Page 32 of Crowned By the Shadow
Come to me, Eclipse Child. I have waited so long.
“Three!”
We leapt forward as one, plunging into the tear between worlds. The sensation was like diving into ice water, shocking, disorienting, stealing the breath from my lungs. For a heartbeat that stretched into eternity, we were nowhere, suspended between realms.
I felt her claws reaching for me in that in-between space, grasping, pulling. The Crown flared with protective light, but I could feel it weakening against her power. The Mirror in my pack pulsed in response, lending its strength to the Crown, creating a harmony of magic that pushed back against the darkness.
You cannot escape me,the Empress hissed in my mind.You are mine. You have always been mine.
“No,” I gasped, though no sound escaped my lips in this place without air. “I belong to myself.”
With a last surge of will, I pulled us through, tumbling onto the hard obsidian floor of the ritual chamber. The passage collapsed behind us with a sound like shattering glass.
I lay gasping on the cold stone, the Crown still burning against my skin, the pendant clutched in my trembling hand. Thorn was immediately at my side, helping me to my feet, while Ronan scanned the chamber, weapon drawn.
“Senara,” Thorn whispered, his eyes wide. “Your mark...”
I glanced down at my arms, where the Moon Mark spiraled across my skin. It was changing, the silver light now threaded with veins of darkness, the same darkness I’d seen crawling through Wyn’s veins in my vision.
“She touched me,” I whispered, horror creeping through me. “When we were between realms. She reached for me, and I felt her...”
“The corruption,” Ronan breathed, staring at my mark.
I shook my head, fighting against the cold sensation spreading through my veins. “It doesn’t matter. We need to find Wyn.”
The chamber was empty. No sign of Wyn or Eldric. The runes still pulsed along the walls, but the central space where I’d seen her suspended was vacant. Only the stone altar remained, but the corrupted mirror I’d glimpsed in my vision was gone as well.
“They’ve moved her,” Thorn said, examining the altar. “Recently, from the looks of it.”
I clutched the pendant tightly, trying to focus on Wyn’s essence again, but the corruption spreading through my mark made it difficult to concentrate. Every time I reached for her, the Empress’s presence intruded, like shadows creeping at the edges of my vision.
“We need to move,” Ronan urged, glancing nervously at the chamber’s entrance. “Someone will have sensed our arrival.”
I nodded, tucking the pendant away and drawing my sword instead. The weight of the Crown still pressed against my temples, a constant reminder of what was at stake. The darkness threading through my mark pulsed in time with my heartbeat, a silent countdown to something I couldn’t name but feared, nonetheless.
As we approached the chamber’s entrance, I paused, looking back at the spot where Wyn had been held. “We’re coming for you,” I whispered. “Hold on.”
Then we stepped into the shadowed corridors of the Obsidian Keep, the heart of the enemy’s domain, with the Void Dragon Empress’s touch already spreading through my veins.
Chapter
Eleven
Senara
The obsidian corridors twisted like the inside of a massive serpent, each turn revealing fresh horrors. Veins of corruption pulsed through the black crystal walls, casting sickly purple light that made our shadows dance like tormented spirits. The diadem on my head grew heavier with each step, as if resisting the Empress’s influence that permeated this place.
“Can you sense her?” Thorn whispered, his voice barely audible over the strange humming that seemed to emanate from the very structure around us.
At first I thought he meant the Empress, but then I realized he was talking about Wyn. I pushed all thoughts of the corruption away and closed my eyes, focusing on the pendant against my chest. It responded with a faint pulse, guiding me forward like a compass needle. “This way,” I murmured, turning down a corridor that sloped gently downward.
Ronan followed silently, his weapon drawn, eyes constantly scanning our surroundings. As much as I had resisted going to save his village, I felt so much safer having him at our backs than if it had just been the two of us. I knew Thorn would do everything he could to keep me safe, but with not being ableto find Van or Volker, I was glad for the added member in our party.
The tension in Ronan’s shoulders mirrored my own though, and I couldn’t stop the prickle of guilt that ran through me at the thought of dragging him in to this. There was something deeply wrong with this place and yet I couldn’t put my finger on what was off. The air itself felt thick with malice, so much so that I could almost taste it on my tongue.
We passed chambers filled with strange artifacts and devices I couldn’t begin to comprehend. In one, crystalline structures, which somehow hovered in midair, pulsed with energy. In another, what appeared to be a map of the stars shifted and realigned itself as we watched.
“What is all this?” Ronan breathed, his eyes wide.
