Page 14 of Crowned By the Shadow
But it didn’t matter what he thought anymore. In that moment, all doubts faded away, and I knew who I was meant to be: more than an experiment or a pawn in someone else’s game.
“I am Senara Cira, descendant of the Sun Court and the Moon Court and chosen scion of the Moon Goddess herself,” I proclaimed boldly, heart racing as raw magic coursed through my veins. “And you cannot erase who I am!”
The energies converged, my essence intertwining with those images swirling within the Mirror, and everything coalesced into one singular truth: family wasn’t merely bloodlines or legacies, but bonds forged through love and loyalty amid darkness.
A final surge erupted forth, a wave so powerful it sent ripples cascading outward until Fenvalur could no longer hold on to any semblance of control.
His scream echoed once more, a sound filled with rage and despair, as all illusions shattered around him like fragile glass.
The room trembled underfoot as if reality itself shook beneath our confrontation; the walls glowing bright with ancient magic unleashed in defiance against tyranny born from manipulation and fear.
Then silence fell, the kind that settles after thunder passes and leaves behind nothing but echoes lingering in its wake.
As dust settled slowly around us and remnants of chaotic energy dispersed into nothingness, I blinked away tears brought forth by relief mingled with exhaustion.
Thorn stood beside me, tall and steadfast, but now there was something else in his eyes: pride?
I turned back toward where Fenvalur had knelt just moments ago, but found nothing. His own creations had imprisoned him, but now nothing remained except echoes fading away into shadows lurking within dark corners long forgotten...
“What do we do now?” Thorn asked softly after what felt like an eternity stretched thin between us.
“Now, we free these prisoners and then get Wyn back.” My words rang like hammer blows on an anvil. These things would happen or I’d die trying to make them happen.
Chapter
Five
Senara
Sebastian leaned heavily on Thorn as we exited the room, but the man moved with growing determination.
“I’ve imagined this escape for years,” he said, his eyes, ones that looked exactly like my own, finding my gaze. “Though I never dared hope that you would be the one to free me.”
My heart clenched at the raw emotion in his voice. There were a thousand questions burning in my mind, but they would have to wait. There were prisoners to free, after all.
I started pulling on levers, ones I’d watched Fenvalur use too many times to even count as he checked on his experiments. The globes descended, and I met a few fearful gazes. “Get out while you can. I don’t know when the guards will come, but they will show up eventually,” I cautioned.
“Which way?” one of the demihumans asked, her cat-like ears twitching while a tail flicked behind her as she looked toward the door as though she was ready to bolt as soon as I said the word.
Sebastian pointed left. “The servants’ passages. Stick to the small hallways and follow your nose,” he replied gently so as not to spook any of the other prisoners, before turning to meand adding, “I memorized the layout during my first years of captivity, before they realized what I was doing and kept me blindfolded during transfers.”
The ones that were already free of their globes ran for it, not willing to wait and risk being recaptured.
Once the last prison was down, we followed Sebastian’s directions out, hurrying through the dimly lit corridors. The Mirror grew warm against my chest, its surface occasionally flickering with images too fast to comprehend. One thing was clear, we weren’t just escaping with an artifact and a prisoner.
We were escaping with my past.
We had also put a massive dent in whatever supposed research Fenvalur was doing. The other fae and demihumans that had been prisoners peeled off from our little trio amidst whispered thanks. No one wanted to risk getting caught just because we were in a sizeable group and I was carrying an awkwardly sized mirror.
We moved swiftly through the winding corridors, the dim light flickering as we pressed forward. The walls seemed to close in around us, but my heart raced with a mix of fear and exhilaration. I glanced at Sebastian, his expression a blend of determination and something deeper—pain, perhaps.
As we reached a narrow passage, he stopped, pulling me aside into the shadows.
“I need you to understand,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper. “Everything I said before… it’s true.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, catching my breath.
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, revealing strands touched with silver. “I’m your father, Senara.”
