Page 38 of Crowned By the Shadow
Now they answered my desperation. I knew these weapons. I was meant to wield them, even if some claimed otherwise. So I held no hesitation as I reached out with my mind, calling them to me.
The air before me shimmered, and two massive crescent-shaped blades materialized in my hands, their edges glowing with the same silver light as my mark. They felt right, as if they’d been crafted specifically for my grip.
Eldric’s eyes widened in shock and something else. Fear. “No,” he whispered.
I rose to my feet, the Moon Blades humming with power in my hands. “Yes. Whatever this crusade of yours is, it ends now.”
With a cry that came from somewhere deep within my soul, I launched myself at Eldric. The Moon Blades moved as extensions of my arms, cutting through shadow and corruption with impossible ease. Where they passed, they left trails of silver light that hung in the air like echoes.
Eldric recoiled, raising his arms to defend himself. Shadow energy gathered around his clawed hands, forming weapons of his own, curved daggers made of pure darkness. But they were small compared to my own blades.
Our weapons met in a clash of glowing silver and shadow. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, causing the obsidian walls to crack. We moved in a deadly dance, each strike and parry releasing more energy into the surrounding air.
“You can’t win,” Eldric hissed, his blades a blur as he pressed his attack. “The Empress has already claimed you. The corruption spreads through your mark even now.”
He was right, to an extent. I felt it, the cold tendrils of darkness trying to seep deeper into my being. But the Moon Blades seemed to help push it back, their light creating a barrier between the corruption and my soul.
“I am not claimed,” I snarled, spinning to avoid his attack before countering with one of my own. The Moon Blades sang through the air, leaving silver arcs in their wake. “I belong to myself.”
One of my blades found its mark, slicing across Eldric’s chest. He howled in pain, black ichor spilling from the wound. The shadow soldiers around us faltered, as if their master’s pain affected them directly.
“Senara!” Thorn called from the gateway. “We have to go now!”
I risked a glance back. The gateway was collapsing, its edges fraying like worn fabric. Thorn stood at its center, Wyn still unconscious in his arms, while Ronan fought desperately to keep the shadow soldiers at bay.
Eldric saw my moment of distraction and struck. His shadow blade sliced along my arm, drawing blood. Pain lanced through me, but I refused to cry out. Instead, I channeled it, letting it fuel my determination.
With a final, desperate effort, I brought both Moon Blades together in a crosscut that caught Eldric across the throat. He staggered backward, shock and disbelief etched on his corrupted features as black ichor poured from the wound.
“This isn’t over,” he gasped, his form already beginning to dissolve into shadow. “You cannot stop what’s coming. The Empress rises. The convergence approaches. All will be consumed.”
I backed toward the gateway, keeping the Moon Blades raised between us. “Then we’ll face it together,” I said, glancingat Thorn and the unconscious Wyn. “Not alone. Not corrupted. Together.”
Eldric’s laugh was terrible to hear, a sound of madness and despair intertwined. “Together,” he mocked. “Such a simple concept. So limited. So... temporary.”
With a last burst of speed, I retreated into the gateway, the Moon Blades still clutched in my hands. Thorn wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close as the passage closed.
The last thing I saw was Eldric’s form re-solidifying, the wound at his throat already healing as corruption flowed into it like living darkness. His eyes, those terrible, ancient eyes, locked with mine one last time.
“Until we meet again, Eclipse Child,” he whispered, his voice somehow reaching me through the collapsing passage. “And we will meet again.”
Then the gateway snapped shut, and we were falling through darkness, the Obsidian Keep and its horrors left behind.
The Moon Blades hummed gently in my hands, their light guiding us through the void between realms. I held them tight, these weapons that had answered my call when I needed them most, and made a silent promise.
Next time, I would be ready. Next time, I would end this once and for all.
As we fell through the void between realms, I felt the Void Dragon Empress reaching for us. Her presence was like icy fingers grasping at my soul, trying to pull me back into her domain. The corruption that had threaded through my Moon Mark pulsed with her power, responding to her call.
But the Moon Blades in my hands blazed with silver light, creating a barrier between us and the darkness. Where the Empress’s touch tried to claim me, the blades’ power pushed back, their ancient magic recognizing the corruption as an invader.
“Hold on!” I shouted to Thorn and Ronan, though my voice seemed to disappear into the surrounding void. Thorn clutched Wyn’s unconscious form tightly against his chest with one arm, his other wrapped firmly around my waist. Ronan had grabbed hold of my shoulder, his face a mask of determination as we hurtled through nothingness.
The pendant at my throat pulsed with energy, guiding our passage through the darkness. I could feel the Crown’s power flowing through me, stabilizing our path despite the Empress’s attempts to divert us.
Mine,her voice whispered through the corruption in my veins.You cannot escape me.
“Watch me,” I snarled, gripping the Moon Blades tighter. Their light intensified, pushing back the surrounding darkness.
