Page 2 of Crowned By the Shadow
There was nothing. Just emptiness where her bright spirit should be.
“We need to move now,” I said, gathering my weapons. “If they’ve bound her magic, she’s completely defenseless against them.”
I gripped my sword hilt so tightly my knuckles turned white. The emptiness where Wyn’s presence should be felt like a physical wound.
“I’m going after her. Now.” I turned toward the sanctuary entrance, but Thorn’s hand caught my arm.
“Senara.” Just my name, but the weight behind it stopped me. His eyes, one normal, one burning with inner fire, held mine. “Running blindly into a trap won’t help her. We don’t even know where she is and we can’t track her.”
“Every moment we wait?—”
“Could be the difference between rescuing her and joining her in captivity,” Volker finished, his voice gentle but firm. “We need a plan.”
My shoulders slumped. They were right, and I hated it. “What do you suggest?”
Thorn went to release my arm, but then changed his mind and pulled me into a hug. “We’ll find her, I promise,” he whispered into my hair, dropping a quick kiss on my forehead. He wasn’t one for displays of affection, especially since our bond was essentially illegal and the courts were hunting us because of it, but I knew we both needed that comfort now, the kind that only we could provide to each other.
The Veilshard Pendant pulsed against my skin, as though it wanted to remind me that all was not lost. I pulled it out from under my top and it was warm to the touch.
Volker approached cautiously, his eyes widening. “May I?” When I nodded, Thorn gently lifted the pendant over my head and handed it to Volker. The mage turned it in his slender fingers. “The Veilshard doesn’t just part boundaries between realms. It traces connections—threads of magic that bind individuals together.”
“Like our soul bond?” I asked, glancing at Thorn.
“Precisely.” Volker’s expression brightened with scholarly excitement despite the circumstances. “But it can follow other bonds too, blood ties, magical oaths, even strong friendships forged in shared magic.”
I moved closer, hope flickering to life. “Wyn and I are as close as actual family. We’ve sworn promises to each other more times than I can count.”
“And she’s been studying with me for months,” Volker added. “Our magical signatures have resonance.”
Thorn took the pendant back, holding it between us on his open palm. “Then we have three possible connections to trace.Yours, Volker’s, and mine through my connection to Senara. Van, anything to add?”
The bard shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “I never paid much attention to her song. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to track down our moon scion.” He nodded at me.
“If they’ve bound her magic, will this still work?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
Volker’s expression grew thoughtful. “They can bind her ability to use magic, but they can’t erase the magical bonds themselves. Those exist beyond the physical realm. For now, let’s just focus on Wyn and see if we can find any trace of her.”
The pendant glowed faintly in Thorn’s palm, and I placed my hand on top of his as the crystal seemed to respond to our combined intent. For the first time since Wyn disappeared, I felt something other than despair. The weight of Wyn’s absence pressed against my chest, making each breath feel like a betrayal of her trust.
“How do we activate it?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
Volker circled the small part of the clearing that we stood in, his scholarly demeanor returning as he focused on the problem. “We need something personal of hers, something that carries her magical signature.”
I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small object made from woven grass. The delicate crescent moon dangled from my fingers, catching what little light filtered through the sanctuary’s canopy.
“She made this for me last full moon,” I explained. “Said it would help me control my Mark when it flared.”
Thorn nodded, recognizing the charm. “Her magic is probably woven into every part.”
Volker gestured for me to place it beside the pendant. “Perfect. Now we need to combine our connections to her.”
I sat, suddenly feeling weak as despair tugged at the edges of my mind. How could some woven grass really help us find my best friend? Thorn sat with me as though it was the most natural thing in the world and Volker followed suit, though I didn’t miss the flicker of confusion that crossed his face.
The three of us formed a triangle on the ground and I felt a little bad that Van wasn’t included, but if he had no connection to Wyn, then I didn’t want him to muddy the waters either. Thorn placed the Veilshard on the ground in the center, and I laid Wyn’s charm beside it. The two objects seemed to recognize each other, the pendant’s glow intensifying as it neared the charm.
“Join hands,” Volker instructed. “And focus on Wyn. Not your fear for her, but her essence. Who she is to each of us.”
I closed my eyes as my fingers intertwined with Thorn’s calloused ones on my right and Volker’s smooth ones on my left. The Moon Mark on my skin warmed, responding to the magic building between us.
