Page 5 of Favored by the Stars (Bound by the Veil #4)

Chapter Five

Senara

The corruption's tentacles tightened around my legs, its putrid breath hot on my face as it pulled me closer. Panic clawed at my throat, threatening to overwhelm me. I thrashed wildly, my fingers scrabbling against tree bark and earth, desperately seeking anything to hold on to.

"Your goddess cannot save you now," the Empress's voice purred in my mind, barely audible over the pounding of my heart. "But I can. Embrace the void, little moth, and I will give you the power to survive."

For a beat, I wavered. The temptation of power, of an escape from this nightmare, was almost overwhelming. But then I thought of Thorn, of Kaelyn, of all we had sacrificed to get this far. I couldn't betray them now.

"Never," I snarled, both to the Empress and to the corruption, which was dragging me to my doom.

As if in response to my defiance, a spark ignited deep within me. Not the familiar caress of moonlight, but something wilder, more primal. It surged through my veins like liquid fire, filling me with a strength I had never known.

With a feral cry, I lashed out at the corruption. My hands, glowing with a strange silvery-gold light, sank into its flesh. The creature shrieked, its tentacles recoiling as if burned. I scrambled to my feet, my entire body humming with this new, untamed power. It was different from what had erupted from me before. The gold tint that I associated with Thorn's power was unmistakable around the edges of silver, but why was it there?

"Impossible," the Empress hissed in my mind, her voice tinged with both fury and fascination.

I had no time to ponder this unexpected development. The corruption was already regrouping, its many eyes fixed on me with murderous intent. I turned and tried to run, but there, just a few steps in front of me, was the mage in the silver mask.

It had to be the same one I'd seen before when Thorn and his team had cleared out the corrupted fae from the village.

"Hold," a gravelly voice murmured. The corruption, which had been about to latch onto me again, froze in place.

When I had seen him before, I'd thought the mask was animalistic, and it was, but from this distance I could see that it was designed to resemble a dragon's head. The metal glinted in the light that pierced through the tree branches, making it seem all the more ominous.

The masked mage tilted their head, studying me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. I could feel the weight of their gaze even through the eyeholes of that eerie dragon mask.

"Fascinating," they murmured, their gaze scanning over me as though I was a prize hog. "You shouldn't be able to wield that power, Senara. Not here. Not now. Especially not after how weak and powerless you were last time."

My eyes narrowed. "You know my name?"

"I know many things," the mage replied, taking a step closer. The corruption behind me growled, but remained still. "I know of your bond with the sun-kissed warrior. I know of the goddess's waning power. And I know that you now stand at a crossroads."

The mention of Thorn sent a pang through my heart. I pushed it aside, focusing on the threat before me. I clenched my fists, the strange silvery-gold energy still crackling around my fingers. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The mage chuckled, a sound like grinding stones. "I am Eldric Jandath Valtoris, child. And what I want..." He paused, reaching out as if to touch my face. I flinched back, but he simply traced the air near my cheek. "...is to understand how you've done this."

The corruption creature writhed behind us, held in check by some unseen force. Eldric's mask turned slightly toward it, then back to me.

"You've rejected the Empress's offer," he stated. It wasn't a question. "Yet you channel power that shouldn't be accessible to you. Tell me, little moon-touched one, do you even know what you are?"

My heart raced. The new power within me surged, responding to my fear and confusion. "I'm Senara, Chosen of the Moon Goddess," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

Eldric's laugh was sharp and cold. "Oh, child. You are so much more than that. And so much less."

He raised a hand, and I tensed, ready for an attack. Instead, the air between us shimmered, forming a mirror-like surface. I gasped at what I saw reflected there.

My eyes glowed with an otherworldly light made up of silver and gold intertwined. The moon mark on my face had expanded, delicate lines of starlight tracing patterns across my skin. But most shocking of all was the faint outline of wings behind me, translucent and shimmering like gossamer.

"What…what am I?" I whispered, reaching out to touch the impossible image.

