Page 27

CHAPTER 27

SERENNA

T he prince slammed into Serenna, driving the air from her lungs as they crashed to the ground. Shadows erupted from him, tearing outward to brace against the shard’s blinding tide of light.

With her chest crushed to the earth, each of Serenna’s shallow inhales rasped against the weight of Vesryn’s arms, locked around her like a fortress.

Another burst exploded from the crystal, striking the prince’s magic. Serenna’s vision blurred as a hurricane of light and dark collided, sending shockwaves through the chamber.

“That gem—” Vesryn’s strained voice broke through her rising panic. “It’s reflecting the illumination it absorbed.” He gritted his teeth as he unleashed another blast of rending. “Tenfold.”

A surge of radiance slammed into his power, shredding the darkness into frayed ribbons. Serenna’s heart seized—rending was supposed to dismantle other magic, not be unraveled by it. A torrent of Essence detonated from the prince, but the wall of shadows began to buckle.

Vesryn’s ragged pants sawed in her ear, his disbelief crashing against hers as the crystal’s light ripped through his power. “I can’t hold it off!”

Serenna’s thoughts raced, colliding in frantic succession. “What if the shard is triggered by Essence?” It made sense—her experience in the volcano proved that the druids had left behind safeguards, clearly designed to defend the Hearts. “The crystal didn’t start attacking until your magic got close.”

“Then we need to get out of its range.” Vesryn split the air with a portal. Seizing Serenna’s arm, he started crawling through, hauling her along before she could suggest that they abandon this cavern entirely.

The rift spat them out near the base of the tunnel that wound back up the tree—beyond the searing flood of light. In the center of the chamber, the crystal fragment continued to blast molten beams, scorching jagged streaks where they’d been moments before.

Serenna sagged against the earth, pulse thundering as the cavern descended into an uneasy stillness. She eyed the crystal as its glow ebbed, dimming until it lay lifeless.

“Last time, we couldn’t touch the Heart without triggering a trap,” Serenna said, trembling as she recaptured her breath. “With this one, it seems we can’t even use Essence with that crystal guarding it.” She brushed away strands of hair clinging to her face. “Maybe I can manipulate the roots around the pedestal and draw the Heart to us without getting too close.”

Vesryn surged to his feet, Essence flaring around him. “I have a better idea.”

“Wait! Don’t…” The words died on Serenna’s lips.

Before she could stand or stop him, Vesryn launched a coil of force toward the Heart. Blue magic streaked across the chamber, a whip of energy that tore the relic free from its perch. Hurtling through the air in a blur, the Heart landed squarely in his outstretched palm.

Color bloomed from the relic, its halo blazing like a prism set aflame. A cascade of light spilled over Vesryn’s face, sculpting every angle of his triumph.

Serenna stiffened as a chilling crawl swept over her skin. Beneath her, the tree stirred, a deep vibration reverberating through her bones.

The ground erupted before she had time to process the warning.

A vine shot upward, striking with the speed of a viper. A white-hot lance of pain ripped a cry from her throat as the shoot skewered her palm, its woody stem jutting out the other side.

“Serenna!” Vesryn’s shout rang distantly, muffled by the roar in her ears. The prince dropped the Heart and flung a slash of rending through the vine, severing its hold.

Serenna staggered to her feet, cradling her injury. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the shoot free, her palm throbbing with every pulse.

“That’s what I meant!” she snapped, trembling as blood trickled down her wrist.

Threads of mending sparked around Vesryn’s fingers, the crimson glow deepening the pallor of his face. His hand shook as he reached for her, the guilt pooling in his eyes as raw as her open wound. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think…”

His words trailed off as the ground convulsed again.

The pedestal exploded in a spray of splinters as dozens of vines erupted from the wreckage. Tendrils whipped across the chamber, snapping around Serenna’s arms and legs. The plants yanked her down, her spine slamming into the unforgiving ground.

Air burst from her lungs, leaving her gasping as instinct took over. Igniting Essence, she lashed out with shadows in a desperate retaliation.

The plants seized her faster than she could hack them away, closing in on her as if she alone was declared the enemy. They twisted tighter around her limbs and waist, pinning her to the earth. Panic flared, constricting her throat as her strength began to falter.

Power detonated from the prince. His strikes were frenzied, the chamber shuddering as each surge of magic obliterated the vines. Shoots disintegrated, severed by his assault, their grip loosening in brief but fleeting reprieves.

The ground heaved as new sprouts burst forth. For each they destroyed, two more sprang up, their movements steeped in vengeful malice.

Serenna screamed as thorns erupted from the vines, each spike a cruel needle piercing her flesh. Pain shattered her focus, Essence slipping from her grasp as the stalks swelled, jagged leaves unfurling. They sprouted with sinister purpose, a creeping tide of verdant wrath. Coiling tighter, the living mass sealed her in—as though the tree itself sought to entomb her beneath its fury.

