Tethered To The Six Princes Of Sylvarra

Chapter 4

I swallowed hard and forcing the tremble in my voice to stay buried, “I can’t find my siblings, and I’m going nowhere with you until I do. Even if I find them, there’s no way I’ll ever leave with you.” I sneered, but I caught a half-smile twitch at the corner of his lips.

“If you understood what your life means right now,” he said, voice low but sharp, “you’d get your damn self on that horse and ride with me. If you die here, you won’t get a chance to find your siblings at all. Now get on, or I’ll carry you myself.” His tone left no room for argument.

“Why?” I snapped, my voice sharp. “Why would my father be killed because of me? Why would you break the agreement between us?”

But before I could demand more answers, he swung me onto his horse just like that and rode off, as if my fury meant nothing.

“Look carefully,” Rhysand’s voice was low, edged with danger but threaded with warning. “Those are the men who want you dead the moment they catch you.”

I didn’t know why I trusted his words, but a part of me did.

As the horse thundered forward, I caught sight of the Ironfang wolf standing beside the firstborn prince of the Prince Clanship—the trueborn princes. There were four twins in all, but only two were here.

In Sylvarra, heirs to the king fell into three categories. Those marked with the traitor tattoo like Rhysand, from another prince clan and the trueborn princes, among others.

But I couldn’t afford to think much about them now. My life was at stake, and the dilemma tore at me, the desperate urge to escape and survive, weighed against the agony of leaving without finding my siblings.

The second prince stood close, his storm Drake looming ominously by his side.

My blood ran cold. They were all here… hunting me.

Behind us, his soldiers fought on, and my kingdom burned in ruins.

Why hadn’t Rhysand told them he’d captured me? Or did he come alone because I was the most valuable prize right now?

Did I really have to leave now just to survive? To live, only to find my siblings another time?

Was it worth it… leaving without them by my side?

Zach and Violet… just thinking of them shattered my heart, a crushing weight of failure pressing down on me. How could I have failed them? Failed my mother?

If I could say just one more thing to them especially to Zach. It would be to ask him to stop hating me. I never had the chance to show him I wasn’t the reason Mom was gone, that I wasn’t to blame.

The pain of being torn from them so suddenly, the ache of Zach’s coldness, his lingering hate. It haunted me. If Mom’s absence had wounded him so deeply, hadn’t my sudden disappearance only made it worse?

How had they slipped from my sight so fast? My heart pounded fiercely, drowning in dread. Alone in the chaos of the castle, they couldn’t survive.

I refused to accept they might be dead. No. Someone must have taken them. And I would find them no matter the cost even if it meant losing my own life.

Tears blurred my vision as the horse surged forward. My heart broke with every beat.

Zach… Violet… please… I’m so sorry. I

wasn’t strong enough to protect you.

But I swear on everything to find you two again. I won’t stop, even if it ends me. Just… please don’t die. Don’t give up on me... please.

*

My heart clenched when the golden gates of Sylvarra came into view, veiled behind a curtain of mist that shimmered like an illusion—quiet magic at work.

The kingdom rose beyond it, vast and imposing, built with such intention and power that it didn’t just stand; it ruled the land beneath it.

History said the mist was meant to mislead anyone unworthy of entering. Only the Sylvarrians knew that behind the thick, shifting clouds stood the massive gate and only they could summon the spell to open it.

My blood ran cold as the gates began to part.

This was the last place I had sworn to ever step into. The last kingdom I promised myself I’d never approach… not unless I defied my mother’s final words and brought war to the ones who stole her from us.

From me. From my siblings.

“The same people you said want me dead… live here,” I muttered breathlessly to the man whose intentions had been pressing painfully against my chest like a stone I couldn’t lift.

This place—this was the den of wolves.

And he claimed to be saving me?

Or had he brought me here to die… in Sylvarra?

“No one comes near you. No one touches what I’ve claimed as mine,” he said, voice low and lethal, golden eyes glowing with warning. “And you’d better be as useful as the whispers say… or I won’t hesitate to throw you right back into the arms of the wolves.”

My stomach flipped the moment he said I’d better be as useful as the rumors claimed. Just a flicker of thought made me realize—he had brought me here for his own gain.

And if I failed to live up to being the three stars bearer, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw me right back to the very people who wanted me dead the instant they caught me.

A cold tightening gripped my stomach, my feet chilled as we rode through the gates of Sylvarra. Above, the sapphire sky was boldly darkened, a swirl of stars and magical lights casting an otherworldly glow across the buildings.

Fear caught in my throat, but my mind couldn’t help drifting to the breathtaking beauty of this place. Distant mountains hovered beneath thick purple clouds—magic, I could tell and the world around me felt unreal, like something born from a dream.

He rode slowly at first, but with every passing moment, the fear for my life only grew sharper as Rhysand’s words echoed in my mind: I better be useful to him… or he’d hand me back to the wolves.