Turning back to Liana, I say, “This. I’d like to give her this.”
Liana nods thoughtfully. “Beryl is a beautiful stone. It heals, but it also promotes love. Giving her such a thing could be a mistake when she travels back to her master.”
I purse my lips. “But she is wounded deep inside. I feel it thesame way I did for my mother. I want her to be safe—I trust that she will not be carried away down incorrect rivers.”
Liana smiles. “You have grown so poetic. What a very Enduar way to speak.”
I grin, feeling lighter around her for the first time in weeks.
“Yes.” It only takes a gentle press of my fingers to loosen the crystal and pull it out of the wall. While rubbing away bits of dirt and debris, my mind wanders back to the blessings that Teo mentioned Liana gave him before he left the caves. Thehlums’dor.
The wise woman is crouched over, picking up each of the cards that had been laid out for my convenience, I realize. She was waiting for me.
Bless her patience.
“It is time for you to approach the Fuegorra,” she says, gesturing to the enormous crystal jutting up from the ground that matches the one in my chest.
I take a deep breath. The last time I did, it gave me a vision of my future—of power. I place the crystal in my pocket and walk over to the small step in front of the gem.
Flickers of red and orange spark as I draw close.
“Hold your hands up as if you were about to touch it,” Liana says. “Loosen your shoulders.”
I obey each command and wait. Before, it had been instant, and while there is activity, it is not as potent as I once felt. The life force of the Enduares is… complex.
The seconds drag on, and I glance over my shoulder at her.
“Am I doing something wrong?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. Your connection is strong, but unpredictable. I need you to look into the ruins of the underwater city to see if you can spot the artifact.”
I purse my lips. “I’ve never done anything like that.”
She sighs. “The cards were supposed to help you, but it seems they have just added to the weight on your shoulders.”
I can’t deny it.
“Try touching the gem again. It shouldn’t work, but maybe you just need contact,” she says.
I nod and reach out.
As my finger grazes the smooth face of the stone, my own gem glows to life. “This keeps happening. Do you know why it’s so bright?”
“Sadly, I do not. Put your other hand on and think of Iravida.”
As soon as my other palm connects with Fuegorra, my vision swims with billowing black and silver glimmers. When the cloud of confusion clears, I see a massive city stretching out in all directions at the bottom of a sea. Lights glow and bob through the water, with large glowing apexes positioned in the middle of buildings.
I gasp.
“What do you see?” Liana demands.
It’s unnerving to be speaking with her while I see the ruins of an ancient world.
“Iravida—it’s beautiful, but why is it so bright?”
No answer, and then,“Push outside of the city—past the castle.”
Without moving a single muscle, I picture myself moving forward and shoot ahead like a spear. A part of me knows that I’m underwater, but since I don’t feel wetness against my skin, my usual panic doesn't ignite.
