Page 33 of Crowned By the Shadow
“Knowledge,” Thorn replied grimly. “The Shadow Dragons were, or maybe still are, collectors of information and especially secrets, at least from what I know. Either way, it looks like Eldric has continued the tradition or at the very least contributed his own knowledge and secrets from what Senara has seen in her visions.”
The pendant grew warmer as we descended deeper into the fortress. I was concerned that we hadn’t seen anyone while we were walking around. The halls were empty, even though in my vision I’d seen people, dragonkin, wandering around in the courtyards, yet there were none in the castle proper, which made me wonder what was going on.
As the corruption covered ever more of the walls, my mark burned ever brighter against my skin, but it was the corruption threading through it, spreading like dark veins that made my gut churn with dread. I tried to ignore the cold sensation creeping through my blood, focusing instead on Wyn.
“She’s close,” I whispered as we approached a set of massive double doors, carved with intricate runes that seemed to shift and change as we watched. “I can feel her.”
The doors weren’t locked. Why would they be? Eldric not only wanted us there, but was expecting us. The large obsidian panels were cold under my fingers and I barely had to push on them for them to swing open at my touch. Beyond lay a vast chamber that took my breath away.
Above us, the ceiling soared high and wide; the walls curving inward to form a perfect dome of polished obsidian, which reflected our images in distorted, nightmarish ways. The veins that ran through the rock made us appear disjointed. At the center of the room stood a raised dais, upon which a familiar figure was suspended in midair.
“Wyn,” I gasped, starting forward.
Thorn caught my arm, pulling me back. “Wait,” he warned, eyes narrowed. “Look.”
I followed his gaze and saw what he’d noticed. The floor between us and the dais was inscribed with concentric circles of runes, pulsing with that same sickly purple light. The outer ring began only a step in front of where we stood.
“A ritual circle,” Ronan murmured. “Step inside, and you become part of whatever spell he’s casting.”
My eyes returned to Wyn. She hung limply in the air, arms outstretched, head bowed. The corruption I’d seen in my vision had spread further. Dark veins now covered most of her visible skin, and her silver hair had darkened to slate gray streaked with purple. She looked... changed. Not just physically, but in some fundamental way I couldn’t articulate.
“How touching,” a smooth voice echoed through the chamber. “The Eclipse Child arrives, right on schedule.”
Eldric stepped out from behind the dais, his silver, animalistic mask catching the light. He moved with unnaturalgrace, each step precise and measured. In his hand, he carried the corrupted, bastardized version of the Starforged Mirror I’d seen in my vision.
“Let Wyn go. Your quarrel is with me.” My voice was stronger and more determined than I had expected, which was a relief. Inside I was terrified I’d have to watch Wyn die after everything she’d been through.
“Quarrel?” Eldric’s laugh echoed strangely, as if coming from multiple throats at once. “I have no quarrel with you, Eclipse Child. Quite the opposite. I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”
He stepped onto the dais, circling Wyn’s suspended form. “Your friend has been most accommodating. Her transformation progresses beautifully. A perfect vessel.”
“Vessel for what?” Thorn demanded, his hand tightening on his sword.
“For rebirth,” Eldric replied simply. “For change. For the coming convergence.”
My patience snapped. “Enough riddles! What have you done to her?”
“I’ve given her a gift,” Eldric said, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried across the entire chamber. “The same gift I’m offering you. Understanding. Power. Purpose.”
He raised the corrupted mirror, its surface swirling with darkness. “The Void isn’t what you think, Eclipse Child. It isn’t evil—it’s simply... other. Different. Your predecessors never understood this. They fought against it, tried to contain it. And they all failed.”
“Like Fiona,” I said, watching his reaction carefully.
The mask hid his expression, but I saw his shoulders stiffen slightly. “Fiona,” he repeated, the name sounding strange on his tongue. “Yes. The last Eclipse Child. She was... disappointing.”
“You knew her,” I pressed. “You cared for her, didn’t you?”
Eldric was silent for a long moment. Then, with deliberate slowness, he raised his hands to his mask.
“Perhaps it’s time we spoke plainly,” he said, fingers working at the clasps that held the silver mask in place. “Face to face.”
The mask came away with a soft click.
I couldn’t suppress my gasp of horror. The face beneath was split in two. One half looked almost human or fae, with high cheekbones and an elegant brow; the other half scaled and reptilian, with a slitted eye that glowed amber in the dim light. But it wasn’t just the dragonkin features that shocked me, it was the corruption that had wove across the dragonkin half of his face. Veins of darkness spread from his dragon eye, pulsing with the same sickly light as the runes on the floor.
“Yes,” he said, noticing my reaction. “Not what you expected, I imagine.”
“What happened to you?” I whispered.
