I eyed the heart and then the Sylphs. Just like the Bargests, the Sylphs had some walnut determination in their ashas, although not the poppy-red energy. Instead, I saw flashes of earnest cobalt and focused azure. But their colors kept shifting between shades—something I'd never seen before. With those rapid changes, I knew I wouldn't be able to connect with a specific shade and transfer it to the heart. Instead, I'd have to latch onto their ashas as a whole and use them for fuel if I needed to.
I lightly touched the nearest ashas and then focused on the Heart of Air. I connected with the heart's asha—at least the thick shield it had constructed around itself—and concentrated on changing that thick yellow into the steady, determined mahogany I'd used on the Heart of Earth. The asha resisted me. I realized then that I'd have to sink through the layers as I had with the Heart of Earth. This time, I'd have to alter the colors while keeping the layers intact. I couldn't peel them away or I'd lose the shield entirely and end up in the same mess I'd been in with Earth. Thankfully, there were no boils of black sickness in the Heart of Air. There must not have been enough time for the magic to decay.
The thief was working faster.
By the time I reached the third layer of the shield, I was in need of fuel. Connecting with another asha was more difficult this time, despite the contact I maintained with the Sylphs, and I had to briefly pause my work with the heart to pull energy from the Sylphs. I only needed a small amount to refresh me but I needed it over and over again. I went through at least fifty Sylphs before I reached the final layer.
The shield was nearly complete when I sank too far and accidentally slipped past the barrier. In a second, the void within the heart latched onto my asha and yanked. I gasped and fell forward, several Sylphs stumbling with me. Their comrades pulled them back while Everan rushed to help me.
“Don't touch me!” I shrieked at him.
It startled Ever enough to stop him but only for a moment. Luckily, a moment was all I needed to disengage from the heart. The shield solidified around the orb and the drain on my asha stopped. The Heart of Air was completely cut off from Danu but hopefully in a more stable manner. I started to feel relief but then, my vision started to waver. That hovering, mahogany-shielded orb was the last thing I saw before I fell forward. Everan caught me and pulled me back from the edge of the shaft. He laid me down on the stone as the Sylphs gathered around us in concern.
“I'm fine,” I whispered and closed my eyes. “I'm fine. Really.” I stared up at Everan's terrified face. “What's wrong?”
Everan blinked and relaxed. “You passed out, Shalani.”
“What? No, I didn't.” I sat up with his help.
“You were out for maybe five minutes,” he insisted. “Completely unresponsive.”
“I was?” I gaped at him. “It felt like I closed my eyes for a second.”
“What happened?” Everan demanded.
“I went too far and hit the center of the heart,” I confessed. “It took some of my asha... and probably magic.”
“I knew I should have kept you away from the heart!” Everan glared at the hovering orb.
“I'll get it back,” I vowed. “It will be all right.”
Everan's jaw clenched. “Do you need some of my strength?”
“No. I'm fine now.” I climbed to my feet. “Thank you, darling.”
Everan stood up as well and eyed me with obvious concern.
“I'm okay, I swear.” I looked at the Sylphs. “Are all of you all right?”
“A couple of us have been weakened but they're alive, Your Majesty,” the Sylph man said. “If you are finished with the heart, we'd like to take them home to recover.”
“Yes, of course,” I agreed. “Go ahead; I'm finished here. And thank you for your help.”
“It was our honor.”
The Sylphs bowed and then dissipated into thin air. I felt a cool breeze rush by me.
“That's a hell of an exit,” I murmured.
“And now, it's time for ours,” Everan said firmly. “We need to twist back to the stronghold and see if the mages are finished with their tracking device.”
“We can't just leave,” I admonished him as I headed up the stairs. “Adhara is waiting for us; she'll want to know how it went. Plus, shouldn't we return to the Western Kingdom and see if everyone is all right?”
“Our knights will report once they return but you're right, we should probably tell Adhara that you were successful and also not successful.”
“How were you not successful?” Adhara asked me as soon as I stepped out onto the plateau.
Goddesses have damn good hearing.
