Page 80 of Stormvein (The Veinbound Trilogy #2)

Chapter Thirty-Five

SACHA

To flee is not cowardice. It is the strategy of the outnumbered.

Fragments of the Lost Veinwardens

We descend the steps beneath my chambers, lightstones flickering against the walls.

Shadows stretch ahead of me, matching each movement I make.

The air grows cooler the farther we go, carrying that particular stillness found only in places built for isolation.

At the bottom of the stairs, the passageway narrows.

The lights from the stones dim slightly, casting everything in a washed-out amber.

There’s only one chamber down here, one room carved into the depths of Stonehaven for the purpose of holding prisoners too dangerous for the upper levels. Just one door, with four guards standing in front of it.

They stand to attention when I come into view.

“Open the door.”

They hesitate, exchanging uncertain looks. “Lord Torran, given her previous actions?—”

“She’s securely bound. And I’m fully recovered. She poses no threat.”

One of them steps forward to unlock the heavy door, and the hinges groan as it swings inward.

The chamber inside is stark. Bare walls, cold stone, and silence that clings to everything.

Lisandra is standing in the center, hands bound before her, spine unbowed, composed as though she were the one who’d called for this meeting.

There’s no uncertainty in her stance, no attempt to appear weaker than she is.

Just that calm, sharp gaze that catalogs everything she sees, like she’s already anticipating our next move.

“You’re here for information.”

“Yes.”

“You heard him call me Elowen.” Ellie’s voice doesn’t betray the subtle tremor I can feel in her body.

Lisandra’s gaze moves to her. “I did. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sereven look as shocked as he did in that moment.”

“Tell me exactly what you saw.”

“When he saw Ellie … when he realized who she was, he appeared physically shaken. As if he was seeing something he believed impossible. The crystal in his hand dimmed for a moment.”

That detail catches my attention immediately. “You think the crystal responded to his emotional state?”

“It seemed to.”

Interesting. Another piece of information about the weapon that nearly destroyed me. I file it away for later consideration. If the crystal responds to emotional states, particularly fear, that creates a potential vulnerability we might exploit.

“Did you notice anything else?”

Lisandra hesitates, her eyes focused on Ellie. “You didn’t hear him? As you retreated, he whispered ‘The circle is complete. They’ve found each other .’”

Ellie gasps softly beside me, her hand reaching for mine. The brief contact sends a surge of silver-threaded energy across our connection. The phrasing suggests knowledge beyond Ellie’s identity, something about our connection specifically.

I extend my awareness through nearby shadows, feeling for any sign that Lisandra might be fabricating this detail. But her pulse remains steady, her eyes clear.

“How long have you known Sereven?” Ellie demands.

“ Known him or given him information?”

“Aren’t they the same thing?”

One corner of her mouth tips up. “You already know how long I’ve been feeding him information. What you want to know is how well I know him. We’ve studied his tactics for years. He’s methodical, calculating, secretive, arrogant.” Her eyes shift back to me. “A little like someone else we know.”

I don’t respond. Ellie glances at me, frowning, then focuses back on Lisandra when I say nothing.

“Have you heard the name Elowen before?”

“I have. Those of us who survived in those early years after Sacha’s capture know of the name.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s hard to speak when you’ve been gagged. And he …” She pauses and tilts her chin toward me. “He wasn’t interested in anything I had to say.”

“Well, I’m asking now.” Ellie’s voice is like steel.

For a moment, I don’t think Lisandra is going to reply to her, then she sighs.

“Very well. There was an incident about twenty-four years ago. A prisoner transport ambushed in Silvermist Pass. The Authority’s response was unprecedented. Sereven personally led patrol units through the mountains for months afterward.”

“A convoy carrying a child.” Ellie’s voice is steady, despite what this conversation must be costing her emotionally.

Lisandra’s eyebrows rise slightly. “Yes. You know about this already, I see.”

“A little,” I say. “We’ve been gathering what we can since we came back.”

“There isn’t much to tell. Even at the time, details were scarce. We know that four Veinblood masters participated in the rescue operation, which was unusual. They normally stayed apart, less risk of being caught that way.”

“And after the ambush?” Ellie asks. “What happened to the masters and the child?”

