Chapter 39 #2
We both scan the chamber at the same time. That’s when I see another pressure plate, this one directly in the path of the rolling boulders.
I bite down a curse. “Of course.”
Koen studies the timing, eyes narrowing. The boulders roar past in steady intervals, too fast, too heavy, and too merciless. There’s no opening large enough for him to reach it safely.
He moves closer anyway, body coiled like a bowstring.
“Don’t,” I warn sharply. “Koen, you’ll never—”
He glances back at me. There’s a strange calm in his eyes. “Trust me.”
He waits…counts…and runs.
The sound of the boulder coming is instant and deafening. He’s fast, but not fast enough. My heart seizes.
Without thinking, I fling out my shadows. They surge forward, wrapping around the boulder like black chains, straining against its impossible weight. My body jolts with the effort, every nerve screaming. The shadows quake, threatening to snap, but they hold. Just barely.
Koen doesn’t waste the chance. He sprints the last few steps and throws himself onto the plate.
The boulders vanish. Silence slams into the chamber, broken only by the ragged sound of my breathing.
Koen stands frozen for a beat, chest heaving, eyes locked on me. He saw how close it was. He knows.
The vines creak behind me, reminding me I still have to get down.
The descent is worse than the climb. Twice more, vines snap under my weight, and both times, I nearly fall. My arms are trembling too badly to hold on, my grip slipping with every inch downward.
The last vine breaks just as I near the ground.
I gasp, plummeting. But Koen is already there. His arms close around me, catching me hard against his chest. For a moment, neither of us breathes.
I stumble, steadying myself. He releases me slowly, though I feel the reluctance in it.
“You saved me,” I exhale.
His gaze doesn’t waver. His voice is low and certain. “I will always save you.”
The silence stretches, thick and charged, until I force myself to step back.
I shove at his chest. “You idiot! What were you thinking? You could’ve been crushed by that boulder!”
His surprise lasts only a moment before a slow smile spreads across his face. “Worried about me, little shadow?”
“Yes!”
His grin widens, lighting up his features. “In that case, I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Good,” I huff, turning to walk past him. But I don’t miss the way he follows a step closer to me, as if ready to catch me again at the first sign of falling.
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Koen
The ground shifts under our feet. The runes along the walls flare again, brighter and sharper, this time burning a violent crimson. The obelisk’s light pierces the chamber, and a thunderous crack shudders through the floor.
A roar of stone fills the air as chunks of the ceiling break away. Whole sections of wall crumble, vanishing into the endless dark below. The safe paths we fought so hard for are torn apart, leaving only broken platforms suspended in midair.
I grab Serenya’s arm, pulling her close to steady her as a part of the floor drops away beneath us. She stumbles into me, breathless, her eyes wide. “ Gods …,” she whispers.
There’s only one path forward now. A scattering of half-fallen platforms leading toward the obelisk at the chamber’s heart. They’re already crumbling, too. If we hesitate, if we misstep…we fall.
“We move now!” I shout, barely heard over the crash of stone.
She gives a determined nod.
Together, we jump.
The first platform tilts the second we land. I stumble, knees slamming down hard. I steady myself and grab Serenya as she lands beside me. Another slab drops past us into the abyss. No sound. Just gone.
Shadows flood the chamber, pouring in through every crack—clawing at the air.
This trial isn’t just collapsing the room. It’s turning it into a trap that is alive and hungry.
Serenya throws up her hands, her own shadows surging to push the others back. Her power is fierce and wild, but I can see the strain in the set of her jaw, the tremble in her arms. She’s losing ground.
“Go!” she shouts, voice cracking. “I’ve got it—just move!”
“No,” I snap, planting myself at her side. The warmth inside me rises, sharp and urgent. Light ignites in my hands, blinding white-gold, spilling outward like a second sun.
The chamber's shadows recoil, screeching in silence, retreating just enough for us to move.
We run.
Platform after platform, we jump, dodge, and climb, each step a gamble. I throw my light ahead, cutting paths through the encroaching dark, while Serenya lashes her shadows outward, binding falling stones long enough for us to cross. We move as one.
Still, it isn’t enough.
The obelisk is close. But the rest of the distance is nothing but air. No platforms. No path. Just a chasm yawning between us and the center.
I skid to a stop, chest heaving. “There’s no way—”
“Yes, there is.” Serenya’s voice is ragged. She steps beside me, her hand brushing mine. Her shadows writhe, reaching out like living bridges, latching to fragments of stone still hanging in the void. They form a thin, trembling walkway. Too fragile.