The world shrank under the press of plants, her breath reduced to shallow gasps. Serenna flinched as the crystal—momentarily forgotten—thrust itself back into the forefront of her mind with a keening wail. Though she couldn’t see it, she felt the gem’s pull—an insidious force that devoured Vesryn’s magic and unleashed it back at him in a screeching eruption.

The prince’s struggle roared through the bond, his magic wild like a caged storm. Each wave of Essence ricocheted off the earthen walls, the chamber pulsing with the chaotic pressure of his power.

The vines only seemed to tighten as he fought back, the crystal continuing to emit piercing whines. A tremor wracked through Serenna as one shoot unfurled toward her face, its serpentine movements eerily deliberate. She whimpered, breaths coming in trembling bursts as she willed the plants to release her.

But her control slipped through the cracks of her panic as images flashed unbidden—the shoots burrowing into her nose, twisting through her eyes, slithering down her throat. Fear roared too loudly, drowning her beneath the crushing pain of the constricting vines.

“Stop!” Serenna shrieked at the prince, choking on terror. His efforts would only provoke the tree—and the crystal—further. “Stop channeling Essence!”

The bond quivered with Vesryn’s reluctance, a silent battle fought in the space between heartbeats. But then his power ebbed, the pressure of his magic fading.

The chamber fell quiet once more, the crystal no longer emitting shrill sounds or bursts of Essence. Serenna’s heartbeat drummed in her ears. The vines stilled, but they didn’t loosen, hovering around her with an unspoken threat.

Vesryn’s footsteps approached the barrier. Though they were only feet apart, the thicket between them felt like an insurmountable divide. Serenna’s breath hitched as her pain suddenly vanished, absorbed by him through the bond.

“Don’t!” she pleaded, the word cracking. “Using our power might make it attack.”

Each ragged breath Vesryn drew fractured the air between them. The plants muffled the prince’s words, his voice tight with frustration and guilt. “I’m sorry.” He exhaled a sharp curse, relinquishing his intervention in a reluctant surrender.

A breaking wave of pain crashed back into Serenna’s body, tearing a helpless sob from her lips. She could feel the tree’s vengeance, every puncturing thorn a promise that it would shred her alive and bury her beneath its wrath.

The faint whisk of Vesryn unsheathing a knife sent her heart pounding even faster. “Don’t harm it,” she croaked.

The prince paced around the verdant prison, cold fury simmering at his powerlessness. “I—I don’t know what to do. The tree should’ve attacked me . Not you.”

Serenna caught a glimpse of his hand as he tried to plunge it through the vines. His fingers stretched, brushing against the leaves as he strained. But he couldn’t reach her.

“I could…” Vesryn began, hesitation expanding through the bond. “I can portal to Jassyn. If I bring him back, he—”

“No,” Serenna hissed. “I can do this. I’m the one who opened this stars-cursed tree.” She clenched her teeth as cool leaves brushed her face, mixing with the warm blood trickling from her wounds. “If I can just focus…” She inhaled sharply, pushing past her pain and their shared worry. “I can steer the vines away myself.”

Before she could even begin, her concentration fractured as the other bond flared—Fenn was back, a blazing presence in the jungle.

His usual calm sharpened into urgency as his voice entered her mind. She-elf?

Serenna spilled what had happened in jagged fragments—the descent into the tree’s depths, the Heart, the lethal shard, and the vines trapping her.

Hang on, Fenn replied, the words both a command and encouragement. I’m warping down.

Don’t use Essence or damage the plants, she warned.

“What is it?” Vesryn asked, obviously reading the subtle change—the relief swelling in her chest.

“Fenn’s on his way.”

“And what’s he going to do?” Vesryn snapped. His fingers clenched around a vine, trembling like he was on the verge of tearing it apart. “I thought you were going to move the plants.”

Serenna ground her teeth, scowling up at the leaves obscuring her view. Now that she’d stopped struggling, the tree had stilled, seeming content to cradle her in this tangled prison.

As Fenn drew closer, a warmth spread through her chest, soft and steady like streaks of sunlight breaking through clouds. Finally, he warped out of the tunnel, materializing beside the prince.

“You’re hurt,” Fenn said quietly through the screen of plants, his protective concern wrapping around Serenna like a comforting shroud.

“What gave it away?” The prince’s question was clipped. “The trail of blood or your bond?”

“The bond first,” Fenn replied, unfazed by Vesryn’s barbed remark. “But the blood—”

“It was rhetorical,” Vesryn interrupted. “Now that you’re here, what’s your brilliant plan? Stating the obvious?”