“They disappeared. No trace, no messages, no sightings. The most common assumption is that they died during the escape, in a final confrontation with Authority soldiers that was never reported.”

“But you don’t believe that, do you?” I can see it in her eyes.

“The Authority would have celebrated such a victory, the same way they celebrated your death year after year. Four Veinbloods eliminated at once? They would have displayed the bodies, and used them as propaganda. Their silence suggested failure, not success.”

“What do you know about the child?” Ellie’s voice carries a new vulnerability, the question stripped of defenses. This isn’t basic information gathering now, it’s her searching for pieces of an identity stolen before she could even form memories of it.

Lisandra’s attention shifts back to her. For the first time since we entered, something like compassion softens her expression. She studies Ellie for a long moment, and I find myself cataloging every micro-reaction, ready to stop this if it becomes too much.

“Very little. Female, approximately three years old. I have to assume she had Veinblood potential, given the resources committed to her capture, and the masters’ involvement in her rescue.

Whoever she was, the Authority wanted her back.

” Her tone of voice suggests she knows exactly who the child was.

I watch Ellie absorb this, the subtle shifts in her posture as parts of her history slide into place.

“But you know nothing about why Sereven would hunt her personally?”

“Nothing definite. There were rumors, of course. Veinwardens speculating about why a single child would warrant such extraordinary efforts. Some suggested an unusual Veinblood manifestation.” She smiles.

“Others believed she might be connected to a prophecy. But if you are asking whether I knew the child was you when you first arrived here, then no. I didn’t know that. ”

Ellie falls silent, absorbing the information Lisandra has shared.

“The masters who rescued her. What do you know about them?” I take over the conversation.

“Kalliss, Meren, Nyassa, and Vorith. Earthvein, Flamevein, Tidevein, and Windvein masters. They rarely worked together before that incident. Their powers were complementary, but their methods clashed. They held different philosophies about how to oppose the Authority, and with the Vareth’el dead …

” She gives me a pointed look. “Well, there was no one to hold the Veinbloods together. No one to balance their abilities or mediate their conflicts.”

I don’t rise to the bait. “What do you mean by different philosophies?”

“Kalliss believed in direct confrontation. He wanted to disrupt Authority operations, free prisoners, and strike at vulnerable points. Meren preferred targeted elimination of key Authority figures. Vorith emphasized building safe havens, hidden communities where Veinbloods could live beyond Authority reach. Nyassa focused on preserving knowledge and artifacts the Authority sought to destroy.”

The differences are significant. They didn’t just have different powers, but different strategic approaches to resistance. Their unification for a single purpose emphasizes the importance of whatever they were protecting.

“Yet they came together for this child,” I say. “Temporarily setting aside their differences.”

“Yes. Which, as you know, was unusual for the Veinblood families.”

“Do you think …” Ellie glances at me, then continues. “Do you think they could have opened a doorway to another world? Is that even possible?”

Lisandra’s expression turns thoughtful. “I’ve never heard of that before, but with the combined power of four masters working together? Maybe? Ancient texts speak of boundaries between worlds being permeable under certain conditions.”

“What kind of conditions?” I ask.

“Alignment of powers, mostly. Telren would be able to tell you more.”

That aligns with what we’ve observed between Ellie’s power and mine. How our combined energies affected Sereven’s crystal in a way mine couldn’t do alone, as well as how effective my healing was. If four Veinblood masters aligned their powers toward one dedicated purpose …

“Do you want to ask anything else?” I turn to Ellie, who shakes her head.

"Wait. There’s something else." Lisandra’s voice stops me as I walk toward the door, my hand already reaching for the handle. Something in her tone makes me turn back.

She steps forward until the chain at her wrists pulls taut.

“One of our spies within the Authority reported something years ago. A phrase overheard between Sereven and his inner council. He said that the shadow cannot be allowed to find the storm, or all we’ve built collapses.”

“When was this?” I don’t allow anything to show in my tone. I don’t want her to know how much this interests me.

“Seven years ago, maybe. It seemed meaningless at the time, just another cryptic statement from a man obsessed with control. But after witnessing how he reacted to seeing you both, I remembered it.”

“Shadow and storm,” Ellie repeats. “Like the prophecy. Where shadow leads, storm will follow.”