“The healing was only the beginning and it was the smallest part of what I need to do,” I said. “There is still a taint in the heart and it's the thickest stain on an asha that I've ever seen. I don't know if I can remove it. I'm nearly drained as it is.”
“You have me.” Everan took my upper arms in hand as he faced me stoically. “And you have the other kishanos. There will be enough power for you.”
“I don't know, Ever,” I whispered and glanced back at the thick yellow asha.
“If not, you have two ashas right there that you can feed on.” He waved his hands at the knights. “They will revive you.”
“Everan!” I snapped. “You cannot just offer me someone's asha as if they're your property.”
“They have vowed to help in any way possible, Shalani. Ask them yourself, but I'm sure that they will gladly contribute. It won't hurt them, why are you balking?”
“I don't know how it is that you can take asha, Your Majesty,” Sir Varna interrupted us. “But if mine can help you save Danu, take it. Take it all.”
“Taking it all would kill you,” I said gently.
She lifted her chin. “I know.”
I blinked.
“And mine as well.” Sir Kevel added. “Take whatever you need, Your Majesty.”
“I'm sorry. It's very honorable of you both, but I don't know if what I can safely take from you will be enough. And I willnotdrain you of your asha. I refuse to kill innocent people, not even to save a realm.”
“And are we not Danutians?” Mahar asked me. “Do Bargests not have ashas?”
“Of course, you are and you most assuredly have asha, but I don't have the right to ask this of you,” I said. “It could be dangerous. I've never taken from one asha while altering another.”
“But King Everan said it wouldn't hurt the knights,” Mahar pointed out.
“It shouldn't hurt any of you. Your asha should replenish itself. But, again, I've never done this particular maneuver before.”
“But our asha will sustain you so that you can heal the tree?”
“The Heart of Earth, not just the tree, but yes, there are enough of you that I believe I can take the energy I'll need without killing you.”
“Then it will be our honor to help you save the Heart of Earth, Queen Amaranthine.” He waved his arms out to his tribe.
They made a harruffing sound and pounded their chests as one.
“Our asha is your asha,” Mahar declared.
“Very well.” I smiled at the Bargests. “Then come closer. I'll need you to stay within my line of sight while I do this.”
The Bargests stepped forward, all of them with the same savage look about them that Mahar had, even the women seemed dangerous. But they also looked determined and proud and very honorable. These were people who prized action and they'd been unable to act—utterly impotent in the face of their realm's decline. And I had just presented them with a chance to change that.
I looked them over with my other sight and wasn't surprised to see great, boiling clouds of poppy-red energy and walnut determination over their base ashas. It was the poppy that I gravitated toward. I could feed on any color, just like a Faulin feeds on lust, but feeding on energy would be akin to carb-loading for athletes—energy into energy.
I took a few sips of asha from four Bargests. They didn't seem to notice and I hoped it stayed that way. Those sips were enough to revive me to full power and I knew that poppy had been the right choice. I lifted my chin and stepped toward the tree.
The Bargests and our knights moved with me, spreading out to my sides so I could see them. At four feet away from the trunk, I stood at the edge of the heart's asha. I didn't want to step into that murk so I decided to make a stand there. The asha was so thick that it looked as if it would coat my skin, or maybe my aura, and suffocate it. That probably wasn't true, but I didn't need to be close for my magic to work so why risk it? I'd only stepped up to get a better look at the condensed color. At that range, it almost appeared to be a shell. I had a feeling that if it were a physical thing, I would see my face reflected in it, and tapping it with a finger would make a hollow sound.
A thought shivered in the corner of my mind but refused to take shape—something about a shell. I let it go and focused on the color I'd chosen to heal the heart with—a shade between amethyst and plum. I wasn't sure if it would work. In any other situation, it probably wouldn't. Most color shades are distinctive and even the different shades of a single color have very different properties as far as the effect they have on living things. But neon yellow and pineapple had a connection beyond their base color. Panic could indeed be inciting; it could even speed up a metabolism. The same could be said for amethyst and plum—calm and a slow metabolism could be associated. I hoped that this meant the blend of their shades would create the perfect weapon to clear the Heart of Earth's asha.
I didn't focus the color into a point this time but launched it fully at the asha before me. Although, that's not the best description. I don't send color out of myself; I send my magic out with the intent to change the colors around me. In this case, I blanketed the aura with my magic and my intent coated it in my chosen color. I pushed it inward, trying to saturate the asha with amethyst-plum to wipe out the neon-pineapple.
And it worked.
My heart sped up with excitement. We really could do this. With the massive energy source of the Bargests available to me, I was sure to be able to last long enough to clear this taint. With that confidence bolstering me, I settled in for the long haul. Despite the effectiveness of my magic, getting through the thick color was like peeling layers of wallpaper off a wall. Every millimeter I sank through only revealed more of that neon-pineapple.
