Book One

The Tethered

Name: The Tethered: The Watcher, the Shield, and the Pyre
Author: William Travis Edwards

The Watcher, the Shield, and the Pyre

Some bonds are unbreakable.
Some will burn forever.

Enter the world of The Tethered, a YA dark fantasy novel by William Travis Edwards. Blending supernatural horror, mystery, and cosmic dread, the story follows Paige as a terrifying nightmare reveals that something in the darkness knows she was watching.

Explore the Story Meet the Author

YA Urban Fantasy · Supernatural Horror · Cosmic Dread

Descend

Cover of The Tethered: The Watcher, the Shield, and the Pyre by William Travis Edwards

About the Book

A Nightmare That Was Never Hers

In The Tethered, a dark YA urban fantasy and supernatural horror novel by William Travis Edwards, Paige has always experienced vivid dreams. But when she becomes trapped inside a classmate’s nightmare and watches a creature of living shadow take his life, the vision feels far too real to ignore.

By morning, he is dead.

Marked by what she witnessed and hunted across the fragile boundary between waking and sleep—Paige must discover why she can see what others cannot and why the supernatural creature will destroy anyone who stands between them.

As an ancient and insatiable hunger draws ever closer, placing everyone she loves in its path, Paige discovers that some bonds possess the strength to endure even the darkest supernatural forces.

Others are destined to burn.

YA Urban Fantasy
Supernatural Horror
Dark Fantasy
Book One

Official Book Trailer

Enter the World of The Tethered

Watch the official trailer for The Tethered: The Watcher, the Shield, and the Pyre by William Travis Edwards.

The Three

Three powerful forces stand between the waking world and the dark.

Once the nightmare begins, their names and everything they represent will take on a terrifying new meaning.

The Watcher

She sees the darkness that hunts between waking and sleep.

Paige can witness what remains hidden from everyone else but in the supernatural realm of nightmares, seeing the darkness means allowing it to see her in return.

The Shield

He has survived the darkness long enough to understand its terrible cost.

He stands between the nightmare and those it seeks to claim, facing the supernatural horror so others never have to witness what waits in the dark.

The Pyre

Some light is not meant to guide it is meant to burn.

When the darkness closes in and the nightmare becomes real, even the brightest hope can ignite into a powerful supernatural weapon.

Between Waking and the Deep

The veil between worlds is thinner than anyone realizes.

Beneath familiar streets and within the darkest corners of sleeping minds, an ancient supernatural hunger is stirring and it has waited far too long to feed.

William Travis Edwards

Photo Credit: Derek Cameron

Meet William Travis Edwards

Author

William Travis Edwards writes dark YA urban fantasy in which familiar places hide impossible dangers, nightmares leave lasting scars, and human connection can become both a lifeline and a powerful weapon.

The Tethered: The Watcher, the Shield, and the Pyre is the first book in his supernatural horror series, blending psychological terror, cosmic dread, and the fragile boundary between waking and sleep.

Stories where the familiar surrenders to the impossible.

Book One

Buy The Tethered

The Tethered is the first book in a dark new YA urban fantasy and supernatural horror series by William Travis Edwards, where nightmares cross into the waking world and the darkness refuses to remain hidden.

Available now:

From the Journal

What Is Dark Fantasy?

Discover the supernatural danger, unsettling atmosphere, mystery, and horror influences that define dark fantasy.

Read the Genre Guide