Page 5 of Shattered Crown

Silas touched the key absently, its steady warmth grounding him. Difficult choices lay ahead. Of that, he was suddenly very certain.

As he continued shopping, his unease grew. Too many unfamiliar faces watched him with poorly concealed interest. Well-dressed strangers who moved like soldiers despite their civilian clothes. Kai's subtle signals confirmed his suspicions, at least three people were following them.

The crystal grew warmer against his chest, responding to his rising anxiety. He completed his purchases quickly, trying not to appear rushed.

“Young master.” An old woman selling charms caught his sleeve. Her milky eyes somehow fixed directly on his. “A gift.” She pressed a small amulet into his palm. “For what's coming.”

“What's coming?” Silas asked, but she was already turning away.

“Ravens circle,” she muttered. “Not the forest's ravens. These have eyes like coins and hearts like ice. The crown remembers what the forest forgot.”

Before he could ask more, she vanished into the crowd as if she'd never been there at all.

Silas and Kai exchanged looks. Without words, they mounted their horses and left the market, taking a longer route back that would let them observe more.

As they rode, Silas activated the crystal, sending a pulse of concern to Thorne. Not a call for help, not yet. Just... contact. Connection. A reminder that whatever was coming, they would face it together.

The morning's peace had shattered like glass, leaving sharp edges everywhere he looked. But beneath his unease, something stronger pulsed. The memory of Thorne's arms around him. The promise in their kisses. The power of their united magic.

Whatever storm was brewing, whatever the crown remembered or the forest forgot, they would weather it. Together.

The crystal warmed in response to his thoughts, carrying back an echo of Thorne's presence. Not words, exactly, but a sensation of fierce protectiveness, of ancient power ready to be unleashed at the slightest threat to what was his.

Silas smiled despite his worry. Let them come, these ravens with coin-eyes and ice-hearts. They would learn what happened when you threatened the beloved of the Eldergrove's guardian.

The flower in his hair caught the wind, releasing a scent like summer storms and wild magic. Around them, the forest stretched toward home, toward Thorne, toward whatever destiny awaited them in the shadows between worlds.

Whatever came next, they would face it as they had everything else, hand in hand, heart to heart, magic to magic.

Together.

2

GATHERING SHADOWS

The forest felt wrong. Not hostile exactly, but watchful in a way that made Silas's skin prickle. He pressed the communication crystal against his chest, drawing comfort from its steady warmth as their horses picked their way along the narrow border path.

“So,” Kai said, his voice deliberately casual, “are we going to talk about the fact that we're being followed, or just keep pretending this is a scenic detour?”

“Keep pretending,” Silas replied, scanning the tree line. “Where's Eliar? I thought he was supposed to meet us at the market.”

Kai's expression shifted slightly. “He... had something come up. Said he'd catch up with us later.”

Something in his tone made Silas look closer. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. Just... you know how he is. Mysterious.” Kai shrugged, but his eyes remained sharp, watching their surroundings. “Speaking of mysterious, that smoke to the east isn't exactly normal campfire behavior.”

Silas squinted at the thin columns rising through the trees. Something about their arrangement bothered him, though he couldn't quite place why. The smoke was too regular, too controlled for ordinary travelers. Combined with the strange warnings from the village and the feeling of being watched, it set his instincts on edge.

Now, as they rode through the increasingly watchful forest, those fragments connected to the wrongness he felt around them.

Through gaps in the trees, columns of smoke rose in too-perfect formation. Military precision. His stomach tightened.

“We need a better look.”

They guided their horses off the main path, moving through increasingly dense undergrowth until they reached a rocky outcrop. Below them, spread across what should have been empty borderland, a military encampment bristled with activity.

“Shit,” Kai breathed.

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