When we near a fork in the tunnel, I turn to the wise woman. “Where now?” I call out.
She winks. “Take the right side.” Then she speeds up, leaving behind her laughter.
I follow along, also laughing as the creature speeds on. The Fuegorra on my chest lights up as we move, and I am shocked by the ease with which I can navigate, as if the creature reads my thoughts.
The cave twists and turns a few more times, and then we are spit out into an enormous cavern filled with icy white light. In the middle, there is a wraith easily a hundred times the size of the one under me.
I rear back, and theglacialmararesponds, slowing down to a stop. We dismount, and I gawk at the massive crystal wraith in front of us.
“What the hell is that?” I ask.
Liana approaches the creature fearlessly and begins to speak in a language I don't understand. The wraith responds with a tinkle, and suddenly Liana presents me with a small crystal. "This isdrathorinna. Mother of all our little wraiths.”
I blink, taking one step forward and guiding my wraith. “Are you telling me the one I’m riding will grow to be that size?” This world is far more magnificent and wonderful than I could have previously known.
She shakes her head.
"No, it won’t. Drathorinna is the mother, a queen among the crystal wraiths if you will, but she is one of a kind. Only one is born every thousand years. She’s a rare and powerful being, and we consider her sacred." She pauses, looking at me with a serious expression. "Much like you. I know we have not spoken more of your talent, but you must understand what it is to be a Fuegorra reader.”
Liana reaches out and touches the enormous beast. The hand around her spot starts to grow. “Each wraith has a special connection to its rider, but the connection can easily be changed from one day to the next.Drathorinnaonly accepts women like you and I.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I listen to her words. The depth of the responsibility she has bestowed upon me is not lost. "What do you mean by accepting only women like us?" I ask, already knowing the answer before she speaks.
Liana smiles, her eyes alight with a fierce determination. "Drathorinnais a creature that only chooses certain women to ride her. Women with power, strength, and the ability to read the Fuegorra. Like you and me. When the last reader taught me how to work with the crystals, she brought me here first. Now, I bring you."
I swallow. “You expect me to ride her?”
Liana shakes her head and grabs onto one of the crystal scales lining thedrathorinna’sback. “Not today, no. But, to be considered a wise woman, you will ride her one day.”
Though Liana is old, she climbs up onto the wraith’s back with ease. I watch in awe as she moves with grace, her movements fluid and practiced.
Liana beckons me to come closer. "Stand there, by her side," she says. "Feel the power emanating from her body.”
Slowly, I step forward, afraid that if I move too quickly, I’ll spook the wraith queen. Waves of power crash into me, emanating from every scale and crystal. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before, and I wonder if Liana can see the awe on my face.
"All right down there?” She calls.
I look up and nod. My hand reaches out toward the icy crystals, and a jolt of electricity runs through my fingers as I touch them. A deep buzzing sound reverberates through my body, and I close my eyes, savoring the feeling of the wraith's power washing over me.
Liana chuckles, and her boots land right in front of me. "Don't let it go to your head, child. You still don’t know the names of the crystals. We have much to do."
I open my eyes and turn to face her. "What do you mean?"
She’s already walking away. “Come on. We’ll ride back to the surface.”
I grab myglacialmaraagain and follow after her.
As we ride back through the tunnels, Liana falls silent. I take my time, feeling the muggy air on my face and the speed as we race through the tunnels. When it’s time to put the creature back in its stall, I feel sad.
“Don’t worry. We’ll return,” Liana says. “You’ll just have to wait until after your wedding.”
I look at her and grin. “Thank you.”
She chuckles and continues walking.
"You humans have no sense of what you might call crystallography in the common tongue. Enduares feel the stones like you feel the wind, the air." As she speaks, Liana leads me to the small grotto tucked away at the back of the palace. She's laid out three red stones on the ground, but my eyes are caught on the Fuegorra in the center of the room. I think of the visions it's shown me. That image of Teo and I, where we were happy. Mated.
"Eyes down here," she says as she squats down. "Here is your first lesson—tell me which is the Fuegorra."