“Why did you stop me from helping you?”
“I can put on my own shoes, Everan,” I grumbled.
“No, I mean with the mountain.”
“Oh.” I paused. “Yes, that's something else we need to discuss.”
“What happened?” He went still.
“I thought I could feed on the mountain's asha but when I did, that yellow started to expand. Feeding on it only made it stronger. That should not have happened.”
“We need to talk to your grandparents,” Everan said grimly and held out his arm.
Everan escorted me out of my mom's old suite and into a corridor. We went down a floor to a meeting room where my grandparents and uncle were already in a discussion with several other Danutians. One of them was Commander Fabin, most of the rest were dressed as courtiers but one man wore scholarly robes. It was the robed man who stood and approached us as we headed toward the table they were gathered around.
“King Everan.” The robed man bowed to Everan and then to me. “Queen Amaranthine, I am Master Erlandral. It's a great honor to meet you. I would like to thank you for saving my life.”
“I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean.” I looked the man over; I was certain we'd never met.
“I was within the Vicanesse Mountains, monitoring the magic, when they began to shake,” Erlandral explained. “I don't believe I would have made it out in time to avoid being crushed or trapped if there had been an avalanche.”
“Then I'm glad I made an attempt,” I said and then looked past him. “Actually, I need to talk to my grandparents about that.”
“Of course.” Master Erlandral bowed again and stepped aside, allowing us to pass before heading back to his seat.
Everan pulled out a chair for me across from my grandparents. They were questioning me before I settled into it.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?” my grandmother asked.
“We are so proud of you,” my grandfather added.
“Yes, and thank you,” I said absently. “But I need to tell you that I saw the same shade of yellow in the mountain's asha as I did in the forge in our kingdom—the forge that had been affected by the wild Earth magic.”
“You saw themountain'sasha?” my uncle Nial asked in shock.
“Yes, and it was all yellow.”
“This yellow color, does it mean something?” my grandfather asked.
“Before that day in the forge, I'd never seen that shade but judging by the shades it lies between, it's something between panic and incitation,” I tried to explain. “Our mage said it was likely the color of the wildness he sensed in the Earth magic.”
“You can see what we can only sense,” Master Erlandral murmured with wonder. “And you say it covered the mountain?”
“Yes, and there's one more thing,” I went on. “I'm able to feed on asha so when I started to weaken, I tried to take some of that yellow to fuel myself. When I did, it made the color grow stronger instead of weakening it.”
“Interesting,” Erlandral murmured.
“Interesting?” King Benalt repeated in irritation. “Have you nothing else to say, Master Erlandral?”
“I don't understand it, Your Majesty.” The mage held out his hands helplessly. “I too sensed the wildness Queen Amaranthine mentioned and just before the mountain began to shake, that wild magic spiked. But why it did so, I cannot say.”
“How deep in the mountain were you?” I asked Master Erlandral.
“Very deep, Your Majesty,” he answered. “The cave entrance is near the base of the mountain and angles downward.”
“I think I'd like to see this cave now,” I declared.
Everan's jaw clenched.
