Page 63 of Crowned By the Shadow
Ronan was next. He stepped up without hesitation. “I offer my strength and prowess as a swordsman.”
My jaw dropped. That was everything to Ronan. He had always prided himself on being second to no one other than Thorn.
Before I could say anything, a white thread flew from him to the crown and as it did so, the crown spun ever faster and brighter until it flared with light one final time, then descended slowly toward my outstretched hands. This time, there was no barrier. It settled into my palms, surprisingly light despite the power it contained.
“It didn’t want anything from you?” I asked, looking at Van as I still felt the ache in my chest from surrendering part of myself, though even now, as I tried to think about what I had given up, I was having trouble remembering.
“It’s already taken much from me.” His voice was low and laced with a grief that was deeper than any ocean. There was an awkward pause, but before I could open my mouth to speak, he cleared his throat. “Now, place it upon your brow, and channel the combined power of all three artifacts.”
I hesitated, suddenly afraid. “What will happen to me?”
“You won’t face it alone,” Thorn said, stepping to my side and taking my hand. “Our soul bond will help anchor you.”
“And I’ll lend my twilight magic,” Wyn added, placing her hand on my shoulder. “To help you balance the forces.”
I took a deep breath and raised the crown. As it touched my brow, power surged through me, raw, ancient, and overwhelming. It was like being struck by lightning and drownedin the ocean simultaneously. My body arched backward. A silent scream caught in my throat as energies beyond mortal comprehension coursed through my veins.
Thorn’s grip on my hand tightened, his Sun Court magic flowing into me, helping to steady the torrent. Wyn’s twilight power created a bridge between light and shadow, life and death, all of it allowing me to navigate the chaotic energies without being consumed.
For one terrible moment, I thought I would shatter beneath the strain. Then, suddenly, clarity. The power settled into a rhythm, flowing through me rather than against me. I could feel the crown’s purpose now.
Not to destroy, but to heal.
Not to fight, but to restore.
I opened my eyes to find the world transformed. I could see the threads of reality itself, the connections between realms, the balance that had been disrupted by the Empress’s corruption. And I could see her too, not as a monster, but as a broken goddess, crying out for her other half.
“I understand now,” I whispered, my voice resonating with newfound power. “I know what we must do.”
Chapter
Twenty
Senara
I reached out with the Twilight Crown’s power, feeling it surge through me like liquid starlight. The artifacts had combined into something greater than their individual parts, a conduit for balance itself. Through it, I could see the cosmic threads that bound all realms together, the delicate web of existence that the Empress’s corruption threatened to unravel.
“Van,” I called, my voice resonating with newfound authority. “I need your help. The crown shows me what must be done, but I need your connection to her.”
The man who was a fragment of the Sun God nodded, his ancient eyes filled with a mixture of hope and sorrow. “What do you require, Eclipse Child?”
“Your music,” I said. “Play for her, not to attack, but to remind. Help her remember who she was before the corruption.”
Van’s fingers moved to his golden lyre once more, but this time the melody was different. Not arrows of light meant to wound, but gentle notes of remembrance that floated through the prison like autumn leaves on a breeze. Each chord seemed to call out across the void:Remember. Return. Reclaim yourself.
I stepped forward, the Twilight Crown blazing upon my brow. The Moon Blades materialized in my hands, no longer weapons but tools of healing, their edges glowing with harmonious light.
“Thorn, Wyn,” I called. “I need your strength.”
They moved to flank me without hesitation. Thorn’s sun-touched power flowing into me through our bond and enhancing my own, while Wyn’s twilight magic created a bridge between light and shadow. With their energy supporting mine, I reached toward the darkness where the Empress had retreated.
“Empress,” I called, my voice carrying through the void. “Moon Goddess. We’ve come not to destroy you, but to heal you. To restore what was broken.”
A hiss of suspicion answered me, the darkness roiling like storm clouds. “Lies,” her voice echoed. “All lies. You seek only to bind me again, to deny me what is rightfully mine.”
“No,” I replied, pouring sincerity into my words. “I seek to free you from the corruption that has twisted your true nature. We know who you are now. I’ve seen what you once were. I’ve spoken with fragments of you before, seen what you love, how you treasure this world and the beings within it. Remember the fae, the demihumans, the elves? They all worshipped you and your partner, and you loved them in return.”
Van’s music swelled, and within it, I heard whispers of ancient memories, two divine beings dancing among the stars, bringing light and darkness in perfect balance to nurture the realms they had created and cared for together.
