The tunnel to the Heart of Fire was much the same as the one that led us to Sairana—smooth and devoid of all but the torches Sairana had lit for us. The one difference was the decline, which was steady, though not steep. It angled into a spiral and took us down and down and down until it finally leveled out and ended in a miniature version of the cavern above. Here, there was no dragon and no dais, only the Heart of Fire.
“Huh,” I said as I let Everan's hand go. “That's not what I was expecting. It's not even hot in here.”
“It's not fire, Shalani,” Everan said in a soft, reverent tone as he stared at the heart. “It's theHeartof Fire—the magic within the flame.”
Before us, hovering in midair, was an orb of light. It glowed fiery red while orange streamers swirled within the confines of the sphere. Power radiated from it, shivering across my skin but, as I'd mentioned, there was no heat to it. It was pure energy. And that energy flowed away from the orb and into the earth in a slender column, then returned to the orb, coming up from the ground in an identical shaft. It looked like a ball with legs. A glowing, magical ball, but a ball nonetheless. Not all that impressive, considering. Especially after I'd seen the mantle.
“I understand,” I said. “I guess I was just expecting something more... magical.”
“It's a glowing ball of pure elemental power,” Everan said in an offended tone. “How much more magical could it get? Did you expect it to sit on the back of a unicorn?”
“Very funny.” I grimaced at him. “I guess, I kind of expected it to be fire. Maybe hovering like that but in the form of flames.”
“Uh...”
“I know that sounds stupid.” I rolled my eyes. “But it's the Heart of Fire. I expectedfire.”
“Amara, look!” Everan pointed at the heart.
I turned to see a giant flame where the orb had been. It didn't crackle or let off heat or do anything a normal fire would do, but it had taken on the appearance I'd mentioned. Not flames, plural, but a flame, singular. It had a single tongue-like top and a rounded bottom. The columns connecting it to the ground—and I assume to the magic mantle—remained where they'd been previously but their color had shifted more toward orange.
“Maybe I should have asked for a unicorn,” I whispered in wonder.
The flame shifted into the shape of a unicorn, its legs formed by the columns.
“Sweet sepia!”
“Change it back, Shalani!” Everan said urgently.
“Um. I would like the Heart of Fire to have its original form?” I asked/stated.
The fire unicorn condensed into the red ball it had been when we first stepped into the room.
“Let's finish this task before we damage Danu more than it already is,” Everan whispered as if afraid his words might inspire the Heart of Fire as well.
“You mean beforeIdamage Danu.” I gave him an apologetic look as I unfastened Sairana's Ember from my throat.
“We are together in this as in all things,” Everan said firmly.
“So gallant.” I kissed his cheek, then looked down at the Ember in my palm.
Sairana's Ember was simple in design but beautiful—just like the Heart of Fire—and I would miss it. Mainly, I would miss its protection. Even magma hadn't been able to hurt me when I was wearing it. But if it could save Danu, it was worth sacrificing. I took a deep breath and cast it into the center of the sphere. As soon as the Ember was encased by the orb, the gold evaporated and the gem exploded into shards. Everan's arm shot around my waist and he yanked me toward the cave entrance as he turned his back toward the heart, but the explosion didn't make it past the limits of the sphere. The shards hit the inner wall and the orb absorbed them, forming a shell around itself. Its fiery glow intensified until I had to look away.
Everan drew me out of the cavern, one hand lifted to shield his eyes. The light followed us several feet, even up the spiral, but it finally faded enough for us to stop squinting.
I looked at my husband and grinned. “I think it worked.”
“I believe it did.” Ever grinned back.
“Now, let's get out of this mountain before I fall into a pit of magma,” I declared. “It would be just my luck.”
Chapter Sixteen
We bid goodbye to Sairana and left the cavern through the tunnel she'd made for us. Everan had Sir Varna contact the Southern Stronghold with the comm unit embedded in her armor and order a carriage to meet us. He didn't want to twist while the Earth magic was wounded and I agreed with him. We started walking down the mountain road instead of waiting and met the carriage as we neared the bottom. The driver didn't ask any questions and we didn't offer any explanations to our presence on the mountain road, just asked him to take us into Raeventar and be on guard for a Bargest. The driver didn't even bat an eye at Everan's order, not even the Bargest part. He just opened the door for us, shut it, climbed up to his seat, and drove.
A mile or so into the forest, we stopped. There was a Bargest on the road. This time, he was dressed. Partially. He had a pair of pants on. Everan, the knights, and I got out but only Everan and I approached Mahar.
The Bargest bowed. “Greetings, Your Majesties. The God of the Forest has bid me take you to the tree.”