“Says the male whose strategy seems to be glaring at the tree until it apologizes,” Fenn growled. “I’d rather free her before these vines compost her into mulch.”

“So you’re going to talk us all to death?” Vesryn shot back. “Last I checked, you—”

“Enough!” Serenna shrieked through the plants. “If both of you are going to argue, then just leave. I need to concentrate.”

Both males fell silent. Fenn radiated quiet intensity, every fiber ready to spring at whatever she needed him to do. Vesryn stewed beside him, restless fingers tapping against the vines.

Serenna exhaled shakily, her breath catching on the tight band of pain wrapped around her ribs and the sting of countless wounds.

The tree’s rhythm hummed through her chest, a heartbeat reverberating from deep within the earth. She let herself sink into it, diving past her fear, attuning herself to its pulse.

“She-elf,” Fenn said softly, his voice a lodestone in the dark. “What do you sense?”

Serenna branched her perception outward, brushing against the tree’s vast presence. “The tree feels…furious.” Though the word barely encompassed the raw, primal rage seething through its roots. “We stole something it’s guarded for centuries. I think protecting the Heart was its given purpose.”

Delving deeper, she strained to understand the ancient awareness entwined with the tree. “I think it holds me accountable,” she admitted, realizing why she’d been the target of its wrath. “Since I have a connection to the earth. I should have…asked or somehow conveyed that we meant no harm.”

Vesryn shifted, his fingers retreating from the tangled vines. “This was my fault, not yours.”

“She can set it right with her plant magics,” Fenn said confidently. “She-elf, can you explain to the tree that we intend to use the Starry Hearts to free the dragons?”

“That’s absurd.” Vesryn scoffed. “It’s a tree . You think it cares about noble intentions?”

“The tree seemed to care plenty when you provoked it,” Fenn countered, the glow of his eyes flaring through the leaves. “But go ahead. Try something with that knife. Maybe Serenna will enjoy being strangled further while you stab at its roots.”

The scrape of Vesryn’s blade sliding back into its sheath cut off whatever he muttered under his breath.

When Serenna closed her eyes, a quiet certainty settled—this tree wasn’t an adversary to be conquered. Its strength was ancient, almost certainly bolstered by long-forgotten druidic magic.

Instead of wrestling the vines through sheer will, Serenna softened her approach, delicately threading her thoughts into the shoots. She wove a wordless message of peace, conveying their hopes for the Heart of Stars and that no harm was intended.

A sudden rustle staked a spike of fear straight through her heart. Bracing for the worst, she tensed as the leaves shifted against her skin. But the vines slackened, their oppressive grip relaxing as the tree relented.

“That’s it,” Fenn breathed.

Thorns withdrew, sharp points sliding from Serenna’s torn flesh. The knotted enclosure unraveled one tendril at a time, peeling back as the thicket opened to reveal the space between them. The air lightened, though the tree’s hum lingered, waiting.

Vesryn dove through the gap as it widened. Replacing the vines, he dropped to his knees and hauled her into an embrace, igniting Essence as he clutched her to his chest.

Serenna flinched, expecting the crystal to screech or retaliate, but no pressure rippled to siphon his power. The tree’s tranquility must’ve subdued the gem too.

Ruby light wrapped her in a shroud of mending, sealing the punctures left behind by the vicious vines.

Fenn settled cross-legged on Serenna’s other side, a crooked grin spreading across his face that she found herself mirroring.

“I knew you could do it,” he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes with a gentle talon.

Vesryn’s hands tightened against her, but he kept silent, stoically healing one wound at a time.

Serenna’s eyes widened as her skin knit back together seamlessly, the aches in her body receding. “You’ve improved.”

“Jassyn’s been…teaching me,” Vesryn mumbled. His focus remained on her injuries, but Serenna felt that the harrowing encounter had dented his iron pride.

Fenn’s eyes gleamed with fascination as he leaned forward, tracking the shimmering ribbons of magic that wove between them. “You’re doing brilliantly, Princeling,” he said, nearly reverent. He rested a claw on Vesryn’s shoulder. “Your magics—”

Vesryn shoved him off, every muscle in his jaw flexing. “I don’t need backhanded praise,” he grated out, the fragile lattice of mending he was working on beginning to unravel.

Fenn’s grin faded, the light dimming in his eyes. For a heartbeat, he felt startled—confused and stung. He blinked, uncharacteristically quiet as he processed the rejection, his mouth settling into a measured frown.

Serenna glanced between him and the prince, at a loss for how to manage them.

“I didn’t deliver it backhanded,” Fenn said at last, breaking the strained silence. “It was a straightforward acknowledgment of your skill.”

Vesryn’s eyes flicked to Fenn, but he offered no further reaction, his attention lingering on the last threads of mending. With a controlled breath, he extinguished his power, letting the crimson light fade. He released her carefully, his hands hovering a moment before retreating.

