Page 185 of Stormvein

Thousands of deaths lie behind his words. Families torn apart, bloodlines extinguished. All to prevent what stands before him now.

“But I still came back.” Ellie lifts her chin, shoulders thrown back, as she stares at him. “And we found each other.”

“Yes, and you stand here before me. The very combination the prophecy foretold. The union that threatens everything the Authority has built.”

His eyes move between us, while the crystal pulses in his hand. Its rhythm changes subtly, the blue light intensifying. My shadows respond, pulling toward it in ways I can’t entirely control. It feels like hooks beneath my skin, tugging at something inside me.

I resist the pull, muscles tensing with effort.

“Is that why the crystal affected my shadows differently when Ellie intervened at Blackstone Ridge?” I force the words out, buying time as I try to understand what’s happening. How to counter it.

“The crystal contains the power from hundreds of purged Veinbloods.” His voice takes on that scholarly tone again. “Each one preserved.” His fingers caress the crystal’s surface. “When Elowen’s energy touched it while it was actively drawing on yours, the resonance created … unexpected interference.”

I glance at Ellie, wondering if she feels it too. The crystal’s strange pull, trying to separate power from person.

“Because I wascreatedfrom the same energy the crystal harvests.” Understanding and horror mix together in her voice. “I’m made of stolen magic. Pieced together from the people you murdered … from people like Sacha.”

The realization sends visible tremors through her body. She’s not just a vessel. She’s a vessel filled with harvested Veinblood power. Her abilities came at the cost of others’ suffering.

“Yes.” Sereven nods. “Your very existence represents a flaw in the system. A power that adapted instead of dissipating, that evolved instead of serving its intended purpose.” He takes another step toward us, angling his body toward Ellie. “But it’s not too late. You could still fulfill your true function, Elowen.”

His voice softens, becoming almost gentle. “Join with the Authority. Take your rightful place, and help establish order in a world torn apart by chaos.” He extends his hand, the one not holding the crystal. “Help us create stability instead of destruction. It’s what you were made for.”

The crystal’s blue light intensifies as he speaks, casting strange shadows across his face that seem to move independently of his gestures. My own power tugs uncomfortably toward it, like metal drawn to a lodestone. A persistent, invasive pull that grows stronger with each moment we stand here. From Ellie’s wary expression, she’s feeling something similar.

“My truefunction?” Ellie laughs, but there’s no humor in the sound, just a brittle edge that could shatter into either fury or grief. “Youstolepower from people like Sacha. You imprisoned and tortured them, harvested their abilities against their will.” The light intensifies, radiating outward in waves that make the air shimmer around her. “You used that stolen power to createmeas a tool, and now you’re talking about my true function?”

“I speak of purpose. About the greater good that the Authority has always served.” Sereven’s voice takes on that familiar cadence of Authority doctrine. The same self-righteous tone heard in countless proclamations before executions. “About the necessity of controlling power rather than allowing it to run unchecked.”

“By torturing those born with abilities you’ve always coveted.” My shadows appear briefly, weaving around my fingers, as the pull toward the crystal grows stronger. “By breaking what you cannot control. By twisting children into vessels for stolen power.”

His eyes meet mine, and for a brief moment, I glimpse the person I once knew. The man he was before the Authority’s beliefs consumed him. Before power changed him.

“You never did understand true necessity, Sacha. Sometimes things must be broken before they can be properly rebuilt.”

My shadows writhe beneath my skin. It’s almost painful, yet I cannot move away. Idarenot.

“And now?” Ellie demands. “What happens next?”

“Now you have a choice to make.” Sereven steps back, creating distance. The movement of a negotiator establishing his position. “You came here for answers, and I have given them freely. What you do with them will determine what follows.”

He gestures toward the door. “My forces will reach Stonehaven by tomorrow. Five thousand men. Those you’ve come to care for will face overwhelming odds. I can order a retreat right now. One command, and they all live. You can save them all.”

His offer hangs in the air, while names and faces flash through my mind. Varam, Tisera, the families, the children. Everyone at Stonehaven who trusts us to keep them safe.

“In return for what?” Ellie’s voice gives away nothing of what she’s thinking.

“You stay here.” Sereven’s gaze fixes on her face, the offer clearly directed at her, and not me. The hunger in his expression intensifies. Not just for her power, but his creation returning to him. “Help us understand what you’ve become. Help us perfect the process.”

His words raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

How can he perfect the process without access to more Veinbloods?

“Or I could kill you here and now.” Shadows gather around my hands, despite the crystal’s pull. “End this here.”

“You could try,” Sereven acknowledges with maddening calm. “But what would be the point? My death won’t stop what’s coming, Sacha. Kill me, and another will take my place. The Authority will continue regardless. The plans for Stonehaven are already in motion.”

His voice contains absolute belief in his cause, the same confidence I once admired in him when we fought side by side.