Page 24 of Crowned by the Shadow (Bound by the Veil #5)

Chapter

Fifteen

Senara

I sat up carefully, still groggy from sleep, and still feeling somewhat drained from everything that had happened, but I couldn’t wait any longer and reached for the Veilshard Pendant around my neck.

Its familiar weight centered me as I held it between my palms, feeling its subtle warmth against my skin.

We needed to find Van and Volker. They had gone to scout the Obsidian Keep while Thorn and I went after the Mirror, but we’d found no sign of them during our rescue of Wyn. Were they still there, possibly captured? Or had they escaped and were now searching for us?

I closed my eyes, focusing on the pendant’s energy.

With Wyn safe, I could turn my attention to our other missing companions.

I pictured Van’s face, his knowing smile, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he was amused.

Then Volker’s more serious countenance, his scholarly demeanor masking a surprising fierceness.

The pendant warmed between my palms, responding to my intent. I felt the familiar tug behind my navel as my consciousness stretched outward, searching for the connections that bound us together.

At first, there was nothing but darkness. Then, faintly, I felt them, two presences that I recognized immediately.

Stone walls. The scent of damp and decay. Flickering torchlight casting long shadows.

Van and Volker huddled in a corner of what appeared to be a cell.

Van’s usually immaculate appearance was disheveled, his clothing torn and stained.

Volker looked worse. There was a gash across his forehead had crusted with dried blood, and he cradled one arm against his chest as if it were injured.

“They’ll come for us,” Van was saying, his voice hoarse but determined. “Senara won’t leave us here.”

Volker’s laugh was bitter. “If they’re still alive. We’ve been here for days, and Eldric hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about their fate.”

“They’re alive,” Van insisted. “I’d know if they weren’t.”

The cell door rattled, and both men tensed. A dragonkin guard peered through a small opening.

“The master wants the musician,” the guard growled, voice distorted as if speaking through water.

Van stood, squaring his shoulders despite his obvious exhaustion. “Tell your master I’m not performing today. Throat’s sore.”

The guard’s eyes narrowed, glowing with that sickly purple light. “Not a request.”

The door swung open, and two more guards entered, roughly grabbing Van by the arms. He didn’t struggle, just shot Volker a reassuring look over his shoulder as they dragged him out.

“Don’t worry,” he called back. “The Eclipse Child comes. I can feel it in my bones.”

The vision faded, the connection severed as abruptly as it had formed. I gasped, my eyes flying open as I returned to my body. The pendant cooled in my hands, its power temporarily spent.

“Van,” I whispered, my heart racing. “Volker.”

A rustling sound drew my attention. Thorn drew closer to me, concern etched on his features.

“What did you see?” he asked quietly as he reached out and took my hand, forcing me to release the Veilshard Pendant, as though he knew I was tempted to try and connect with them again.

“They’re in the Obsidian Keep,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “Prisoners. Van seemed certain we’d come for them, but Volker... he’s badly injured, and he’s losing hope.”

Thorn’s expression hardened. “Then we go back.”

“Back?” I echoed, the memory of our narrow escape still fresh. “I’m surprised you want to considering we barely made it out alive last time.”

“We can’t leave them there,” Thorn said firmly. “Van and Volker are our allies—our friends. And we’re stronger now. You have the Moon Blades, Wyn has her new powers... Besides, I know you wouldn’t be willing to go anywhere until we rescue them.”

He was right. The thought of abandoning Van and Volker to Eldric’s mercy was unthinkable. But returning to the Obsidian Keep sent a chill down my spine.

“We need a plan,” I said, determination replacing my initial fear. “A real one this time, not just charging in and hoping for the best.”

Thorn nodded, his eyes reflecting the first rays of dawn breaking through the trees. “We should wake the others.”

As if on cue, Wyn came back over, her new twilight-touched eyes taking in entirely too much as she ran a hand through her silver-and-purple hair.

“What’s happening?” she asked, sensing the tension.

“Change of plans,” I told her. “Van and Volker are still in the Obsidian Keep. We’re going back for them.”

Wyn’s expression shifted from surprise to resolve. “Of course we are.”

“What did I miss?” Ronan asked, joining our circle.

I quickly explained what I’d seen in my vision, that Van and Volker were captives and hurt.

As I spoke, I watched their faces. Thorn’s determination never wavered.

Wyn’s new powers seemed to shimmer beneath her skin as her resolve strengthened.

Even Ronan, who had the least connection to Van and Volker, as far as I was aware, nodded grimly.

