Death Bound (The Soulsworn Chronicles #1)

Epilogue

Rhydian

I woke with a start, my cheek pressed against the cold stone floor outside Elara’s door. The ache in my back and shoulders was nothing new—I’d spent more nights like this than I could count, lying there like a damned dog, guarding her from the shadows. The discomfort wasn’t what woke me. I was used to it by now.

It was something else—the silence.

A wrongness settled deep in my gut, twisting like a blade. The kind of wrong that set every instinct I had screaming.

I pushed myself up, groaning as I rolled my stiff shoulders. My muscles protested the sudden movement, but I ignored the pain. I’d slept in worse places, dealt with worse injuries. A night on the cold floor didn’t mean a damned thing. What mattered was her. Always her.

This wasn’t the first time I’d slept outside her door, keeping watch, making sure no one came for her in the dead of night. Elara didn’t know—she never did. She had no idea how many nights I’d spent right there, waiting, listening. It wasn’t about orders or duty. Hell, it wasn’t even about loyalty anymore. It was about her.

Her safety. Her presence.

I was so damned attuned to her by now I could track her anywhere in this cursed castle. The way she moved, the way she breathed—it was all burned into me. I knew the sound of her footsteps, the light rhythm of her breathing in the middle of the night. I knew how her heart quickened in the dark, like she was always running from some unseen nightmare. I knew her better than I knew my own heartbeat. I could find her in the thickest of crowds or the darkest of corners.

She was like a steady pulse beneath all the noise of the castle, always there, grounding me in a way I didn’t even realize until now. Until she wasn’t.

But now? Now, I couldn’t feel her. And that was wrong. Very wrong.

Panic surged through me, hot and fast. My gut twisted, my chest tightening as the silence settled heavier around me. Where the hell was she? I scrambled to my feet, my heart already pounding in my chest as I threw open her door, the sound echoing down the empty hallway. The heavy wood slammed against the wall, but I didn’t care. I was already inside, scanning the room like a madman, hoping—praying—to see her curled up in bed, still asleep, safe.

Her room was empty. Completely and utterly empty.

“Elara?!”

Her name left my lips like a command. I didn’t even realize I was shouting until the echo bounced back at me, mocking the silence that surrounded me. My pulse quickened, my breath coming faster now, panic clawing at my throat as I searched the room, turning over every corner, every shadow. But there was nothing. Not a damn thing.

I stood there, frozen for a second, the cold dread settling into my bones. I couldn’t hear her. I couldn’t feel her. I knew her every sound, every rhythm, but right now? There was nothing.

No trace of her.

I cursed under my breath, my voice rough with the fear clawing its way up from my gut. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t her. She should be here. I knew her schedule, knew when she slept, when she woke, when her breathing changed just before dawn.

But now? Now it was like she’d vanished.

I swallowed hard and reached for the only thing I could rely on—my power. I called on the sound waves around me, pulling them in, bending them to my will. It was second nature by now, a part of me. I twisted the vibrations in the air, sending out a pulse, like casting a net across the entire castle.

I reached for her. For the rhythm of her heartbeat, the steady cadence of her breath. Anything.

But there was nothing.

The silence pressed down on me, heavier than I’d ever felt it before. I strained harder, pushing my power further, letting the sound waves stretch, searching the corridors, the hallways, listening for her. Waiting for the familiar sound of her, that steady beat that always told me where she was.

But there was still nothing.

I couldn’t hear her.

Damn it.

Panic surged through me, and I didn’t even realize my hands were trembling until I looked down, fists clenched so hard my knuckles were white. This wasn’t just about duty anymore. This wasn’t just about protecting her because it was my job.

It was about her. Elara.

Somewhere along the way, she’d become something more to me. She’d crept in, quietly, steadily, like a sound in the back of my mind that I couldn’t shake.

And now she was gone.

I swallowed back the panic, forcing myself to move, forcing myself to think. She had to be somewhere. She couldn’t just vanish. I turned on my heel and bolted from the room, my boots thudding against the stone floor as I sprinted down the hall. My heart pounded in my chest, and I called for her again, sending the sound out through the castle like a wave, manipulating it, pushing it further.

But it came back empty. No echo of her voice. No answer. Just more silence.

My gut twisted harder. I’d failed her. I’d promised to protect her, to keep her safe, and now she was gone, and I didn’t even know where to start looking.

I stormed through the corridors, rounding corners with reckless speed. My only thought was finding her. It had always been about keeping her safe, even before I realized why it mattered so damn much to me. I’d been watching her for so long, keeping guard without her knowing. I’d stayed outside her door because I couldn’t stand the idea of anything happening to her while I wasn’t there.

And now I wasn’t there.

And she was gone.