Eldric waved a hand, dispelling the mirror. "That, my dear, is the question we must answer. For your sake, and for the sake of all the realms."

The masked mage turned, gesturing for me to follow. "Come. We have much to discuss, and little time. The corruption grows stronger with each passing moment."

I hesitated, glancing back towards where Thorn and Kaelyn had disappeared. Every instinct screamed at me to find a way through that barrier, to reunite with them. But the power thrumming through my veins whispered of secrets and truths I desperately needed to understand.

The doubt that had been gnawing at me since my vision surged forward. I pushed it down, clinging to my convictions. "I won't be manipulated by you or the Empress."

Eldric chuckled, the sound sending chills down my spine. "My dear, I offer no manipulation. Only truth. The choice of what to do with that truth is entirely yours."

"And what if I refuse?" I asked, my voice stronger than I felt.

He shrugged. "Then you refuse. But do you have any idea what to do next? How to reunite with your bonded? He watches for you even now." He raised a hand, and the air shimmered. An image appeared, Thorn and Kaelyn slumped against an enormous tree trunk, their faces etched with worry and exhaustion. Thorn's gaze scanned the area, constantly on alert, looking for something, for me.

My heart clenched at the sight.

I reached out instinctively, my fingers passing through the mirage. "And you know how I can get to them?" I whispered, hating the desperation in my voice.

Eldric's mask seemed to smile even though the carved features didn't actually move. "The power you now wield, it is the key. Neither purely of the moon nor of the sun, but a perfect balance. It can pierce the Grove's defenses, reunite you with your companions."

My mind raced. Could I trust this mysterious mage? But then, did I have any other choice?

"And what's the catch?"

Eldric's mask tilted, the silver dragon's eyes seeming to glint with amusement. "Clever girl. The 'catch,' as you put it, is knowledge. To truly wield this power, you must understand its origins. And that understanding may shatter everything you think you know."

I clenched my fists, the strange energy still crackling around my fingers. "I'm not afraid of the truth." The energy made my skin itch, and I wanted to let it dissipate, but I was scared that if I did, then I wouldn't be able to recall it.

"Aren't you?" Eldric's voice was soft, almost gentle. "Even if it means learning that your beloved goddess is not what she seems?"

A chill ran down my spine, but I stood my ground. "Tell me."

Eldric nodded, then gestured towards a barely visible path. "Walk with me. The corruption cannot follow where we're going." As he walked away he added in a low voice that I could barely hear, "Neither can what it's tied to."

As we moved deeper into the forest, the air grew thick with an otherworldly mist. Eldric's voice cut through the silence. "You were born of a taboo union, Senara. A child of both moon and sun was forbidden to exist."

My breath caught. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother was moon-touched, yes. But your father..." Eldric paused, turning to face me. "He was sun-kissed."

The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet. "That's not possible. It's forbidden?—"

"And you've never done anything that's forbidden?" Eldric challenged. "Your very existence proves that people do forbidden things all the time. And it is why the Grove rejects you now. You are an anomaly, even if the goddess blessed you."

"But it let Thorn in and he's sun-kissed, besides how do you even know who my parents are?"

"We don't have time for me to spell everything out." Irritation infused his words, whether it was with me or because we couldn't have an entire conversation, I wasn't sure. "Suffice to say after our last encounter, I did some research."

"Research?" I questioned.

Eldric ignored it and instead said, "As for Thorn getting into the grove, his magic was not tainted by corruption at the time, like yours was. After your talk with the Empress, a sliver of her magic remained within you, blocking you from most of your power."

My mind reeled. If what he claimed about my parents was true, then it explained so much. But it also raised a terrifying question.

"Then is what the fae fear true? Am I some kind of... abomination?"

Eldric's masked face turned towards me sharply. "No. You are the first of your kind that has lived to adulthood since the Sundering. And that makes you infinitely precious, and infinitely dangerous."

We emerged into a small clearing. At the center stood an ancient tree, its bark gleaming a soft silver in the ethereal light. Eldric approached it, placing a hand on its trunk.

