Crown of Shadow and Bones

The Shadows Within

Kael

From the moment Elara whispered, "I'm ready," Kael felt a knot tighten in his chest. He watched her step closer to the edge of the Shadowlands, her resolve solid but tinged with fear. She didn't know what awaited them in the Shadowlands or the Abyssal Archive, but neither did he. Yet here they were, facing an ancient force even the fae feared.

Kael had always been at ease with the darkness. He grew up with it and learned to navigate its twisting paths and shifting shadows. But the Shadowlands were something else entirely—an ancient place where even the bravest fae feared to tread. As they ventured deeper, the mist thickened to a misty soup around them, tendrils of fog clinging to their legs like ghosts clinging to the life they once knew. And though he had promised himself he wouldn't let Elara sense his unease, there was something about this journey that set his teeth on edge.

He glanced at her, walking slightly ahead, her long blonde hair and black cloak billowing behind her in the faint breeze that whispered through the skeletal trees. She looked different than she had when she had first arrived, more fragile and more powerful at the same time. The magic she had called on in the forest had changed her in ways they both couldn't yet comprehend. Despite everything that had happened yesterday her steps were steady, but he could feel the tension in her shoulders, the wariness in the way her eyes scanned the imposing landscape.

Despite the dark and dreary atmosphere, the Shadowlands were alive, in their own way. He had heard stories of the land shifting, twisting, and turning, of the shadows whispering secrets that could drive someone mad. But for Kael, the shadows felt like familiar companions. He wasn't truly afraid of them.

He was afraid of what they might reveal.

Elara's power had evolved. Kael had seen the surge of magic that coursed through her when she healed herself, something far beyond necromancy. It was deeper, older. He wasn't sure if she could control it—or if it would control her. As they ventured deeper, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever awaited them was already watching.

"Elara," he called softly, his voice cutting through the unnatural quiet. She didn't look back at him. Instead, her fingers brushed against the air, tracing faint shapes as if she were testing the magic around them. "You've changed," he said, more to himself than her.

"I know," she replied, her voice low, almost resigned. "I can feel it. It's like this place is calling to me."

That was what worried him. She was handling it too well—this surge of dark power that flowed through her like a river of shadow. It was as if the necromancy had awakened something ancient within her, something far more dangerous than either of them could have ever anticipated. And the further they traveled into the Shadowlands, the stronger that magic seemed to grow, feeding on the darkness that surrounded them.

Kael fell silent, watching her. The air between them was thick with unspoken words, with secrets that neither was ready to confront. He wanted to reach out, to tell her that she didn't have to face this alone. But what would be the point? Elara had given off an air of independence, even when they first met. He could see it slip a little when she instinctively moved closer to him when his mother arrived in the clearing, but he could tell she had mentally kicked herself for it. She carried the weight of her past—her mistakes, her grief—like a shield. And now, with this new magic surging through her, that isolation had only deepened.

He knew what that felt like. To bear a burden no one else could understand. To be seen as something dangerous, something unnatural. He had lived with it his entire life. Being the son of the King and Queen Celyndra meant constantly living under the weight of expectations he could never fulfill. His mother had molded him into a tool for the court—a political pawn who could be used and discarded at her will. But Kael had rebelled against that, carving out his own path. And somehow now, standing on the edge of the abyss with Elara, he found purpose beyond his mother's expectations. She was no tool to be used, no pawn to be manipulated. In some ways, they were alike, but when it came to power she was something else entirely—a force that could either save them or destroy everything.