Page 81 of Stormvein (The Veinbound Trilogy #2)

“The prophecy began circulating about five years after Sacha’s death. People across Meridian were reporting similar dreams and visions.”

“Which means the prophecy emerged about two years after the child disappeared,” Ellie says.

“Yes, that’s right. It started with scattered dreams. Farmers, healers, even children.

People with no connection to each other describing the same imagery.

Shadow and storm. The tower. A silver-eyed stranger.

As they gained momentum, Sereven fought to suppress them.

The Authority executed dream-speakers who shared what they’d seen publicly. ”

Lisandra looks at me.

“You know he won’t wait, don’t you? He’ll come for Stonehaven, and soon. When he does, he won’t lead the assault himself. That’s never been his way. He’ll direct the attack from elsewhere.”

“Where?”

She thinks for a second. “Thornspire Keep would be the most logical choice. Close enough to oversee the attack, fortified enough to protect him with a small force.”

I know Thornspire Keep. It’s a small outpost approximately a day’s ride from Stonehaven. Former home of the Earthvein bloodline, repurposed by the Authority after the purges.

"How confident are you of that assessment?"

"It’s what I would do in his position. You know him better than I do. He hasn’t changed. After what happened at Blackstone Ridge, and how close you got to him, he won’t risk another direct confrontation with you."

I consider her reasoning. It matches what I remember of Sereven’s tactical approach. He prioritizes control over engagement. Whether her assessment is offered to manipulate us or genuinely help remains uncertain, but the logic itself is sound.

“Why tell us this?” Ellie asks. “After everything you’ve done, why provide information that could help us now?”

Lisandra holds her gaze. “Because I never wanted destruction. Only survival and protection of everyone in Stonehaven. Now that strategy has failed. Sereven will be coming anyway, with forces big enough to destroy everything.”

“Do you think providing this information absolves you?” My voice is soft.

“No. But it might prevent the complete annihilation of the Veinwardens. Whatever punishment awaits me, I never sought the destruction of everything we’ve fought for.” She looks between us. “Has a decision been made about my fate?”

“It has.”

“And?”

“Death. Two days from now.” I don’t soften the judgment.

Her composure wavers—a barely perceptible flinch. For a moment, I see past the mask to the woman beneath. Older, more fragile than she wants to appear, and very aware of her own mortality. Then the control snaps back into place.

“I see.” But her voice is thinner now, stripped of its earlier confidence.

“You can’t be surprised by that.”

“I suppose I hoped there might be a trial. A chance to explain. Will I at least be allowed to speak before the sentence is carried out? After all, I kept Stonehaven safe for all this time.”

“ Safe? ” The word escapes me before I can stop it. “You call what you did keeping them safe?”

Lisandra’s chin lifts. “Yes. I do.”

“Tell me, Lisandra, how exactly did betraying me keep everyone safe?” My voice hardens. “How did revealing the location of Veinbloods protect anyone?”

“The Veinbloods were already being watched. I gave Sereven information he was going to discover anyway, in exchange for him believing we were weaker than we actually were.”

“And the Veinbloods who died? The families they killed for harboring them? Were their deaths part of your strategy, too?”

For the first time, real pain flickers across her face. “I couldn’t save everyone. I made impossible choices so that some could survive rather than watching all of us die.”

“You made those choices without consulting anyone. You appointed yourself judge of who lived and who died.” I step closer, letting her see the anger in my eyes. “That’s not leadership, Lisandra. That’s betrayal dressed up as martyrdom.”

“And what would you have done? With no army, no resources, no hope of rescue? Would you have led us all into glorious destruction rather than accept an uglier survival?”

“If you hadn’t betrayed me, and allowed Severen to imprison me, we would not be in this situation now.”

“You don’t know that!”

“We’ll never know, because you took that choice away from me.”

The rage builds in my chest like a living thing. The shadows around me respond to my fury, stretching toward Lisandra like grasping fingers. She takes a step back, chains rattling, but there’s nowhere for her to go.

“ Zareth .”

Lisandra’s lips part, but the word blocks her voice, silencing her. Shadows coil around her throat, not quite touching yet, but close enough that she can feel their presence.

“Twenty-seven years.” My voice is deadly quiet. “Twenty-seven years in that tower. Of believing I would die there, forgotten, while my people suffered.” The shadows wrap tighter around her throat. “All because you decided my life was an acceptable sacrifice.”

She tries to speak, but the Voidcraft won’t allow it. The darkness is feeding on my rage now, growing stronger, more substantial. One word from me, and they’ll collapse her windpipe, crush the life from her as easily as snuffing out a candle.

“Sacha.” Ellie’s voice is soft, and comes with the lightest of touches on my arm. “Stop.”

The simple touch breaks through the red haze of my anger. Her power brushes against mine, offering an anchor. A way back from the edge I’m teetering on.

“She’s not worth it.”

I look at the other woman, still caught in the grip of rage, then I pull my shadows back. Lisandra sags in her chains, gulping for air.

“No, she’s not.”

