Page 3 of Crowned by the Shadow (Bound by the Veil #5)

Chapter

Two

Senara

The pendant slipped from my fingers, clattering to the ground as I stumbled backward. Thorn caught me before I fell, his powerful arms steadying me.

“Senara? What happened?” His voice seemed distant, drowned by the echo of those words in my mind.

Daughter.

“Someone—” My voice cracked. “Someone just spoke to me through the pendant. Called me... daughter.”

Van and Volker exchanged a look that made my stomach clench.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded, finding my voice again.

Volker knelt to retrieve the pendant, careful not to touch it directly. He used a cloth from his pocket to wrap around it before handing it back to me. “The Veilshard can sometimes act as a conduit between those with powerful magical connections.”

“I don’t have any family,” I said flatly. “I was an orphan in the human realm, remember? No one ever claimed me.”

“And yet someone in the Fae Capital seems to recognize you,” Van said quietly. “Someone powerful enough to reach through magical barriers.”

The image of that silver mask flashed in my mind again.

Those burning eyes that somehow felt... familiar.

The mask wasn’t the same as Eldric’s it was more animalistic, the expression on it one of permanent rage and torment.

Besides, if Eldric had been my father, I was sure he would have said something by now, not given me some cryptic greeting through an ancient artifact. Or stolen my best friend.

“Were all the artifacts related to the Moon Goddess?” I asked quietly, my mind flipping back to that burning gaze that had felt as though it was locked onto me.

“Yes and no,” Van murmured, as though distracted by something. “All the artifacts are celestial in nature, and while the Moon Goddess is probably the primary maker behind them, I have no doubt she would have had help from her consort as well.”

“Meaning the Sun God?”

Van nodded and pulled his lute around to the front and began idly strumming. The notes seemed to pluck at the very magic in the air, making it almost vibrate with power.

I didn’t want to get distracted, though. The answer was close. I could feel it.

I stared at the pendant, its strange dual connection pulling me in two directions. One led to Wyn in the Obsidian Keep, but the other—the one with that voice...

“I need to try something,” I said, clutching the Veilshard tightly.

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 poured my 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.”

I turned to him, hope flickering to life. “How?”

“Split up.” He shrugged as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Volker can come with me to the Obsidian Keep, and we can scout things out while you and Thorn retrieve the mirror.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it the other way around?” Thorn countered. “Senara and I aren’t exactly welcome at court right now.”

“True,” Van nodded slowly as his fingers continued to pluck at the lute’s strings.

“Your magic is stronger than mine, though, and you’re not the only ones not welcome at court.

I never have been. They only put up with me because I play pretty songs, but now that Volker and I both mysteriously went missing when you fled the city? Neither of us will be welcome.”

“Yes, but you’re not actively being hunted.” I wanted to stick my tongue out at him. This back and forth was killing me when all I wanted to do was move and go after Wyn. Still, if there was a way to do both, then I needed to at least investigate it.

“Maybe not, but no one would let me get close to any restricted areas. I’m not part of the courts and they all know it.”

Not part of the courts? What did that mean?

Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “How will you get into the Obsidian Keep? Didn’t you just said it’s supposed to be impenetrable?”

“No fortress is truly impenetrable,” Volker said with a grim smile. “Especially not to those who understand shadow magic.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You understand shadow magic?”

“Better than any other fae. It was one of the reasons Wyn was so motivated to study under me. Besides,” he added with a wry twist of his lips, “I’ve been waiting for an excuse to irritate Eldric Valtoris for decades.”

Before I could ask how Volker knew Eldric, Van spoke up, his eyes glinting with unexpected mischief.

“And if Volker fails, I might have a way. The Shadow Dragons appreciate beauty and art above all else. They used to regularly invite performers from across the realms. Now that I know the Shadow Dragons aren’t all extinct, I bet I can get us in. ”

“You want to walk in the front door?” Volker looked skeptical.

“Not just walk in,” Van replied, strumming a complex melody that seemed to shimmer in the air. “I’ll be invited in as their honored guest.”

