Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Senara
The howl came again, closer this time. A chill crept up my spine that had nothing to do with my mark. At this point, we had encountered feral fae more times than I cared to remember. The sight of a once beautiful creature twisted by corruption, its eyes vacant yet somehow filled with hunger, its movements jerky and wrong, made my soul ache with grief for the fae that it had once been.
"How much further?" I asked, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.
"Not far," Van replied, his earlier nonchalance replaced by urgency. "Half an hour at most, if we move quickly."
We picked up our pace, no longer slowing to marvel at the strange wonders of the forest. The luminous fungi and floating soul sparks seemed less enchanting now, more like beacons announcing our presence to whatever hunted in the darkness.
The howl came a third time, joined by another, and then another, a chorus of corrupted voices that seemed to surround us.
"They're hunting in a pack," Thorn said grimly, drawing his sword. The blade caught the bioluminescent light, its edge gleaming with a faint golden glow, sun magic, ready to be unleashed. "Van, lead the way. I'll guard our rear."
For once, the bard didn't offer a quip or riddle in response. He nodded sharply and quickened his stride, leading us deeper into the forest. The path narrowed, forcing us to walk single file between towering trees whose roots twisted above ground like grasping fingers.
My Mark throbbed with increasing intensity, the alternating pulses of heat and cold coming faster now. Each surge sent waves of dizziness through me. I stumbled, catching myself against a tree trunk. Its bark felt strangely warm beneath my palm.
"Senara?" Wyn was at my side instantly, her face pale with concern.
"I'm fine," I lied, straightening. "Just tired."
A low growl emanated from the shadows to our left, close, too close. We froze. Through the trees, I caught glimpses of movement: a figure loping on all fours, its silhouette wrong in ways I couldn't quite define.
"Don't run," Van whispered, his voice barely audible. "They chase anything that flees."
I wanted to snap at him that I was well aware of how the feral fae responded when people ran. After all, Thorn and I had barely escaped the last time they had cornered us and that had all been because we ran, not that there had been any hope of surviving the horde otherwise.
The creature emerged into a patch of moonlight. Once, it might have been a courtier of the Moon Fae, tall and elegant. Now its spine curved unnaturally, forcing it into a hunched posture. Its skin had turned ashen gray, cracked like dried mud, with corruption seeping through the fissures like black ichor. But its eyes were the worst part, milky white and unseeing, yet somehow fixing on our group with terrible awareness.
"Old one," it rasped, its voice a broken echo of what it once might have been. "I smell... old magic in you."
I couldn't tell if it was addressing me or Van, but a chill ran through my body either way. The feral fae tilted its head, nostrils flaring as it scented the air. Its corrupted form twitched spasmodically, like a puppet with tangled strings.
"Eclipse Child," it hissed suddenly, its blank eyes somehow finding mine with unerring precision. "Two souled one. We found you."
The words filled my heart with dread as it tried to beat its way out of my ribcage. I had heard those same words too many times before at this point. How did it know I was an Eclipse Child though? None of the other more sentient feral fae had ever mentioned it. Plus, the corruption was supposed to strip away memory, reason, everything but hunger and rage unless they were being controlled by someone else.
Immediately, my head whipped around, looking for Eldric. There was no one there though.
A feminine laugh echoed through the trees, one that made the dread turn toward despair.
"Back away slowly," Thorn murmured, positioning himself between me and the creature. "No sudden movements."
The feral fae's head snapped toward him, a grotesque smile splitting its cracked face. "Sun warrior," it crooned. "Your light... cannot save her."
More shapes materialized from the shadows, three, no, five more corrupted fae, all in various stages of transformation. Some still kept mostly humanoid features, while others had degraded further, their limbs elongated to impossible proportions, their faces barely recognizable.
They formed a loose circle around us, not attacking yet, but cutting off our escape routes.
"Van," I whispered urgently. "The Gardens, how close?"