This woman stood beside me when Ashenvale fell, while I was unaware that she had a hand in orchestrating my downfall.

She helped train Veinwarden recruits who later died because of intelligence she provided to the enemy.

She was trusted with our most sensitive information, privy to plans and safe houses and the names of those who risked everything for our cause.

And for twenty-seven years, she led Stonehaven while betraying my people to Sereven.

The woman before me is both a traitor and a survivor, and I find I can’t entirely separate the two.

“ Mishana .” I whisper the word to return her voice to her. “You’re certain Thornspire Keep will be his place of choice?”

“Yes.”

Possibilities unfold in my mind. Thornspire Keep is better defended than the likes of Ravencross, but not impenetrable like Blackvault. With proper planning, we might reach Sereven before he expects us.

Ellie watches me. “You’re thinking about going after him.” It’s not a question.

“If Sereven is at Thornspire rather than leading the forces, it creates an opportunity. Strike at the head rather than the body.”

“He’ll expect you,” Lisandra warns. “Now he knows you’re completely healed, he’ll be prepared. He knows how you think, just as you know how he does.”

“Expectation doesn’t equal preparation.” My voice hardens. “Knowing I might come doesn’t mean he can stop me.”

“Not you.” Ellie’s voice is quiet but firm. “Us. If we go, we go together.”

I meet her gaze. In her eyes, I don’t just see determination, but a fierce protectiveness that matches my own. I nod. After what we’ve learned, our combined power represents our greatest advantage.

Lisandra looks between us, her expression revealing calculation, assessment, and surprisingly, hope.

"I’ve told you everything I know," she says. "That should be worth something, shouldn’t it?"

“It doesn’t even come close to repaying the damage you’ve caused.”

I gesture toward the door, and Ellie follows as we leave Lisandra in her cell.

“Sacha … My Lord … My Vareth’el. Please.”

I press my hand against Ellie’s back when she falters, and push her forward through the door. Lisandra’s voice follows us.

"He’ll kill both of you. Then the Veinwardens will have nothing to fight?—”

The heavy door closes behind us, cutting her off. We climb the stairs in silence, processing what we’ve learned. Sereven’s reaction to Ellie, the connection between shadow and storm, and the pieces of a prophecy. All parts of a puzzle with too many gaps.

"What do you think?" Ellie turns to face me when we reach my chambers.

"Sereven knows more about our connection than we do, and that places us at a disadvantage."

"But it also gives us direction," she counters. "If he’s at Thornspire Keep, if he has the crystal with him?—"

"Then we have a potential target. A chance to confront him directly rather than waiting for his forces to surround Stonehaven."

"Where we’d be fighting on his terms, against superior numbers."

"Exactly."

I cross the room, and spread the maps across the table, studying the land between Stonehaven and Thornspire Keep. The route is treacherous but passable, especially for a small group moving under the cover of darkness.

Lisandra’s information changes everything. If Sereven is truly at Thornspire, positioning himself to oversee an assault on Stonehaven, it creates an opportunity we cannot ignore. Strike at him before he can coordinate the attack.

But it also means walking into what could easily become a trap.

“It’s high risk.” I don’t hide the concern in my voice.

“Your control is still developing … but if we can infiltrate Thornspire Keep, we would gain two critical advantages. The Authority will lose its High Commander, and we can take possession of the crystal. Without Sereven’s direct command, it will leave the Authority in disarray, and scrambling to replace their leader. ”

“And if we fail?”

“The fight will continue without me.” I lift my head to meet her eyes. “Ellie … You’ve been forced into this war. You don’t have to be a part of it.”

She places her hand over mine on the map, exactly where Thornspire Keep is marked. For a moment, the parchment beneath our joined hands shimmers.

“I’m not letting you go alone. Whatever I was meant to be or become, I choose this. I choose to stand with you.”

I turn my hand beneath hers, our fingers interlacing. “This isn’t your war, Mel’shira. You were taken from this world as a child. You had a life, a future, somewhere else. I promised to see you returned to it.”

“Had. Past tense. That life feels like it belonged to someone else now. I can barely remember what it felt like to worry about normal things. Work, rent, what to have for dinner.” Her free hand lifts to palm my face. “I know who I am now. I know where I belong.”

I hold her gaze. “Then we need to leave tonight. A small group, enough for support, not so many that we can’t move quickly and quietly. We can reach Thornspire by dawn if we ride hard.”

I consider who to bring. Too many people increase the chance of discovery, and if this goes wrong, I don’t want to lose half our remaining fighters in one failed mission.

The crystal is the real prize. If we can take it from Sereven, we eliminate his most effective weapon against me. But that assumes we can get close enough to him without being overwhelmed by his guards.

The biggest question is whether Lisandra’s information is accurate or if this is another layer of manipulation on her part. She’s given us exactly what we need to justify a dangerous mission. A target, and the location. It’s either genuine or the perfect trap.

But sitting here waiting for Sereven to attack on his terms isn’t an option either. At least this way, we get to choose the ground and timing of our confrontation.