“And what about Volker?” I asked.

Van’s smile widened. “Every great performer needs an attendant.”

“That might actually work,” Thorn said, surprising me. “Shadow Dragons are arrogant. They won’t look closely at servants, especially if they think the servant is a fae that’s been taken down a peg or two.”

“But you’re fae, so wouldn’t that make it harder for you to get in if they don’t like fae?” I asked.

“Whoever said I was fae?” Van smiled and my urge to ask more questions and find out what he was hinting at faded.

“Fine,” I relented, running a hand through my tangled hair. “Thorn and I will go after the Mirror, while you two scout the Obsidian Keep. But promise me you won’t try to rescue Wyn without us. We need to know exactly what we’re facing first.”

Van’s fingers stilled on the lute strings. “I promise we’ll only gather information. No heroics. A bard and a mage that leans more toward the academic than the battle side of things aren’t the best candidates for the job anyway.”

Volker nodded in agreement, though his expression remained troubled. “The Shadow Dragon territories are dangerous, especially for outsiders. We’ll need to move carefully.”

I picked up the Veilshard Pendant, wrapping it in a piece of cloth to avoid direct contact. The burn on my palm throbbed, a constant reminder of the strange connection I’d felt and that voice calling me daughter.

“The capital won’t be any safer for us,” Thorn said quietly. “Fenvalur will have the Mirror heavily guarded, especially after our escape.”

“I know.” I tucked the pendant into my pocket. “But we have one advantage. They don’t know we’d be foolish enough to return.”

Thorn’s mouth quirked in a half-smile. “Foolish or brave?”

“Is there a difference?” I asked, returning his smile despite the weight pressing down on me.

We spent the next hour planning our approach. The Moonweaver’s Grove would serve as our meeting point in three days’ time, regardless of our success. If either group didn’t return, the other would know something had gone wrong.

As night fell over the Moonweaver’s Grove, we completed our preparations.

The moon hung heavy in the sky, casting silver light through the canopy that seemed to respond to my presence, brightening wherever I walked.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Grove itself was watching over us, perhaps even guiding us.

I’d half expected the Aetherweavers to show up again, but we weren’t that lucky. If they had, maybe we could have got some useful information, but as it was, all we had to go on was the vague memories of Van and Volker and their knowledge of the Moonlit Court.

“We should leave before dawn,” Thorn said, laying out our weapons. “The journey to the capital will take most of tomorrow if we push hard.”

I nodded, studying the crude map Van had sketched of the palace grounds, committing to memory the hidden entrance he’d marked, a servants’ passage rarely used since the last royal celebration.

“Are you sure about this?” Volker asked quietly, coming to sit beside me. “The Mirror is crucial, yes, but walking back into Fenvalur’s domain...”

“I don’t have a choice.” I traced the burn on my palm, now wrapped in healing herbs Thorn had gathered. “The goddess chose me for this task. I can’t fail her or Wyn.”

Volker’s expression softened. “You carry too much on your shoulders, Senara.”

“Who else would carry it?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

Later, as the others slept, I sat alone at the edge of the clearing, gazing up at the moon. Its light seemed to fill me, resonating with the marks that spiraled across my skin.

“Who are you?” I whispered to the night, thinking of that voice that had called me daughter. “Why now, after all these years?”

Only silence answered me, but as I watched, a single moonbeam seemed to intensify, illuminating the Veilshard Pendant where it lay beside me. I reached for it cautiously, wrapping it in cloth before picking it up.

The pendant pulsed once in my hand, and I felt that connection again—not to Wyn this time, but to that mysterious presence in the capital. It felt different now, less intrusive, almost...waiting.

Tomorrow we would begin our separate journeys, Thorn and I to face whatever traps Fenvalur had laid, Van and Volker to infiltrate the domain of the Shadow Dragons. Both paths were fraught with danger, but both were necessary.

I closed my eyes, drawing strength from the moonlight, and made a silent promise to Wyn.

Hold on. We’re coming for you.