I understand instantly. I lift my hand and send light into the shadows. Gold burns through black, turning the tendrils solid, almost glass-like. It’s still fragile, but strong. For now.
“Together,” I murmur, meeting her eyes. She holds my gaze. No argument this time.
We move. Step by step, onto the bridge—light and shadow fused into one shaky path. It quivers under us, threatening to splinter with every step, but it holds.
The obelisk looms closer, glowing brighter now, pulling us in—or daring us.
Shadows lash up from the chamber floor—desperate and clawing. My light flares again, hotter, too hot. I push it harder, burning them back.
It scorches through me, pain tearing across my chest.
But I can’t stop.
Not while she’s still moving.
She slips—just for a second—and I react without thinking.
I grab her hand and yank her toward me before she can fall.
Her magic hits mine like a jolt. Shadows twist into light, merging, steadying us.
Together, we take the final step.
The instant our feet hit solid ground, the walkway shatters behind us, vanishing into nothing.
We stand before the obelisk, the chamber in ruins around us. We’re alive. Still breathing. Still together.
Serenya exhales a shaky laugh. “If this is what your light always feels like, I don’t know how you’re not exhausted all the time.”
Despite the ache running through every muscle, I can’t help but grin. “You get used to it.”
She rolls her eyes, but returns the smile. Bright and beautiful.
The obelisk hums, low and resonant, like it is breathing. Its surface ripples with light, deep violet shifting into a pale silver glow. Two handprints shimmer on opposite sides, one edged in shadow, the other in light.
“The end,” Serenya whispers, eyes narrowed. Her voice is steady, but I hear the weariness beneath it. We’ve both bled to get here. If this is a trick…
The voice comes from everywhere. Cold, inhuman, and ancient.
“Only one may claim victory. Step forth, choose your fate. The other must yield.”
The words sink into my bones. That’s the cruelest part of all. After everything we’ve endured together, it dares to demand we divide.
I glance at Serenya. She’s staring at the shadowed handprint, her jaw clenched, fists tight at her sides. She’d step back without hesitation if she thought it would protect me. That’s who she is.
“Don’t,” I say softly as realization hits.
Her head snaps toward me, eyes flashing. “We don’t have time to argue. One of us has to—”
“No. That’s the test.” I take a step closer, lowering my voice. “If either of us takes it alone, we lose. What it wants is for us to choose ourselves over each other.”
She opens her mouth to argue, then stops. Her gaze flicks to the handprints, then back to me. Shadows ripple faintly around her, restless.
“You’re sure,” she says. It isn’t a question.
I nod once. “I trust you. Do you trust me?”
The silence stretches, and I almost think she’ll deny it. Pride and fear, both warring in her eyes. Slowly, she exhales and gives the faintest nod.
“Always,” she whispers.
The word hits me harder than any blow.
We move as one. She circles to the left, I to the right. The glow of the handprint in front of me is blinding, pure white light edged with heat, like a miniature sun. Across from me, hers shimmers with shadowed violet, dark and endless. Two halves of the same whole.
We raise our hands at the same time.
For a moment, the chamber holds its breath. We press our palms against the stone, and the obelisk erupts.
Light and shadow explode outward, weaving together, spiraling through the air like threads of a tapestry. The broken chamber is bathed in gold and violet, day and night colliding until they are indistinguishable.
I feel it burning through me, her magic meeting mine, not clashing, but binding. Not opposites. Partners.
The voice returns, but this time it isn’t cold. It is reverent.
“You have chosen unity. You are worthy.”
The ground steadies. The crumbling walls reform, whole again, though glowing with faint runes. The obelisk’s light softens, fading to a steady, pulsing glow.
Serenya lowers her hand first, shoulders rising and falling with ragged breath. Those beautiful violet eyes land on me from across the stone, shadows still flickering faintly at her fingertips. She doesn’t speak.
Maybe that’s better. Because if she did, I don’t think I’d trust myself not to tell her everything.
So I just nod. Barely, but it’s enough.
We made it somehow. Together.
Overhead, the Orb of Vaelith flares—silver and pulsing, its surface rippling with shifting images of the council, the queen, and the people.
They're all watching. They saw what we did. What we proved.
With a final pulse, the obelisk parts the air before us, revealing a shimmering white portal. The way out.
Without a word, we step through it side by side.