"This is a fragment of the original World Tree, from which all magic flows. It can show you the truth of your heritage, if you're brave enough to see it."

"World tree?" I echoed his words, confusion ringing in my own.

"The world tree connects all realms and lands. It is a record of everything that has come before and everything that will be, though I know of no one who can read the leaves of the future, and there are only some, like myself, who can read the leaves of the past."

I hesitated, my heart pounding. Did I truly want to know? What if the truth was worse than I could imagine?

But then I remembered Thorn and the expression in his eyes when we parted. Of Kaelyn, who had risked everything to help us. I couldn't let them down now.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward. The moment my hand touched the soft, velvety bark of the tree, a surge of energy coursed through me. Images flashed before my eyes in rapid succession:

A woman with moonlight in her hair, her belly swollen with child, fleeing through a dark forest.

A man with sun-kissed skin reaching for her, desperation etched on his face as figures in golden armor held him back.

Blood soaked sheets.

A newborn's cry, quickly muffled. Whispered words: "Take care of her for us. She must never know."

A stillness that felt all too much like death, punctuated by a sob of grief.

The visions sped up, fragments of a hidden past.

A funeral in the woods by an unmarked grave with no one present but two people and a baby.

Myself as a child, the people who I thought were my parents seeing my moon mark for the first time. The fear that covered their faces as it glowed a faint silver, but with a tinge of gold around the edges that quickly faded.

Pain as they tried to carve the mark from my back.

Terror when the mark reappeared over the area that it had been removed from, only this time without the glow.

The sense of brokenness that emanated from me as a child and fear of what they had done.

The images whirled faster, overwhelming me with their intensity as my past played out before my eyes, only in a way I'd never imagined before. I gasped, trying to pull away, but Eldric's hand clamped down on mine, holding me in place.

"You must see it all," he hissed. "Only then can you understand."

The last vision slammed into me with the force of a tidal wave.

A magnificent hall, its ceiling open to the night sky. Two thrones, one bathed in moonlight, the other glowing with the warmth of the sun. And seated upon them...

My legs buckled as the connection broke. I stumbled back, my mind reeling from what I'd seen. Eldric caught me before I could fall, his grip surprisingly gentle.

"Now you know," he said, an unexpected tenderness to his voice. "The truth of your lineage."

I shook my head, unable to process it all. "But that's impossible."

Eldric's mask gleamed in the ethereal light. "You, of all people, should understand the desire to give in to temptation."

He helped me to a fallen log, giving me a moment to catch my breath. In the span of a few heartbeats, everything in my world had changed drastically.

"If what I saw is true," I whispered, "then why was I hidden?"

Eldric sighed, a sound filled with ancient weariness. "Because your very existence threatens the balance of power in both realms. There are those who would see you destroyed rather than risk the change you represent."

I looked down at my hands, still faintly glowing with that strange silver-gold energy. "And Thorn? Does he know?"

Eldric was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was grave. "Thorn knows only what he has been told, that he is the sun-kissed warrior destined to wield great power. But the truth of your connection runs far deeper than either of you realize."

My heart clenched. "What do you mean?"

The masked mage turned to face me fully. "Your bond with Thorn is no mere coincidence, Senara. It is the echo of an ancient prophecy, one that speaks of a child born of moon and sun who will either unite the realms or tear them asunder."

I shook my head, overwhelmed. "What does that have to do with him though, if I'm the one born of the moon and sun? This is too much. I'm just... I'm just Senara. I can't be responsible for the fate of entire realms!"

Eldric's hand came to rest on my shoulder, surprisingly gentle. "And yet, here you are. Wielding power that should not exist, standing at the crossroads of life with a decision only you can make."

I stared at my hands, watching the silver and gold energy dance across my skin. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Eldric seemed to sag and softly replied, "As I said, it is entirely up to you. But know this, the choice you make will ripple across all the realms. The Empress seeks to control you, to harness your power for her own ends, as does the Moon Goddess in her own way. Others will seek to destroy you out of fear. And some..." He paused, his mask tilting slightly. "Some will see you as the key to breaking ancient cycles of conflict."

