Page 25 of Crowned By the Shadow
The vision had already moved on, but I could have sworn that I saw her injured by that same blast of light that transported…him.
The scene reformed then, not just once or twice, but into glimpses across time. The same man wandering through different ages, different courts, always searching, always watching the stars. Waiting for the next Eclipse Child to be born.
Waiting for me.
I came back to myself with a gasp, tears streaming down my face. The pendant fell from my numb fingers, landing in the dirt between Thorn and me.
“Senara?” Thorn’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “What happened? What did you see?”
“She won last time,” I whispered. “He was there when the Empress last broke through. He tried to help the Eclipse Child before me, Fiona. But they failed. She died.”
“Who?” Thorn looked at me expectantly. “Who was there?”
The name was on the tip of my tongue and yet the harder I fought to say it, the further it slipped from my mental grasp, if I ever had a grasp on it in the first place.
“I-I don’t remember.” I sighed with frustration before I added, “Why would someone keep something like that a secret? Why not tell us this?”
“Guilt, maybe. Or fear.” I stared into the fire, seeing echoes of that ancient battle. My mouth tried to form the name I knew, but all I ended up actually saying was, “He watched Fiona die. He’s been carrying that for centuries.”
Thorn was silent for a long moment. Then, “What did you mean about the mirror and the pendant?”
“Fiona’s last words. She told him that everything together was the key, but mentioned the mirror and pendant specifically.” I closed my fingers around the pendant. “Can you give me the mirror?”
He nodded, reaching for the parcel I’d been carrying and carefully unwrapped it, revealing the Starforged Mirror.
In the firelight, it gleamed with an inner radiance, the stars embedded in its surface twinkling like real celestial bodies. I reached for it hesitantly.
The moment my fingers touched the frame, the pendant at my throat flared with light. The mirror responded, its surface rippling like water. Together, they created a harmony of power that resonated through my entire being.
“The key,” I whispered.
Thorn’s eyes were wide. “The key to what?”
I looked up at him, newfound determination burning away my exhaustion and grief. “To stopping the Empress. To saving Wyn. To ending this cycle once and for all.”
Chapter
Nine
Thorn
The Veilshard Pendant pulsed against Senara’s chest, its light a steady guide through the darkened woods. Every step we took brought us closer to the Obsidian Keep, the place where Eldric held Wyn. The tension in Senara’s frame mirrored my own; every muscle was taut, ready for battle. But as we neared our destination, a strange sensation gnawed at my senses.
Something called to me from the south, a whisper on the wind that tugged at my very soul.
“Senara,” I said, halting in my tracks.
My bonded turned to me, frustration flashing in her eyes. “What is it?”
I couldn’t quite put it into words. It felt like an instinct, something primal and urgent. “I need to go south.”
“South?” She glanced in the direction the pendant pointed. “Wyn is that way.”
“I know,” I replied, gripping her arm gently. “But there’s something I need to check out first. It’s important.”
Her eyes narrowed. “More important than rescuing Wyn?”
“It’s a feeling I can’t ignore.” I met her gaze, willing her to understand. “Please trust me.”
