Page 56 of Favored By the Stars

"And if the truth it shows me is that I'm meant to destroy rather than save?"

Van's eyes met mine, surprisingly serious. "Then you'll know, and knowing is better than fearing the unknown."

I glanced across the courtyard where Thorn sat with the others, his posture rigid even in rest. The distance between us felt like a physical ache.

"I should try to sleep," I murmured, rising to my feet.

Van nodded, but as I turned to leave, he caught my wrist gently. "Senara... the bond you share with Thorn, it's rare. Don't let the shadows of this place come between you."

I pulled my hand away, not unkindly. "Some shadows come from within, Van. Not from this place."

As I walked back toward the others, I felt the weight of tomorrow's challenge pressing down on me. The Starforged Mirror waited somewhere in this ghostly city, and with it, perhaps, the truth I both craved and feared.

ChapterTwenty-One

Senara

I settled onto a dusty cushion near the strange blue fire, wrapping my cloak tightly around me. Despite the warmth of the flames, a chill lingered in these ancient ruins. Across from me, Wyn had wandered to a crumbling wall, her fingers tracing over symbols etched into the stone.

"These markings," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "They're... responding to me."

I watched as the glyphs beneath her fingertips glowed with a faint purple light. The symbols seemed to shift and change, almost like they were breathing.

Volker moved closer to her, concern etched across his face. "Wyn, perhaps you shouldn't touch those."

She ignored him, her eyes wide with fascination. "They're speaking to me, Volker. Not with words exactly, but... I can feel their meaning."

I pushed myself up and approached them. The glyphs pulsed brighter as Wyn's hands hovered over them, responding to her magic in a way that made my skin prickle with unease.

"What are they saying?" I asked quietly.

"Something about... veils between worlds. And power." Her voice had taken on a dreamy quality that I'd never heard before. "So much power."

Volker placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Wyn, you're scaring me. A few months ago, you were just a human with a spark of magic. Now you're communing with ancient runes that no one's been able to read for centuries."

She blinked, seeming to come back to herself slightly. "I don't understand it either. It's like... the more magic I use, the more it grows inside me." She turned to look at him, her eyes reflecting the purple glow of the symbols. "Is that wrong?"

"Not wrong," Volker said carefully. "But not normal either. And these particular markings..." He squinted at the wall. "They're darker than the others we've seen. They look almost like void script."

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air. "Void script? That sounds ominous."

Volker nodded grimly. "It is. It’s why I'm concerned about them reaching out to Wyn specifically."

Wyn finally pulled her hand away from the wall, the glow fading slowly. "I'm still me," she said, though uncertainty tinged her voice. "The magic is just... helping me understand things I couldn't before."

I exchanged a worried glance with Volker. The changes in Wyn had been so gradual that I hadn't fully registered how profound they were until now.

I took a step closer to Wyn, studying her face. The silver in her hair seemed to shimmer with its own light now, and her features had taken on an ethereal quality that reminded me more of the fae than the human girl I'd grown up with.

"Wyn," I said softly, "how long have you been able to read these markings?"

She blinked rapidly, as if trying to clear her vision. "I don't know exactly. It started as just... feelings. Impressions. But since we entered Lumerin, it's like they're speaking directly to me." She pressed her palm against her forehead. "My head feels strange. Like it's... expanding."

Thorn appeared from around a corner, his expression darkening when he saw us clustered around the glowing wall. "What's happening here?"

"The ruins are communicating with Wyn," Volker explained, his voice tight with concern. "And not in a way I find comforting."

Thorn crossed the space in three quick strides. "Step back from the wall," he ordered, placing himself between Wyn and the symbols. "These markings aren't just ancient, they're warnings."

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