Bound by Shadows

Torin

I had given up trying to escape hours ago. The raw ache in my hands from clawing at the stones, the sting in my arms from trying to reach the barred window above me—all of it was a cruel reminder of how trapped I was.

I leaned against the cold, unyielding wall, my legs curled beneath me as I stared at the dimming light filtering through the small window. It had been a full day, maybe more, but time had lost meaning here.

I was too tired to pace, too hungry to think clearly, and too angry at myself to let the guilt settle in fully. All I could do was sit there and wait, helpless and frustrated—a feeling I hated more than anything else.

Maybe I just imagined Kaia outside my window. I think I'm going nuts.

Then I heard it.

"Aspin."

My name floated through the silence, spoken softly, almost reverently, as if it were a fragile thing that might shatter.

For a moment, I thought I had imagined it. The stress, the hunger, the overwhelming hopelessness—it wouldn't have been surprising if my mind had started playing tricks on me. But then I heard it again.

"Aspin, are you there?"

My heart stopped, then restarted with a force that stole the air from my lungs.

Torin.

I scrambled to my knees, crawling toward the window and clutching the edge of the stone sill. My hands trembled as I pressed my face as close to the bars as I could.

"Torin?" My voice cracked, raw from the initial screaming, followed by disuse, but the moment the word left my lips, I knew it was real. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a trick.

I heard him exhale, and for the first time in days, I felt something warm settle in my chest. Relief.

"Are you hurt?" His voice was soft but steady, threaded with an urgency I hadn't heard from him before.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to answer. "No... not badly. Just... hungry. Tired."

There was a pause, and then, "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise."

The weight of those words hit me like a tidal wave, and before I could stop myself, a sound escaped my throat—a choked, broken sob.

I hated crying in front of anyone. It had been drilled into me from a young age that tears were a weakness, a vulnerability a future queen couldn't afford. But in that moment, I couldn't hold it back.

"Please," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Don't leave."

His face appeared in the narrow window, framed by the dim light of dusk. His expression was tight, his jaw clenched, but his eyes softened when they met mine.

"I won't. Not for long. But I need to keep you safe first."

The sound of footsteps approached, and Kaia's voice broke through the tension. "Someone's coming," she warned, her tone urgent.

Torin's gaze flicked toward the direction of the noise, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Aspin, listen to me," he said quickly, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Stay quiet. Stay strong. I'll be back."

"No," I said, louder than I intended. "Don't go, Torin—"

But he was already gone, disappearing into the shadows like a phantom.

I stayed at the window, my hands gripping the bars so tightly my knuckles turned white.

The footsteps grew louder, and I retreated to the far side of the cell, sliding down the wall until I was sitting on the cold stone floor.

The tears came harder now, silent but relentless, and I didn't bother wiping them away.

He was here.

And then he wasn't.

"Torin" I cry his name quietly to myself like a prayer or maybe a reminder, he's here, this is real.

I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders shaking as the flood of emotions I'd been holding back for days overwhelmed me. Relief, fear, guilt, anger—all of it crashed over me at once.

For the first time since I'd left home, I felt something I hadn't dared to let myself feel before. A dangerous emotion.

Hope.