Fenn helped Serenna to her feet as they all rose, his fingers twining with hers.

Her attention immediately darted to the vines now coiled harmlessly around the edge of the chamber. The strange crystal embedded in the staff remained just as quiet—it seemed apparent that neither the gem nor the tree posed a threat if it didn’t perceive one.

Vesryn stared at Serenna’s hand, clasped with Fenn’s claw, pained acceptance clouding his eyes. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach out. Instead, he wandered to where the Heart lay discarded on the ground.

The relic flared to life as he lifted it, pooling shadows in the divot of his brow. Movements stiff, he turned back to Serenna and extended the artifact to her. “You should be its keeper.”

She shook her head. “You can be the one to give it to Lykor when he returns.”

Vesryn’s grip tightened around the Heart before he slipped it into a pocket. Steps measured and deliberate, he drifted across the chamber, gaze fixed on the staff—an intricately braided column that rose from the roots.

Serenna’s breath caught, his intent becoming as clear as the crystal perched at the peak. “I think we should leave it,” she quickly called after him.

Vesryn halted, turning just enough for her to catch the curiosity in his eyes. “It seems dormant now. I bet the tree was linked to the shard—or even controlling it—through these roots.”

His fingers drummed restlessly against his thigh before he gestured toward the gem. “Look at it—it’s the same material as the Heart, but its purpose is completely different. If it’s an Aelfyn relic too, then how the druids managed to harness it is a mystery to me. But if this shard can be used as a weapon… We can’t leave it behind.”

Fenn cocked his head as he shifted beside her, his silent interest echoing the prince’s. Vesryn’s reasoning was sound, yet doubt and a tremor of fear for what the crystal might unleash—what it had already unleashed—sent Serenna’s heart thumping in her throat.

“Just…” She hesitated, knowing there was no swaying him. “Be careful.”

Expression unreadable, the prince gave a curt nod. Without so much as a trace of emotion through the bond, he plucked the shard from the staff. In an instant, it disappeared, tucked away alongside the Heart in his leathers.

Vesryn’s hands fell to his sides, curling into fists so tight that the tendons in his forearms stood out. Slowly, his fingers unfurled, as if letting go of something heavier than air.

“I should return to the rangers,” he said, voice more rigid than the set of his stance. Without waiting for a reply, he pivoted sharply on his heel, angling toward the tunnel.

“So that’s it, Princeling?” Fenn called after him, his tone light but charged with provocation. “You’re walking away?”

Vesryn whirled around, emerald eyes blazing. “I’m well aware of when I’m not needed.”

Serenna frowned as she studied his face. What she sensed felt like a farewell. That thought sent her heart tumbling, striking every rib on its descent. She wouldn’t allow it.

“That’s not true,” she protested, taking a step closer to him.

“You’d abandon her?” Fenn added swiftly, dipping his chin toward Serenna, the rings in his ears swinging. “You would walk away the moment it gets too hard?”

Vesryn’s nostrils flared, each breath coming short before his composure shattered. “I’ve already done enough damage,” he growled, eyes pinned on Fenn. “That’s all I’m capable of.”

The bond twisted with the prince’s regret, the ache puncturing Serenna’s chest.

“I’m no leader,” he continued. “The rangers are broken. Centarya is under the king’s heel. I have no true power to enact any change.” His shoulders sagged as he glanced at the ground, toeing a root. “Lykor is right,” he said, scoffing bitterly. “I’m a prince of nothing.”

Fenn drew himself up in a way that carried an unspoken challenge. “You’d permit the past to define you instead of allowing your mistakes to refine you?” His gaze flared when Vesryn’s eyes snapped back to his. “Surely you feel like you’re meant for more than wallowing in defeat.”

Vesryn stiffened, his jaw tightening as he locked onto Fenn’s burning stare. Something sparked in his expression, kindled by the rebuke.

“We need you,” Serenna chimed in, reaching out to claim the prince’s hand, her magic surging at the contact.

Fenn didn’t relent. “Your brother needs you. And Lykor—even though he’d never admit it. He’s borne the burden of command alone for too long.”

“We have this chance to stand against the king,” Serenna said, squeezing his palm. “And we can’t do it without you.”

Vesryn’s eyes softened as they met hers. His uncertainty began to dissolve, replaced by a purpose that straightened his shoulders.

“We should be portal jumping with Lykor and Jassyn,” he said at last, his conviction beginning to burn. “They shouldn’t be out in the Wastes alone.”

His gaze shifted to Fenn, showing the barest trace of grudging respect as he inclined his head—a reluctant inclusion of his presence.

Fenn’s grin gleamed with fangs, as though this was the outcome he’d expected all along.