CHAPTER 58: Bound to the Darkness
Ella’s POV
Darkness swallowed us whole, Not the soft kind that comes with sleep.This one had teeth.
It tore at the world, ripping apart the dead forest, the red-lit sky, the tree that had held Lyra captive. The king’s cold laughter echoed through the collapsing realm as the ground dissolved beneath my feet.
I held Lyra tighter. “Don’t let go!” I yelled over the roaring wind.
Her fingers curled into my shirt weakly.
“I can’t… I’m too weak…”
“Yes, you can!” I shouted back.
But the darkness yanked at her legs, pulling downward.
The pull was so strong I nearly lost my grip.
“No—NO—Lyra!” My voice cracked.
Then…A blinding light exploded somewhere above, piercing through the void like a spear.
A hand grabbed my wrist. A familiar scent swept over me. Pine. Winter. Alpha.
Alex.
“Ella!” he yelled, straining as the void pulled at us. “Hold onto me!”
I reached up with one hand while holding Lyra with the other.
But the darkness tightened its grip on Lyra’s body, dragging her downward.
“No…” Lyra whispered. “Leave me… please… Ella, let me fall…”
“SHUT UP!” I screamed. “I didn’t come all this way to drop you!”
Alex pulled harder. His muscles trembled. His claws dug into the collapsing ground as he anchored himself.
Behind him, Astrid was chanting something, pulling glowing symbols into the air, stitching the broken pieces of the realm.
“Ella—DON’T LET GO!” Alex growled, voice thick with fear.
“I’m not!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face.
But Lyra’s hand slipped.
“ELLA!” she screamed.
I lunged downward and caught her forearm again.
Pain shot through me…something sharp, cold, and burning wrapped around my wrist like an invisible snake.
A chain. Not hers but Mine.
A piece of the king. It seared into my skin with a hiss.
Alex’s eyes widened. “Ella—your wrist—what is that?!”
“I— I don’t know!” I gritted out.
The chain pulsed, My vision blurred. My heartbeat went wild.
A voice whispered through my skull:
“A chain broken… becomes a chain carried.”
I bit down a scream.
Alex pulled again, and this time his strength overpowered the void’s pull.
With one last heave, he dragged both Lyra and me out of the collapsing darkness.
We slammed onto solid ground.
The realm vanished behind us like smoke in the wind.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
My chest heaved. My wrist throbbed painfully.
Alex cupped the back of my head, pulling me against him.
“Ella… gods…” His voice shook. “You terrified me.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered, even though I definitely wasn’t.
Astrid rushed to Lyra, hands glowing as she checked her pulse.
“She’s alive,” Astrid said. “Weak… but alive.”
Lyra lay limply in my lap, eyelashes trembling.
“Ella…” she whispered.
I stroked her hair carefully. “I’m here.”
She clung to my clothes like a scared child.
Alex stared at us, jaw tense.
Not with anger, but with something complicated; Confusion, relief, possessiveness and Fear.
“Ella,” he said quietly. “What did you do?”
I swallowed.
“I saved her.”
“And you bound yourself to something else in the process,” he said, voice rough.
I lifted my wrist.
The chain burned faintly under my skin; thin, dark, and glowing red like a buried coal.
Lyra’s eyes widened in horror.
“No…” she whispered. “Ella… you didn’t…”
“What is it?” I asked.
She shook her head slowly, fear filling her eyes.
“That’s not just a chain,” she whispered. “That’s a link. A mark of claim.”
Alex’s entire body stiffened.
“A claim?” he growled, stepping closer. “From who?”
Lyra swallowed hard.
“The king.”
Silence fell.
Alex’s face darkened, his wolf rising in his scent. His canines sharpened.
“No,” he said, voice deadly. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s not what it looks like,” I argued.
Astrid examined the chain with a glowing spell, but it sizzled and dissolved as soon as it touched me.
She pulled back sharply.
“It’s dark magic,” Astrid said. “And not the kind that fades.”
Lyra pushed herself upright, trembling.
“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “Ella…she shouldn’t be carrying this burden. I should be…”
“Stop,” I said softly.
Lyra’s breath hitched. “But—”
“You’re alive,” I said. “That’s what matters.”
Lyra’s chin quivered, and she looked away, unable to speak.
Alex crouched beside me, his eyes locked on the faint red glow under my skin like it was a threat he wanted to tear apart with his teeth.
“You’re mine,” he said, voice rough with something raw. “My mate. My bond. Nothing and no one marks you.”
“Alex…”
“No.” He cupped my wrist gently, even though anger radiated off him like heat. “I’m breaking it.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. “YOU CAN’T!”
Alex’s gaze snapped to her. “Why not?”
Lyra trembled. “Because breaking it will hurt her. Or worse.”
Alex froze. Astrid inhaled sharply and Ella went still.
“What do you mean… worse?” Alex whispered.
Lyra closed her eyes.
“Because that chain isn’t just a mark,” she said quietly. “It’s a promise.”
Alex’s jaw clenched. “A promise from who to who?”
Lyra met his eyes.
“From the king,” she whispered. “To Ella.”
The wind stilled. My heart dropped, Alex went rigid.
“What… promise?” he forced out.
Lyra swallowed, voice trembling.
“That he’s coming for her.”