"Just beyond that rise," he nodded toward a gentle slope ahead, where the trees thinned slightly. "But they won't let us simply walk there."
The first feral fae took a shambling step forward. "The courts... seek you," it said, its voice fluctuating between a growl and something almost melodic, something that reminded me of the Void Dragon Empress. "But the darkness... it will claim you first."
"I don't think so," I replied, gathering my courage as I stepped forward to stand beside Thorn. My Mark flared with icy fire, illuminating the clearing with silver light.
The creature recoiled, hissing like water on hot coals. The others flinched back as well.
"Moon magic hurts them," Volker observed, his voice tight with fear and fascination.
Before I could respond, the Mark pulsed again, but this time, golden heat replaced the silver chill. The sudden transition staggered me, and the light dimmed momentarily.
The feral fae sensed the weakness instantly. "The stars remember," it murmured. "When moon and sun unite..."
My Mark flared even more painfully at its words, as if responding to some ancient recognition. I bit back a gasp, forcing myself to keep moving. Thorn's hand found mine, his warmth steadying me.
"Don't listen to it," he whispered. "Corruption twists their minds. They speak nonsense."
But the words didn't feel like nonsense. They resonated with something deep within me, something I didn't yet understand about my nature. As though Thorn's words had pissed it off, the lead creature lunged forward with unnatural speed, claws extended toward my throat.
I flinched down, trying to avoid the blow that would probably take my life while Thorn's sword flashed in an arc of golden fire, catching the creature mid leap. It shrieked as the blade bit into corrupted flesh; the sound piercing enough to make my ears ring. Black ichor sprayed across the forest floor, sizzling where it landed.
"Run!" he shouted, already engaging a second feral fae that had launched itself toward us.
We bolted toward the rise, Van leading the way with surprising agility for someone who presented himself as a mere bard. Wyn followed, her new, magically enhanced athleticism and grace clear in every step and the way she didn't fall on her face like she used to when we were running from the city guard.
Even as I ran for my life, the memory hit like a brick wall. Everything had been so simple back then, and I hadn't appreciated that enough.
I sprinted behind Van, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. Thorn's blade cut through the air, the sounds of battle reverberating behind us. I dared not look back; the shrieks and snarls of the feral fae chased me like shadows in the night.
"Keep going!" Van urged, his voice a sharp command over the chaos. The rise loomed ahead, but with each step, I felt my strength waning. The moonlight flickered through the canopy above, illuminating our path, yet casting eerie shadows that danced along with our every movement.
As we reached the slope, I stumbled over a gnarled root, my foot catching and sending me sprawling to the ground. Panic surged within me as I hit the earth hard. Thorn's shout echoed from behind, he was still fighting.
"Senara!" He called out, his voice laced with urgency.
I scrambled to my feet just as one creature lunged past Thorn and headed straight for me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, igniting something deep within, the power I had barely grasped. With a wild cry that echoed from somewhere primal inside me, I thrust my hands forward.
A wave of silver energy burst forth, enveloping the creature in light. It recoiled as if struck by lightning. The moment hung heavy in the air; even amid chaos, time seemed to stretch thin. My breath caught in my throat as I witnessed how easily magic responded to my will, no longer an unpredictable force but an extension of myself.
The feral fae screeched and flailed against the energy before it turned to dust, the same as they had before when I'd thought Thorn was being cut down in front of me. Behind it, Thorn sliced through another attacker with precise strikes of his sword before rushing toward me.
"We have to move!" His eyes locked onto mine for a brief second before shifting back to face the oncoming threat.
I nodded, scrambling back to my feet again. We had no choice but to press forward. With each step up the slope, determination replaced fear. "We can't let them corner us," I said breathlessly as we crested the rise together.
Thorn glanced at me and I knew we were both remembering what had happened the last time the feral fae had cornered us. I, for one, didn't want Thorn giving up some of his life force to get us out of a deadly situation again, not if I could help it.
