Page 20 of Crowned By the Shadow
“I’m proud of you,” he whispered against my hair. “You have your mother’s heart and her strength. Remember that.”
Then he pushed me away, toward the passage where Thorn waited. I stumbled backward, reaching out to him.
“Father—”
“Live,” Sebastian said, his smile both sad and fierce. “Live and end this.”
With a sudden movement, he shoved me the rest of the way into the passage. I fell against Thorn, who caught me as we were both pulled into the swirling tunnel of light.
The last thing I saw was Sebastian turning to face the horde, his hands blazing with golden fire as he began another incantation. The passage entrance constricted, closing off my view.
“No!” I screamed, lunging toward the rapidly shrinking opening. Thorn held me back, his arms like iron bands around my waist.
The tunnel of light carried us forward, away from the maze, away from Sebastian. I fought against Thorn’s grip, but it was useless. We were already too far.
A massive surge of power rippled through the passage, making the walls of light shudder and flicker. I felt it in my bones, the release of life energy, of magic bound to a soul.
“He’s collapsing the portal,” Thorn said quietly. “Severing the connection completely.”
The passage walls stabilized, then sped up around us. We were moving faster now, hurtling toward the exit.
I stopped struggling and went limp in Thorn’s arms. The pendant against my chest gave a single, faint pulse, as if acknowledging a kindred power extinguished.
“He sacrificed himself,” I whispered. “I just found him, and now he’s gone.”
Thorn’s voice was gentle but firm. “He bought us time. Don’t waste it.”
The tunnel of light faded, revealing glimpses of the world beyond, trees, rocks, open sky. We were approaching the exit.
I straightened, wiping away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. Sebastian was right. Some sacrifices were necessary. And I would make damn sure his wasn’t in vain.
The passage spat us out onto damp earth. We tumbled across grass and came to rest at the base of a large oak tree. The portal collapsed behind us with a sound like distant thunder.
We were alone at the edge of a forest. In the distance, I could see the spires of the capital silhouetted against the darkening sky.
I got to my feet, the pendant a cold weight against my heart. “We need to find Wyn,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “And then we’re going to finish this.”
Chapter
Seven
Thorn
I stood motionless, watching helplessly as the gateway collapsed behind us. Sebastian’s ultimate act of sacrifice burned into my memory, his determined expression as he turned to face the corrupted fae alone, buying us the seconds we needed to escape. The sound of the portal sealing echoed in my ears like a death knell.
Something in Senara seemed to shatter with the noise and she collapsed against me, her body wracked with silent sobs. Through our soul bond, her grief hit me like a tidal wave. It was raw, jagged, and overwhelming. I felt the exact moment when she realized her father was truly gone, when the fragile hope of finally having family shattered into a thousand piercing shards.
“He’s gone,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I just found him, and now he’s gone.”
I pulled her closer, letting her almost silent tears soak into my shirt. What could I possibly say? No words would ease this wound. So I simply held her, my arms the only shelter I could offer against the storm of her emotions.
Our soul bond, once a source of comfort and strength, now amplified our shared pain. Every sob that tore through herbody resonated within me. Her grief became mine, and not just through empathy, but through the literal sharing of our souls. The magic that bound us together ensured I felt the full measure of her loss.
And yet, despite the agony flowing between us, I wouldn’t have severed that connection for anything. This was what it meant to be truly bonded, to carry each other’s burdens, to share in both joy and sorrow.
As her tears gradually subsided, I helped her to her feet. We needed to move, to put distance between ourselves and the capital before Fenvalur’s forces realized we had escaped. The forest around us was unfamiliar, but I could navigate by the stars well enough to head east, toward the Shadow Lands where Wyn was being held.
“We should go,” I said gently. “Sebastian’s sacrifice won’t mean anything if we’re captured now.”