I stood, my legs shaky but my resolve growing. "I need to get back to Thorn and Kaelyn. They're still trapped in the Grove."

Eldric nodded. "And now you have the power to reach them. But I warn you, there is no turning back once you step through that barrier. The truth of who and what you are will be impossible to hide."

I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. "Then I won't hide it. I'll face whatever comes, for better or worse."

As I turned to leave, Eldric's voice stopped me. "One last thing, Senara. The power you now wield? It is raw, untamed. Without proper training, it could consume you...or worse."

I looked back at him, a chill running down my spine. "Worse how?" My mind filled with the vision of me with blood and shadows dripping from my hands.

The dragon mask seemed to grin, though it didn't move. "Power always comes with a price, little one. Are you prepared to pay it?"

Before I could answer, a distant roar echoed through the forest. The corruption was growing restless, searching for us.

Eldric's posture tensed. "You must go. Now. Remember what I've told you, and trust in the strength that lies within."

I nodded, turning to face the direction of the Grove. As I summoned the strange new power, feeling it surge through my veins, a last question nagged at me.

"Eldric, why are you helping me now when you tried to kill me last time?"

He snorted softly. "If I was trying to kill you, then you'd be dead. That was a test. I had heard rumors and was hoping to draw out the answer, and so I did, though at the time I was bitterly disappointed." He paused, tilting his mask slightly again before adding, "Turns out I was just impatient."

Tress crashed and branches broke nearby as something rushed through the underbrush.

Eldric's body tensed. "Run. Now."

I didn't question him, instead I just took off, calling on the power within myself to boost my speed. My feet barely touched the ground as the strange energy propelled me forward.

The forest blurred around me, trees whipping past at impossible speeds. I could hear the corruption's roars behind me, feel the ground shaking with its pursuit, but I didn't dare look back. My lungs burned, my muscles screamed, but still I pushed on.

Suddenly, the trees thinned, and I burst into a moonlit clearing. At its center stood an ancient oak, its trunk easily as wide as a house, its branches stretching up to scrape the sky. The Grove. I had found it, but without Thorn or Kaelyn. How had I gotten in? Where were they? Would the corruption still be held back or had the barrier that had rejected me before vanished?

As I stumbled towards the massive tree, my newfound power began to flicker and fade. Exhaustion hit me like a physical blow, and I collapsed to my knees at the tree's roots. Behind me, I could hear the corruption crashing through the tree line.

"Please," I gasped, pressing my palms against the oak's rough bark. "I don't know if you can hear me, or if you even care, but I need your help. Not just for me, but for all of us."

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, ever so slowly, I felt a warmth spreading from my palms into the tree. The bark beneath my hands began to glow with a soft silvery-gold light, pulsing in time with my racing heartbeat.

A deep, resonant voice filled my mind, ancient and powerful: "Child of moon and sun, you have come at last."

I gasped, my eyes widening as the massive oak seemed to shift and change before me. Its branches twisted and curled, forming intricate patterns that shimmered with otherworldly energy.

"Who... what are you?" I whispered, awe and fear warring within me.

The voice chuckled, a sound like rustling leaves. "I am the heart of Moonweaver's Grove, the keeper of secrets long forgotten. And you, little one, are the key to unlocking them all."

Behind me, I could hear the corruption's roars growing closer. The ground trembled beneath my feet.

"Please," I begged, "I need to find my friends. Thorn and Kaelyn, they're trapped here somewhere."

The tree's energy pulsed, and suddenly, I could see them. Thorn and Kaelyn were huddled together at the base of another massive tree, their faces etched with worry and exhaustion. They seemed so close, yet impossibly far away.

"The sun-kissed warrior and the elf companion," the tree mused. "They have faced their own trials while you were away. But reuniting will not be as simple as you hope."

My heart clenched. "What do you mean? What's happened to them?"

