Rila looks up at me. “Mama says I can get one when I’m older.”
I stroke her silky hair. “Yes, you will.”
She gives me a toothy grin, and I realize both her pointed canines are missing. It makes my heart squeeze.
Many more minutes pass before the first sound of a hammer against rock sounds, followed by a triumphant laugh.
Liana’s voice breaks through the clash of hammers.
“Queen Estela? Would you join me?”
I freeze, and Rila looks up at me. Handing her off to Teo, I move across the cavern and stand next to Liana. The expression on her face is hidden in shadow, but she leans over to explain.
“I know that you didn’t get to experience this before, but I thought it would be a good test of your magic.”
My chest fills with a surprised sort of gratitude. There are two powers within me—the one that attunes me to the crystals and the light that burns. I’ve used the heat often over the last few months, but I’m still warming up to the ways of the Enduares.
“Just tell me what to do.”
The reddish light gilds Liana’s hands as she moves them out to either side of her body. “Abi, daughter of the humans, approach.”
The woman walks forward, and a strange buzzing energy builds in the air. She holds out her stone, which Liana takes.
“Bare your chest, my child,” Liana says.
Abi reaches up and undoes the ties around the neck of her tunic. She pulls down the garment low enough so that the valley between her breasts is on clear display.
“Estela, take this and hold it in place,” Liana gently instructs.
I reach forward, placing the stone on her chest. Abi’s sharp breath vibrates through the stone, and it warms against her skin.
“Follow my lead,” Liana murmurs. Then she places her hand over mine and hums a monotone note. I match her pitch, and my Fuegorra lights up, as does Liana’s and Abi’s. For a second, I fear the heat that comes after the light, but it doesn’t come.
The glow isn’t bright white. It’s orange. The glimmer pulses in time with an ancient song, like the composition of a heartbeat, as the stone heats. For a second, I glimpse the world through different eyes. Instead of seeing Abi, I see myself standing next to Liana. We become two souls tangled up in energy and song.
Then our Fuegorras dim, and Abi steps back panting. Her hand flutters to her chest, probing at the stone before tightening her tunic neckline.
“It—it’s done?”
“Yes,” Liana replies.
While the wise woman calls to another, I look down at my hand in wonder. How can this palm have the ability to both burn and bless?
I ponder this question as the next twenty-seven humans approach. Liana seals the gems while I hold them in place, enjoying the out-of-body experience of seeing through another’s eyes. The faces and perspectives begin to blur together, and I swear that I can feel a tangible link between each person in the room.
Taking this stone wasn’t just a ceremony, nor was it solely about extending lives or hearing crystal songs. It was a joining of a people for a lifetime.
As we leave the chamber, I see the tear-streaked faces of each woman, most of them smiling widely. Melisa catches my eye.
I never saw her approach to receive her gem.
“What happened?” I demand.
She takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes. “I didn’t want to do the ritual. All right?”
“Why not?”
She pins me with a long, hard stare.