"We're here," Van breathed as he loped down the slope to a shimmering lake, a sanctuary in this corrupted forest. Hope flickered within me at its sight. If we could just reach that water…
Thorn glanced back at our pursuers before he tried to push me forward. I refused to let go until he finally nodded. "We go together," he said fiercely.
"Right," I agreed through clenched teeth, determination flooding my voice. As though he'd had a choice to begin with. Volker and Wyn were almost near the water's edge as Thorn and I practically flew down the hill toward them.
The creatures pressed closer behind us, shadows creeping ever nearer, but something happened as soon as we stepped into the water, and the world shifted, the creatures that had been behind us turning into shadows that ran through us instead.
We all paused for a moment just to breathe before Van huffed and said, "This way." He took off walking, and we were left to decide whether to keep following him or try to find our own way. He hadn't led us astray so far, so I followed, feeling the wariness coming through the bond I shared with Thorn, even as my soul mate remained behind me.
As we ventured deeper into the garden, the air grew thick with magic, not the refined, controlled power of the courts, but something wilder, more primal.
Van smiled as he watched me look around, though it didn't reach his eyes, and when he spoke there was an undercurrent of sorrow in his voice, "This forest remembers the time before division, when magic flowed freely without distinction between moon and sun."
My Mark responded to the ancient magic, pulsing with increasing intensity. The alternating sensations of heat and cold were no longer separate waves but overlapped, mingling in a way that made my skin feel both feverish and chilled at once.
"You're in pain," Thorn observed, his voice low with concern.
"It's getting worse," I admitted, pressing my palm against my forehead. "The two magics...they're not just competing anymore. They're trying to merge."
Van's pace slowed as he glanced back at me. "That's both promising and dangerous. The Crescent Diadem might be more necessary than I thought."
"Or you could simply explain what's happening to her," Thorn challenged.
Van's expression grew unexpectedly serious. "Some things must be experienced to be understood, Thorn. I could describe the taste of starfruit to you for hours, but until you've bitten into one, you wouldn't truly know it."
"She's not a piece of fruit to be consumed," Thorn growled.
"No," Van agreed. "She's much more valuable."
The casual way he assessed my worth sent a chill through me that had nothing to do with my mark. "I'd appreciate if you stopped talking about me as if I weren't here."
Van inclined his head in acknowledgment. "My apologies, Eclipse Child."
"And stop calling me that," I added. "My name is Senara."
"Names have power," Van replied. "Titles even more so. The one you choose to answer to shapes the path before you."
Before I could respond, the forest opened suddenly into a clearing bathed in strange light. Above us, the moon hung full and luminous, but it was not alone in the night sky. A second celestial body, not the sun, but something like it, hung opposite the moon, casting a golden light that somehow did not diminish the silver glow of its counterpart.
"What is that?" Wyn breathed, pointing to the sun like orb.
"The Everdawn," Van said. "It shines only in places where the boundaries between realms blur, and I don't mean realms they way you are used to thinking of them. I mean realms as in different worlds. The Twilight Gardens lie just beyond this clearing."
"I thought this was the Twilight Garden?" I queried.
"It is, and it isn't. You'll see." Van shot me a wink over his shoulder as he unslung his lute and started picking at the strings.
The dual light, silver and gold, bathed the clearing in a strange, shimmering radiance. Plants I had never seen before grew in abundance: flowers with petals that were silver on one side and gold on the other, trees with bark that spiraled between light and dark.
The path wove between trees so old they seemed to have personalities of their own. Their trunks were massive, gnarled with knots that resembled faces in repose, some peaceful, others contorted in silent screams. Roots broke through the soil like the backs of ancient serpents, forcing us to watch our footing.
The air grew thicker with each step, heavy with a perfume that made my head swim pleasantly. Tiny particles of light drifted around us, like pollen illuminated from within. They clung to my skin momentarily before dissolving into my flesh, leaving behind a brief tingle of warmth and cold intermingled.