"The Grove exists in many places at once, child. Your friends have been pulled into one of its deeper layers, where time and space flow differently. To reach them, you must navigate the heart of the Grove itself."

I stared at the shimmering portal, my mind reeling. "But I don't know how. I barely understand my own powers, let alone how to navigate a magical grove!"

The tree's energy pulsed again, more insistently this time. "Trust in the blood that flows through your veins, child of two worlds. It is both your greatest strength and your gravest weakness."

The ground trembled as the corruption drew nearer. I could hear its enraged howls, smell its putrid breath on the wind. "Please," I begged. "I don't fully understand what I am or what I'm supposed to do, but I know I can't do it alone."

The tree's branches creaked and groaned, shifting to form a sort of doorway, revealing a shimmering portal within. The voice spoke again, urgent now. "You must choose now. Step through and face the unknown, or stay and confront the darkness that pursues you. If you are going to face the unknown, then enter quickly, child. We will hold back the darkness, but you must make haste."

I scrambled to my feet, casting one last glance over my shoulder at the approaching corruption. Its many eyes glowed with malevolent hunger, its tentacles writhing as it reached for me.

Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the portal. As I passed through, I heard the tree's voice one last time:

"Find the truth within yourself, Senara. For only then can you hope to save us all."

The world around me dissolved into a whirl of light and color. When my vision cleared, I found myself in a vast chamber, its walls alive with swirling patterns of silver and gold.

At the end of the hall stood glowing figures that seemed to be coalesced from celestial radiance itself, a group of guardians, each emanating an aura of raw, untamed magic.

They stood tall and imperious, their forms vaguely humanoid, but wrought of starlight and shadow. The guardians' eyes were pools of midnight, deep and fathomless, and when their gaze fixed upon me, it was with the weight of eons. Cloaks woven from the fabric of night itself billowed about them, untouched by any breeze, and their presence seemed to bend the very air, commanding silence from the forest around Moonweaver's Grove.

"Prove your worth." The words came not as a sound but as a reverberation through the ground and air, a chorus of voices that spoke directly to the marrow of my bones. Each syllable was laden with potent ancient wisdom, resonating with the power that had birthed the world itself.

My mind raced, thoughts tumbling like leaves in a storm. Trials. I had been warned that we would face trials, but I hadn't realized that they would be laid forth by these ethereal beings.

"Guardians of Moonweaver's Grove," I began, doing my best to keep my voice clear and steady, "I understand the gravity of my quest and accept the need for trials. I stand ready to prove my worth." My words carried the weight of my conviction, echoing through the hall like a sacred vow.

The guardians nodded almost imperceptibly, their luminous figures flickering as if caught between realms. Then, in a haunting chorus that seemed to draw from the very essence of the Veil itself, they spoke.

"Three trials await thee," they intoned, their voices merging into a single, undulating cadence. "First, the Trial of Whispers, where secrets long buried will be your guide through darkness and light. Next, the Trial of Shadows, a journey through reflections to test the strength of one's inner sight. Last, the Trial of Celestial Blades, where only the truly Marked shall wield the power to cleave falsehood from truth."

As they spoke, each word seemed to envelop me in the mystery and menace of the challenges ahead. The guardians' cryptic clues spun around me, begging for interpretation, but providing no clear path.

"Thank you, guardians," I said, my mind already sifting through the riddles, trying to dissect their meaning.

"Prepare yourself," the guardians warned, their figures dissolving back into the barrier. "For within Moonweaver's Grove, your true self shall emerge."

I closed my eyes, allowing the whisper of the moon goddess to wash over me like a tide drawn by celestial gravity. It was a silent communion, one that tethered me to an ancient source of strength. For now, I couldn't let thoughts of my dual bloodline cloud my judgement or determination.

As I approached the door, the guardians had stood in front of one figure reemerged. The luminous form pressed its hand to the door before it stepped aside, creating an opening through which destiny beckoned.

"Into the unknown," I whispered to myself, not as a harbinger of dread but as a reminder of what I had left behind me and, more importantly, what I was searching for.