“I don't know.” I thought about it. “I tossed Sairana's Ember into the Heart of Fire at Sairana's request and the Ember is what strengthened it. But with Earth, I had to use Bargest asha to create a barrier. I don't believe I would have been strong enough without them.”
“I'm certain that we could find several Eastern Sidhe willing to donate their asha to the cause,” King Dranalt offered.
“I don't think that's a good idea,” I said.
“Why ever not?” Dranalt asked in an offended tone. “We were the ones who made the hearts in the first place.”
“Yes, but you didn't donate anything to the Air Heart, right?” I countered. “You are living with only a little more than a quarter of your magic and it's mostly Air-based. If something goes wrong and the heart takes magic along with asha, your people could die.”
“I concede your point,” Dranalt murmured.
“But if there were an Air race who could contribute, I believe it would be less of a risk for them.”
“Because they are entirely of Air and have all of their magic,” King Dranalt murmured and nodded. “I understand.”
“It's not happening,” Everan declared.
“Excuse me?” I turned toward him in surprise.
“You lost your Earth magic when you created that shield,” he reminded me. “You can't lose Air too.”
“I don't think it affected me like the Bargests,” I argued. “I think because my magic was altered by the Elixir, only a very small part of it was actually Earth. Most of it is something else—something unique. I feel good—normal.”
“If I may, Your Majesty?” Master Salien approached me. “We have discussed your magic for many months now and from the conclusions we've drawn and what you've just said, I believe you are only partially correct.”
“Which part is wrong?” I asked warily.
“Would you mind if I examined you first? I only need to touch you to do so.”
“I suppose not.” I stood up. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just stand still for me, Your Majesty.” Master Salien placed his hands on my shoulders. He concentrated a moment and then his eyes popped open. “Master Halbren, could you assist?”
Master Halbren stepped forward as Everan started to look concerned. I gave him a reassuring smile, but he only grimaced. Halbren changed places with Salien and placed his hands on my shoulders. He closed his eyes and after a few minutes, opened them, staring at me in the same manner that Salien had.
“It is as we thought,” Halbren said to Salien.
“What is?” Everan demanded.
“Her Majesty does not possessanyof our elements,” Master Salien declared.
Every Danutian in the room made some type of horrified sound or expression. All but me. As I'd just mentioned, I believed my magic was something else entirely. I just hadn't realized there were no elements in it at all.
“Explain!” Everan roared.
“When Her Majesty's father gave her his elixir, it indeed altered her magic as she suspected,” Salien explained. “His elixir took the elements in her asha and combined them, turning them into something greater than they were separately—a fifth element.”
“And now, I'm in a Bruce Willis film,” I whispered.
“This fifth element is that of Spirit,” Salien went on but he turned to speak to me directly. “You are similar to what we once were before we separated our asha into its magical elements; you are whole. The elixir healed youcompletely.”
“It made me a true Danutian,” I murmured.
“More even than that. We possessed all of our elements before but they were not united.” Salien wove the fingers of both of his hands together. “Think of Spirit as a universal element. The reason you can see and affect asha is that your magic is pure—it is all that asha is and so can control it.”
“That makes sense.” I gaped at him as shivers ran over my skin. I had always wondered how I'd come to have my abilities and Salien had just presented me with a plausible explanation. My color magic was actually Spirit magic.
“But your magic is still Danutian at heart and when you came to Danu, you activated that part of yourself and formed a connection with the realm,” Salien's tone gentled. “You are part of the magical cycle but not in the same way as the rest of us. You sustainallof the hearts, Your Majesty.”