“Damn it, Elara, where the hell are you?” I muttered, my breath coming faster as I reached the throne room. Ciaran was in there, talking with one of his advisors, but I didn’t care. I barreled through the door, my heart hammering in my chest as I made my way straight to him.

Because if anyone knew where she was, it was him.

The moment he saw me, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Rhydian?” he said, stepping forward, his voice cautious. “What’s wrong?”

I didn’t stop. I stormed across the room and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, yanking him close. “Where is she?” I growled, my voice rough, barely holding back the panic clawing at my chest. “Where is the princess?”

Ciaran blinked, stunned for a moment by the intensity of my grip. His hands shot up to push me away, but he could see the fear in my eyes. His face hardened. “What do you mean, ‘where is she?’ Isn’t she in her room?”

“She’s gone,” I snapped, shaking him. “I’ve searched the whole damn place. I called for her, but I can’t find her. She’s not in the castle.”

Ciaran’s face paled, his eyes darkening as he processed my words. “Who else knows?”

“No one—” I began, but before I could finish, the door burst open, and a breathless attendant rushed into the room.

“Your Majesty!” the attendant gasped, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath. “Lady Maris and Lady Isolde… they’re gone. They’ve left the castle.”

Ciaran froze, his expression tightening as the weight of the attendant’s words settled over him like a shroud. His lips parted slightly, as if he were about to say more, but no sound came. He looked back at me, and I could see the realization dawning in his eyes.

“Lock down the castle,” Ciaran ordered, his voice cold, authoritative. “No one leaves until we find them.”

The attendant scurried away, and Ciaran’s gaze snapped back to me. “Who took them?” he muttered, almost to himself, but I could hear the fear creeping into his voice.

“I don’t give a fuck about your other wives. She’s gone!” I shouted, shoving him back, my voice ragged.

Ciaran’s face tightened, and he stilled, his eyes hardening as the truth sank in. The light around him flickered. I could feel the pressure building in the room, the air growing heavier as his anger rose.

“Where the hell is Lyra?” I snapped, my voice rough with accusation.

Ciaran’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. “She was in my room. We were working on war schematics all night.”

I laughed, but it was bitter, cold. “Schematics?” I spat, my fists trembling with the rage I could barely hold in. “Are you sure she isn’t the person behind this?”

“It couldn’t have been her,” Ciaran growled, his voice low, defensive. But the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I knew this would happen. I’d warned him. I’d told him this would happen. But he hadn’t listened. He’d been too caught up in his damned rivalry with Valen, so focused on playing the game that he didn’t see the storm coming.

“Damn it, Ciaran!” I exploded, shoving him back again. “You kissed her. You made her a target, and now she’s gone. Gone because of you.”

The light around him blazed, brilliant and blinding, almost burning the air itself. The entire room glowed with his power, the intensity of it threatening to engulf everything in its path. He was losing control, rage and fear boiling over in a way I’d never seen before. His perfect composure shattered.

“Where is she?!” Ciaran roared, his voice thick with desperation as the light pulsed, brighter and brighter. He was screaming now, blinding white light radiating off him in waves, burning against my skin.

I wanted to hit him. I wanted to break through the light and remind him that this was his fault, his failure. But the guilt inside me twisted even harder, crushing my lungs. I hadn’t protected her either. I’d been right outside her damn door, and I’d still let this happen.

Ciaran started barking orders to his men, his voice loud and commanding, but I barely heard it. My own thoughts were too loud. Too full of rage and shame. I had to get out of here. I couldn’t stand here while they searched, while they combed through the castle for clues that didn’t exist.

I turned on my heel, heart pounding, anger searing through my veins like molten metal. I knew I was going to get her back or die trying. There wasn’t any other option. She wasn’t just a debt anymore. She wasn’t some responsibility I’d taken on out of duty.

She was everything.

“I’ll find her,” I muttered. “I don’t care what it takes. I’ll tear this place apart if I have to. If it was the Dragon King or one of your wives, I’ll make them pay.”

Ciaran turned toward me, his face pale but his eyes blazing with light, with fear. I saw it then, the vulnerability that broke through the cracks of his kingly mask. He was starting to realize what I’d been telling him all along—that Valen wasn’t going to play by the rules anymore. That his wives were a threat. That Elara was more than just some pawn in his war.

But while Ciaran screamed orders, while the light burst from him in waves of useless fury, I was already halfway to the door. I couldn’t listen to him anymore. I couldn’t watch him be this blind, this weak.

I would find her. I had to.

Because she wasn’t just the princess. She wasn’t just a task I’d been given. She wasn’t just someone I’d been protecting behind the scenes, keeping secrets from the queen, manipulating everything to keep her safe.

She was everything.

And I would tear down kingdoms to bring her back.