Throne of Obsession

Chapter 9 : Tethered

He gives me one last look—dark, unreadable—before turning on his heel and vanishing through the iron steel gate. The heavy clang of it slamming shut echoes through the cell, a cruel reminder of my imprisonment.

And just like that, I’m alone again.

Alone with the cold. Alone with the suffocating silence. Alone with my fears, curling around me like invisible shackles.

I don’t know how long I lie there, curled up on the flimsy mattress, my body numb from exhaustion and despair. Time slips away, turning into an endless, meaningless blur. My mind drifts, floating somewhere between waking and dreaming, where reality no longer makes sense.

Then—a voice.

Faint. Distant. Familiar.

"Faye..."

I barely hear it at first, so soft it could be a figment of my imagination. But then it comes again, stronger this time, cutting through the haze like a blade of light slicing through the dark.

"Faye!"

Chase.

My heart jolts awake, a wild, desperate hope flaring to life inside me. Is it real? Am I hearing him or just losing myself to madness?

The deeper I fall into the abyss of darkness, the clearer his voice becomes. It’s pulling me, calling me.

My feet move before I can think.

I run.

The corridors stretch endlessly before me, an infinite path of shadows and dim light, winding and shifting like something out of a dream. The walls, hewn from ancient stone, shimmer faintly as if kissed by stardust, their surfaces marbled with silver veins that catch the flickering torchlight. The air is thick with something unearthly—cool, weightless, carrying the soft scent of aged parchment, whispered secrets, and the faintest trace of blooming night jasmine.

Above me, the ceiling disappears into endless darkness, yet tiny specks of light glimmer in the void, like distant stars trapped within the stone itself. Wisps of mist curl at my feet, luminous and slow-moving, wrapping around my ankles like unseen hands trying to hold me in place.

The silence here is not oppressive but vast, echoing with the hushed remnants of voices long forgotten—soft murmurs carried like distant celestial hymns, too faint to decipher, yet impossibly haunting. Every step I take sends a ripple through the stillness, the sound swallowed almost instantly, as if the corridor itself is absorbing my presence.

Doors appear like illusions along the endless halls—smooth obsidian, adorned with intricate carvings of constellations, moons, and symbols I do not recognize. Some glow faintly, pulsing with a quiet, rhythmic energy, as if waiting for someone—or something—to awaken them. The further I run, the more the space around me shifts, the walls bending, stretching, breathing in a way that defies reason.

Time feels meaningless here. Am I moving forward, or have I been running in circles?

And yet, Chase’s voice remains ahead of me, like a beacon in the void, calling me forward. The only thing keeping me tethered to reality.

I don’t know where this path leads. I don’t know if I’m running toward salvation or something far beyond my comprehension. But the only thing more terrifying than what lies ahead…

Is staying behind.I fly through the endless corridors, my breath coming in ragged, gasping sobs, my converse gone, my bare feet pounding against the cold stone floor. Chase’s voice is an invisible string wrapped around my soul, yanking me forward, pulling me toward warmth. Toward safety. Toward him. Keeping me tethered to Chase-a ray of light in the suffocating darkness, pulling me toward my salvation as I run with everything I have.

Tears streak down my face, hot and desperate, as I run for dear life—toward salvation.

"Chase!" I scream his name, panic lacing my voice, my entire being clinging to the hope that he is close—that he is real—that he has come to save me.

Save me from this hell.

Save me from him.

From the beautiful, yet terrifying monster who wants to consume me—body, mind, and soul.

I round the corner, my breath coming in ragged gasps, my legs burning with exhaustion. But none of it matters—because I see him.

Chase.

He stands in the distance, his form bathed in an ethereal glow, as if the universe itself is carving a path between us. His outstretched hand beckons me forward, his eyes desperate, pleading. Run faster, Faye.

I push harder, my feet barely touching the ground as I race toward him, the invisible force that binds us, pulling me closer, stronger.

Almost there.

Just a few more steps and I’ll be safe.

Just a few more steps and I’ll be home.

Then—he appears.

A dark shadow materializing from nowhere. A force so powerful it shatters the fragile hope keeping me upright.

Lucian.

The devil himself.

Before I can react, before I can scream, his hand clamps around my wrist like a steel vice, ripping me backward just as my fingers brush against Chase’s.

A piercing wail of agony rips from my throat as the connection between us is severed, my body yanked away, spiraling into the abyss.

The tether that binds us—our invisible, unbreakable link—weakens, frays. I feel it unraveling, slipping through my grasp like grains of sand.

No.

With every last shred of strength I have left, I clutch onto it, willing it to hold, to survive. But Lucian is too strong. His presence is a black hole, an all-consuming void that swallows the last remnants of my bond with Chase.

And then—snap.

The tether breaks.

A frigid wave crashes over me, so cold it numbs the very marrow of my bones. The warmth—the safety—I felt just moments ago is gone.

I am alone again.

Empty. Hollow.

A broken sob tears from my throat, hot, bitter tears spilling down my cheeks. I hate how easily they fall, how helpless they make me feel. I am so tired of crying, of feeling weak, of being at his mercy.

No more.

I will not shed another tear for him.

I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

A vow hardens in my chest, cold and unyielding.

I will never cry in front of him again.

As the darkness swallows me whole, I let that be my final thought—my last defiance.

And then—nothing.