Page 31 of Crowned By the Shadow
“That’s impossible,” Ronan said. “The dragonkin are extinct. The Empress wiped them out the last time she tried to take over this realm.”
I just shrugged at Ronan’s words, knowing only what I had seen. “These were... magnificent,” I said, the awe still fresh. “Scales like polished obsidian that caught what little light existed and transformed it into rainbows. They moved with such grace despite their size, wings folded tight against powerful bodies. I think they might be prisoners too, or at least some of them. I saw one in chains of shadow magic, similar to what holds Wyn. Butthey’re fighting it. Their scales seemed to repel the corruption somehow.”
“If the dragonkin are there,” Thorn said slowly, “then the situation is even more dire than we thought. The Empress must be gathering power for something catastrophic.”
I retrieved the pendant cautiously, half-expecting it to burn me again. It remained cool to the touch.
“I couldn’t find Van or Volker,” I admitted. “Something’s blocking the connection. We’re on our own. If we get in trouble, I can try again. Maybe the magic will be friendlier once we are inside the keep.”
Night had fallen completely by the time we were ready to make our move. The twin moons hung high above us, one silver, one a faint copper-red, casting just enough light to illuminate the impossible fortress suspended between the mountains.
“It’s time,” I whispered, gripping the Eclipsed Crown that Thorn had retrieved from his pack. I’d almost forgotten we had it, the third artifact needed to complete the set. The crescent-shaped diadem gleamed in the moonlight, its metal neither silver nor gold but something in between, as if it couldn’t decide which court to favor.
I turned to Thorn and Ronan, their faces solemn in the dim light. “The pendant will create the passage, but I need the Crown to stabilize it. The Empress’s influence is too strong here, without it, the portal might collapse or worse, lead us straight to her.”
Ronan nodded grimly. “And if something goes wrong?”
“Then we fight our way in the old-fashioned way,” Thorn replied, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
We crept closer to the edge of the chasm, finding a narrow outcropping that extended toward the fortress. The wind howled around us, threatening to push us into the abyss below. I knelt at the edge, placing the Mirror on the ground before me. Its surfacecaught the moonlight, reflecting not our faces but swirling patterns of stars.
I placed the Crown upon my head, feeling its weight settle against my temples. Immediately, the Moon Mark on my skin pulsed with silver-blue light, responding to the artifact’s power. It was only the cloak that Ronan had given me to wear that kept us hidden, otherwise I would have been a beacon in the dark.
“Stand back,” I warned, pulling the Veilshard Pendant from beneath my shirt. “I don’t know exactly what will happen.”
Thorn and Ronan moved a few paces behind me, weapons ready. I closed my eyes, holding the pendant in both hands as I focused on my will. I pictured the ritual chamber where I’d seen Wyn, imagining a door opening between where we stood and that distant room.
The pendant grew warm, then hot against my palms. The Crown on my head seemed to tighten, its metal heating until it felt like a band of fire around my temples. I gasped but didn’t break my concentration.
“Senara,” Thorn’s voice was tight with concern.
“I’m fine,” I gritted out, though the pain was intensifying. “It’s working.”
The air before me shimmered, like heat rising from sun-baked stone. The shimmering intensified, coalescing into a vertical tear that widened with each passing second. Through it, I could see the obsidian walls of the ritual chamber, glowing with those sickly purple runes.
The tear stabilized, its edges rippling like disturbed water. Beyond it lay our destination—and Wyn.
“Now!” I called, struggling to maintain the passage.
Thorn moved forward, ready to step through first, but as he approached, something changed. The tear’s edges darkened, purple-black tendrils of energy snaking outward.
“She knows,” I gasped, feeling a presence pushing against my mind. “The Empress, she’s trying to take control of the portal.”
The Crown burned against my skin, its power the only thing keeping the Empress from corrupting our passage completely. I poured more of my energy into the pendant, fighting to maintain control.
“We can’t wait,” Thorn said urgently. “It’s now or never.”
I nodded, rising to my feet though my legs threatened to buckle. “Together. We cross together.”
Ronan moved to my other side, his expression grim but determined. “On three.”
“One,” Thorn counted.
The tendrils of corruption grew thicker, encroaching further on our passage.
“Two.”
I felt her then, the Void Dragon Empress, her consciousness pressing against mine, ancient and cold and hungry. Her voice slithered through my thoughts.