“So we’re going back into the dragon’s lair,” he said when I finished. It wasn’t a question.

“More like the dragon’s minion’s lair, but yes, we are,” I confirmed. “We can’t go in blindly. We need to be smarter this time.”

“I can help with that,” Wyn said, her voice carrying a new confidence. “The transformation... it changed more than just my appearance. I can sense things now, pathways between shadows, currents of magic. I might be able to find a way into the Keep that bypasses Eldric’s defenses.”

“And the corruption in the fortress?” Thorn asked. “Will it affect you?”

Wyn shook her head. “Not anymore. The darkness is part of me now, but I control it, not the other way around.” She held up her hand, where shadows and light danced across her palm in perfect harmony. “I can use it to hide us, to move us through the Keep unseen.”

“What about the Empress?” I asked, the memory of those ancient, terrible eyes still fresh in my mind. “If the convergence is as close as you said...”

“We’ll have to be quick,” Wyn acknowledged.

“In and out before she can gather enough power to break through completely. But Senara...” She hesitated, her starlit eyes troubled.

“Even if we rescue Van and Volker, we’ll still need to face her eventually.

The convergence is coming whether we’re ready or not. ”

“I know,” I said, my hand going to the pendant at my throat. “But we’ll be stronger with all of us together. Van and Volker might know something that could help us, something about the artifacts, about the Empress, about how to stop her.”

“Agreed,” Thorn said.

“So it’s decided,” I said, looking at each of my companions in turn. “We go back to the Obsidian Keep, we rescue Van and Volker, and then we prepare to face the Empress.”

“When do we leave?” Ronan asked.

I glanced at the rising sun, feeling its warmth on my face. The Moon Mark on my skin, now threaded with gold, seemed to pulse in response to the dawn light.

“As soon as possible,” I said. “But first, we need to gather our strength and knowledge. Wyn, how long will it take you to find a path into the Keep?”

She closed her eyes, her face going still as she reached out with her new senses. “A few hours,” she said after a moment. “I can feel the shadows of the fortress, even from here. They’re... calling to me. But I need time to map a safe route.”

“Then we rest and prepare until midday,” I decided. “Thorn, check our supplies. Ronan, scout the area, hunt if you can, but make sure we’re not being followed. I’ll help Wyn with finding our way in.”

As they moved to their tasks, I sat beside Wyn, watching as she entered a trance-like state, her consciousness reaching toward the Obsidian Keep. The pendant warmed against my skin, responding to her magic.

“I can help,” I said softly. “The pendant can create passages between realms. Maybe it can help you find a path.”

Wyn nodded without opening her eyes. “Hold it between us,” she instructed. “Let me channel through it.”

I removed the pendant from around my neck and held it in my open palm between us. Wyn placed her hand over mine, our fingers not quite touching, but the pendant floated up slightly from my palm, suspended between our energies.

The connection formed instantly, a bridge between my moon and sun magic and Wyn’s twilight magic. Through her, I could sense the shadows of the Obsidian Keep, vast and labyrinthine. Through me, she could feel the pendant’s ability to bend space and create doorways.

Together, we began to map a path. It would not be a direct assault like before, but a subtle infiltration through the fortress’s own shadows. Wyn’s new powers let her see weaknesses in Eldric’s defenses, places where the corruption was thinner or more malleable.

“There,” she murmured after what felt like hours. “A servant’s passage, forgotten and unused. The shadows there are... quieter. Less watched.”

I saw it through our shared vision. A narrow corridor deep within the mountain that supported the floating fortress, bypassing the main chambers where Eldric would expect us to enter.

“It leads directly to the dungeons,” Wyn continued. “Where Van and Volker are held. We can slip in, free them, and be gone before Eldric even knows we’re there.”

“And if we’re discovered?” I asked.

Wyn’s eyes opened, meeting mine with calm confidence. “Then we fight. But this time, we’ll be ready.”

The pendant cooled between our palms as the connection faded. I slipped it back around my neck, feeling its weight settle against my heart.

“We’ll get them out,” I promised, as much to myself as to Wyn. “And then we’ll end this, once and for all.”

Wyn nodded, her transformed features solemn in the midday light. “Together,” she said simply.

As Thorn and Ronan came back to us, I explained our plans to them, and a strange calm settled over me.

The path ahead was dangerous, perhaps even impossible, but we would face it as one.

Van and Volker needed us, and we wouldn’t abandon them to the darkness even if it meant facing down Eldric one more time.