"What are these?" I asked, extending my hand to catch another of the glowing motes.
"Twilight spores," Van answered without turning. "The breath of trees that exist in both day and night simultaneously. They're quite rare, and quite valuable to certain alchemists."
The spores seemed drawn to my mark, swirling around my arm, neck, and face in increasing numbers. Each one that touched me sent a pulse of clarity through my mind, like fog lifting from a hidden landscape.
"They're responding to you," Wyn observed, her scholar's curiosity evident. "I've read about such phenomena, but never witnessed it."
"The forest recognizes its own," Van said cryptically.
We rounded a massive trunk, so wide that twenty people linking hands might not encircle it, and the path suddenly opened into a clearing that stole my breath.
The Twilight Gardens.
The name hardly did justice to the wonder before us. Indeed, what we had been moving through before was not a garden proper, not like this. The area we were in now looked as though it had been designed, created by an artist of the highest caliber.
Trees with dual colored bark, silver on one side, gold on the other, formed a perfect circle around a central pool. The water within shimmered with an inner light that pulsed in time with my heartbeat. Around the pool's edge grew flowers unlike any I'd ever seen, blossoms that were half closed and half open simultaneously, petals that showed both budding youth and withering age on the same stem.
Most remarkable were the floating islands that hovered above the pool. Seven of them, each supporting a different type of miniature garden: one lush with tropical flowers, another sparse with desert succulents, a third covered in snow dusted pines. They rotated slowly around a central axis, drifting up and down in gentle undulation.
"By the goddess," Wyn whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.
Even Volker seemed momentarily speechless, his normally stern face softened by awe.
"The Gardens exist in multiple realms at once," Van explained, his voice taking on the cadence of a practiced storyteller. "What you see here is merely the intersection of those realms with our own. In the time before the Sundering, this was a place of meditation and communion, where the wisest of the worlds and beings would meet to share knowledge."
I stood transfixed, my eyes drinking in the impossible beauty of the Twilight Gardens. The floating islands drifted with deliberate grace, like dancers performing a slow, ancient waltz. Each rotation revealed new wonders, cascading waterfalls that flowed upward, flowers that bloomed and withered in seconds only to be reborn again.
"The Crescent Diadem," I whispered, suddenly remembering our purpose. "Where is it?"
Van gestured toward the central pool. "The artifacts of power are never simply sitting on pedestals, waiting to be claimed. One must earn them."
"Of course they must," Thorn muttered beside me. His hand hadn't left the hilt of his sword since we'd entered the clearing.
I approached the edge of the pool, my reflection rippling across its surface. But it wasn't just me looking back, sometimes my face shifted, showing versions of myself I didn't recognize. Older, younger, happier, haunted, all still me, yet not.
"What must I do?" I asked, turning to Van.
He strummed a gentle chord on his lute. "The waters will show you. But be warned, the trial is different for each seeker. What you face will be yours alone."
I glanced back at Thorn, whose expression had darkened. "I don't like this."
"You don't have to," I whispered. "But we need the Diadem if we're going to have any chance against the Empress."
The water before me swirled, forming a small whirlpool that glowed with increasing intensity. Something was rising from its depths, not the Diadem itself, but a pedestal of twisted crystal that broke the surface with barely a splash.
Atop it sat a single silver chalice.
"Drink," Van said simply.
I reached for the cup, my fingers trembling slightly as they closed around the cool metal. The liquid inside was clear as water but shimmered with flecks of gold and silver that swirled together without mixing.
"Senara," Thorn's voice was tight with concern. "Are you sure about this?"
I met his gaze, sensing the fear he concealed. "No," I admitted, "but I'm doing it anyway." I lifted the chalice and swallowed thickly a goblet of mysterious liquid that seemed made of light. What could possibly go wrong?