Bound to the Shadow Prince
RUBY DIXON
Copyright © 2025 by Ruby Dixon
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design: Kati Wilde
Edits: Aquila Editing
Proofreading: Fortunate Books
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Contents
Bound to the Shadow Prince
A note about this book
Content Warnings
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Epilogue
Want More to Read?
Bound to the Shadow Prince
In order to protect her kingdom from the wrath of a vengeful goddess, Princess Candra must remain locked inside a tower for seven years. Seven long years without a friend―or a lover―by her side. And shut inside the tower with her? A Fellian, the enemy of her people, a fearsome warrior race complete with wings and claws and fangs. Nemeth is terrifying, cruel, and disturbingly magnetic. Candra should kill him for his supplies, but she’s desperate for his company…and his touch.
As time inside the unchanging tower rolls on, Candra uncovers the man behind the stony facade. And when their tenure hits an unexpected snag, Candra and Nemeth are forced to make a difficult choice. They’ll need to face an outside world they no longer recognize, one that threatens their lives and their surprising love.
A note about this book
If you read Bound to the Shadow Prince on the Yonder app or in print, please note that while this cover is different, the book is the same. No changes have been made to the content.
Ruby Dixon
March 2025
Content Warnings
This story contains explicit sexual content, violence and depictions of murder and death, chronic illness, disease, plague, starvation, war and subsequent conquest, sexual harassment, rape, pregnancy, abandonment, infanticide, and slavery that may be upsetting for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter
One
The moment I hear the palace messenger is looking for me, I hide in my closet.
It’s completely childish. I know it is. It’s just that any time someone has a message of “grave urgency” to give to me, something terrible has happened. The first time, it was my father’s death to bandits. The second time, it was that my mother had died of the sweating sickness. The third time, my sister Erynne was told it was time for her to marry my nemesis, Prince Lionel, and I still haven’t forgiven her for agreeing.
So any message that’s for me and me alone? It cannot be good news.
My maid enters my quarters and looks around, frowning. “Lady Candromeda?” She takes a few steps forward, her dark blue skirts swishing as she strides.
I chew on my nail, hoping she doesn’t look in the heavy wooden wardrobe, and if she does, that she doesn’t look behind the huge, embroidered pink panniers that I wore thrice last season. They’re incredibly stupid skirts, but they’re easy to hide behind, at least.
Riza gazes around my quarters, her eyes narrowed. “She was just here. And she has to come back soon for her medicine.”
Wincing, I wrinkle my nose. Riza’s right. I hate that she’s right. I can never get very far because I’m tied to my nurse, who has to administer the potions I take daily, or else I’ll get sick and die. It’s the curse of the Vestalin line to have tainted blood. My mother’s sister had it. My sister Erynne has avoided it, and thus she’s the valuable one. Our youngest sister, Meryliese, was spared the family curse, but because she’s the youngest, she must be dedicated to the gods. She left when I was a toddler, and I barely have any memories of her. The Vestalin family is down to myself and Erynne.
And I’m tainted.
It’s…inconvenient.
The Vestalin line dates back to the first kings of Lios. There has always been a Vestalin dedicated to the gods. There has always been a Vestalin family to bring fortune to the people of Lios. We are the blood of heroes. The first Vestalin, Ravendor Vestalin, sacrificed herself to save our kingdom and ever since, we have been held and revered as the best of humankind.
Well, the non-tainted ones are.
I’m the tainted one, so I’m more or less forgotten. The taint in my blood, the Vestalin curse, means that I’m useless as a bride, because I’m barren. Those with the curse cannot have children, and those without the curse that bear Vestalin blood have a chance of giving it to their children. My mother bore six children to my father, but only three of us survived childhood, and I am the only one that was tainted.
Luck was not with me then, and it’s not with me today. As Riza looks around, my nurse enters my chambers, the hated silver tray in her arms, vial of medicine still steaming from its preparation. She sets it down in the usual spot next to my chair by the fireplace, and begins the preparation of the potion.
Dragon shite.
“Princess?” my maid calls out again, heading over to my adjoining bedchamber in case I’ve appeared there. She glances back at the messenger, who lingers in the doorway, straightening his livery. “Your medicine has arrived, right on time.”
Pursing my lips, I decide to give up on hiding. I kick open the door to the wardrobe and tumble as gracefully as I can from behind the mess of skirts and silks. I throw my hair back and straighten my clothing, lifting my chin as the messenger gapes. “Have you seen my red silk corset, Riza? I was looking for it,” I lie.
