Page 37 of Crowned By the Shadow
“We need to get her out of here,” Ronan added, his eyes constantly scanning the chamber for threats.
I nodded, trying to gather my thoughts through the panic clouding my mind. “The pendant,” I said, fumbling for the Veilshard with one hand while holding Wyn with the other. “I can open another passage.”
“Hurry,” Thorn urged, taking Wyn from my arms. “I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”
He was right. Shadows moved at the edges of the chamber, coalescing into solid forms. There was something familiar about their movements though and I knew they were the same as the shadow guardians we had faced before. They emerged from the darkness, their eyes glowing with that same sickly purple light.
My fingers closed around the Veilshard Pendant as I pulled the Eclipsed Crown from my head, feeling as though I needed to hold it. The Mirror lay at my feet where I’d dropped it during the explosion. Three artifacts—pendant, crown, and mirror—each one pulsing with ancient power.
Thorn knelt beside me, still cradling Wyn’s unconscious form, while Ronan pressed his back against mine, weapon raised toward the approaching shadow guardians.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the pendant first. Its energy flowed through me, familiar and comforting. Next, I reached for the Crown, its power more volatile but responsive to my will. Finally, the Mirror, whose surface rippled with starlight even with my eyes closed.
“Show us the way home,” I whispered, pouring my intent into the artifacts. “Open the path.”
The air between the three artifacts shimmered, just as it had when we’d entered the fortress. A circle of light formed around us, growing brighter with each passing second.
“It’s working,” Thorn murmured, hope threading through his voice.
The shadow guardians moved faster now, sensing our imminent escape. Their forms blurred as they rushed toward us, weapons raised.
“Almost there,” I gritted out, sweat beading on my forehead as I fought to maintain the connection between the artifacts. The gateway was forming, but slowly, too slowly.
The first shadow guardian reached the edge of our group, its blade slashing downward. Ronan parried the blow, the clash of weapons sending sparks flying as the noise of it rang in my ears.
“Senara!” he called urgently. “We’re out of time!”
I poured more of myself into the artifacts, drawing on reserves I didn’t know I had. The gateway stabilized, a perfect circle of light surrounding us.
“Now!” I shouted, reaching to gather the artifacts.
But before I could grab them, a terrible, familiar laugh echoed through the chamber. The shadows parted, revealing Eldric. He looked different now—more dragon than human, scales covering most of his face, his body elongated and twisted. The corruption had sped up, consuming more of what remained of his humanity.
“Leaving so soon?” he hissed, his voice distorted and multi-layered. “After I went to such trouble to bring you here?”
With a gesture, he sent a wave of shadow energy toward our circle. It crashed against the barrier created by the artifacts, causing the gateway to flicker dangerously and reduce in size.
The portal went from something we could have passed through to something that I’d have to dive roll through if I wanted to make it and even then it would be questionable. After all, I did not know what something like that would do if the edges of it touched my skin. Add to that how wide Thorn and Ronan’s shoulders were, and it would be impossible for them to make it.
“You can’t escape me,” Eldric snarled, advancing slowly. “The Empress has marked you, Eclipse Child. She knows your scent now. Your taste. Your fear.”
I fought to maintain the gateway, my arms trembling with effort. “We need to go,” I gasped to Thorn. “I can’t hold it much longer.” As I spoke, I fought to make it bigger once more. Thorn nodded, gathering Wyn closer to his chest as he prepared to move as soon as it was large enough for him to pass through.Ronan continued to hold off the shadow soldiers, his movements becoming more desperate as their numbers increased and they surrounded him on almost all sides. He wouldn’t be able to hold them off much longer, I knew that, and so did Thorn, judging from the look on his face.
Eldric stepped closer, his corrupted eyes fixed on me with terrifying intensity. “Why can’t you just be reasonable?” he demanded, genuine frustration in his voice. “Why must you ruin everything? I offered you power and understanding! I offered survival for you and those you love!”
His words struck me as so absurd that I almost laughed. Reasonable? After what he’d done to Wyn? After corrupting himself and countless others?
“You had a chance to help us stop the Empress,” I said, my voice steady despite my exhaustion. “Instead, you surrendered to her. Became her puppet.”
“I am no one’s puppet!” Eldric roared, his form expanding as rage consumed him. “I am evolution! I am the future! You think the dragonkin want to be stuck like this?” He paused and gestured to himself. “Half transformed monstrosities that have had to hide themselves away from the world so they aren’t hunted to extinction? You think the corruption changes all of us the same way? No, Eclipse Child. We do what we have to in order to survive, and you will too when your time comes.”
I didn’t bother responding this time. Something stirred within me, a power I’d felt only in bursts before. The Moon Mark on my skin blazed with silver light, pushing back against the corruption that had threaded through it. The power from the sun court, though not as clear on my skin, was right behind it, chasing the darkness out.
In that moment, I felt a call, not from the Empress, but from something else. Something ancient and powerful that had beenwaiting for me to reach for it and for my resolve to be strong enough that it could answer.
The Moon Blades.
I’d seen them, held them, fought with them, but they had refused to come to my summons since we’d been in the glad.
