growled against Silra's ear, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through her bones. "What's done is already done. The walls tasted you—they're not letting go now."