But back to the Gods. Although each kingdom was aligned with an element and therefore, its god, the Gods had chosen to live closer to each other and since the only ocean on Danu was in the Southern Kingdom, the Gods chose homes in the South. So, if I wanted to talk to Kolltean, my best bet would be to head into the Raeventar Forest, just outside the city of Sylene, which was the capital of the Southern Kingdom and my home when I was in Danu.
“Yes,” Everan said. “But I think we should investigate the earthquakes before we bother the Gods.”
“Probably best.” I grabbed Sairana's Ember and put it on, then set a lid on the bin near my feet—a bin that wasn't even a quarter full.
Packing would have to wait.
Chapter Three
I twisted with Everan to our stronghold in the Southern Kingdom. While I got changed into something more appropriate to my status—a Danutian gown in cherry-red silk—Ever contacted my grandfather using a Danutian comm-screen posing as a mirror. Danutian culture is a fascinating mix of the archaic and the advanced. They rode in vehicles that looked like carriages but drove like cars, stored books on crystal spheres, read those books on silver devices, and incinerated immortal hearts with metal rods. Their technology was extremely advanced—they'd come to Earth in spacecrafts, after all—and yet their aesthetic was practically medieval. Their knights wore armor but rode on sleek motorcycles instead of horses and despite their heart-burning-rods, they fought with swords. And they liked to hide their communication devices in things like breastplates and mirrors.
I entered Everan's study just as he pressed a button hidden within the comm-screen's gilded, oval frame to turn it off. The surface of the screen shifted from the frozen image of an empty leather chair to a mirrored sheen that reflected Ever's worried face.
“Did something else happen?” I asked.
“No, but your grandfather has given us special permission to twist into his palace directly. He's shown me the image of the reception room he'll be meeting us in so we may do so privately.”
“Why is that bad?”
“It's considered to be an act of war to twist into another monarch's kingdom,” Everan explained. “That he's not only allowing it but requesting it shows the depth of his unease.”
“Then let's not waste any time.” I held out my hand.
Everan took my hand and used it to pull me into an embrace. He kissed my forehead as a shiver of magic rolled over us. Everan's room disappeared and in seconds, we arrived in another kingdom. The reception room he'd taken me to reminded me of a conservatory I'd once visited in the castle of the Eastern Kingdom. It was full of plants and sunlight, with a green-tiled floor and a glass ceiling.
“Amara!” My grandmother declared.
I turned out of Everan's arms toward the sound of her voice. Queen Salana—slim, blonde, and fair-skinned—rushed over and pulled me into a hug. She was stronger than she looked; I almost tapped out. Her lilac stare took me in as she stepped back.
“You look beautiful. Marriage suits you.”
“Thank you, Grandmother. It's good to see you. I wish you could have come to my wedding to Cyprian.”
“We attended the one that mattered,” my grandfather said brusquely.
“Benalt!” Grandma chided.
King Benalt grimaced and then gave me a repentant look that made him look like a teenager. He was blond like his wife but both his hair and skin were a shade darker than my grandmother's. Despite their pale looks, they'd produced an auburn-haired child—my mother's twin brother, Nial. Fraternal twins, obviously; my mother had been blond and a woman.
Nial, dressed in a more casual tunic than his father, stepped up to hug me next. “Thank you for coming, Amara. We could use your input.”
“I'm sorry, child.” My grandfather said as he pulled me into an embrace. “These earthquakes have turned me brutish. It's good to see you.”
“You too, Grandfather.” I kissed his cheek, and he grinned briefly.
“The mages say there are magical surges within the element,” my grandfather got right to it. “They've been monitoring the element of Earth since the first disturbance and sensed a gathering of energy.”
“That sounds like what happened in the South,” I said with a glance at Everan.
“Yes, your husband has informed us about the trouble with your forge,” my grandfather said. “Our surges are on a greater scale, unfortunately.”
“I don't suppose you have seismometers here?” I asked with doubt painting my voice.
“Is that some kind of human nonsense?” My grandfather asked.
“It's not nonsense if you want to find out where the earthquake originated from,” I protested. “Seismometers detect and measure earthquakes. When you have enough of them, you can determine where an earthquake started.”
“We know where it started,” King Benalt huffed irritably. “It startedhere.”
