Page 5 of Crowned By the Shadow
Thorn’s hand covered mine. “Be careful. We don’t know what you’re connecting with.”
I nodded, then closed my eyes, focusing on that second connection. The pendant warmed against my palm as I pouredmy magic into it, reaching for that voice, for the person who had called me daughter.
Who are you? I pushed the thought through the connection, straining to hear a response.
The pendant suddenly burned hot. A surge of power slammed back through the connection, throwing me mentally backward. My head exploded with pain, as if someone had driven a spike between my eyes.
“Senara!” Thorn’s voice seemed to come from underwater.
I gasped, unable to let go of the pendant even as it scorched my palm. The connection had shifted, not to the mysterious voice, but to Wyn.
I saw her pacing in what, from my experience with the fae courts, looked like an elegant prison. The room was opulent, with silk hangings and ornate furniture that spoke of wealth and status. But the lavish surroundings couldn’t mask what it truly was: a cage.
Eldric stood nearby, his silver mask catching the light as he gestured with long, elegant fingers. His robes rippled like liquid shadow around him. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Wyn’s emotions told me everything. Without even seeing her face, I knew her brow would be furrowed in frustration, and her mouth set in a stubborn line. The expression was one I knew all too well.
She wore something new, delicate silver bracelets encircling both wrists, inscribed with runes that pulsed with magical energy. They weren’t decorative; they were binding her power somehow. I could feel her frustration through our connection, the way she kept glancing at the bracelets as if they were chains.
The vision wavered as pain lanced through my head again. The pendant clattered to the floor as I finally released it, breaking the connection.
“She’s alive,” I gasped, clutching my burned palm. “Wyn’s alive, but he’s binding her magic with some kind of enchanted bracelets.”
Thorn crouched beside me, examining my burned palm with gentle fingers. His touch sent warmth spiraling up my arm, momentarily distracting me from the pain.
“We need to treat this,” he murmured, his eyes meeting mine with concern.
I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Wyn is what matters.” I flexed my fingers, wincing. “Those bracelets on her wrists…they’re suppressing her magic. That’s why Volker couldn’t sense her.”
Van had stopped playing his lute, his expression grave. “Binding bracelets. Ancient magic, forbidden in most fae courts.”
“But not in the Shadow Dragon territories,” Volker added grimly. “Eldric must have powerful allies there.”
I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the throbbing in my hand. “We have two connections now. One to Wyn and one to...whoever that was in the Fae Capital.” The word ‘daughter’ still echoed in my mind, unsettling and impossible.
“We need to focus on Wyn first,” I said, my voice steady but urgent. “She’s in immediate danger.”
“What about the Mirror?” Thorn asked carefully.
My heart sank. Fenvalur had taken the Starforged Mirror when we faced him and without that, our chances of stopping the Void Dragon Empress would drop significantly. I knew both instinctively, and from the little the Goddess had said, that the three artifacts were designed to work in unison to stop the Empress.
“I…” How could they expect me to choose between the woman who was more than a sister to me and the artifact that would help stop the spread of the corruption?
Hadn’t the goddess made it seem like I could do everything? Now, here I was, having to choose between two equally frustrating options.
Wyn’s predicament was frustrating because I didn’t know what Eldric wanted with her and the Mirror was frustrating because I knew where it was, but stood little to no chance of getting it.
Walking back in to the fae capital would be asking for them to capture me at this point. I had no idea what to do.
I stared at the pendant lying on the ground, its dual connections pulling me in opposite directions. My heart and mind were at war, save Wyn or pursue the Mirror. Both were essential, both seemed impossible.
“I can’t abandon Wyn,” I finally said, my voice cracking. “She’s been by my side since we were children. She followed me into this world knowing the dangers.”
Thorn nodded, his fiery gaze softening. “Then we go to the Obsidian Keep.”
“But the Mirror—” Volker began.
“Will have to wait,” I cut him off, though the decision tore at me. “Without Wyn, I...” I couldn’t finish the thought. The truth was, I wasn’t sure I could face what was coming without her steady presence, her unwavering belief in me.
Van cleared his throat. “There might be a way to accomplish both.”
