Paoli lets out a silent laugh.
“The old one?” I ask.
She shrugs. “He’s charming.”
I let out a laugh. “He is spending his nights with one of the elves.”
“And? I can be patient,” she says deviously.
Gods, these women.
I give her a quick hug and then move forward as the procession down to the crystal cavern starts. The women begin lining up, and the singing starts.
I am transported away from this world. As the wise woman swings her golden lantern back and forth, the dazzling light gives me goosebumps.
A million pinpricks on my skin wake me up as I’m handed a crystal, and I walk.
When we reach the forges, they hand out hammers. I politely decline seconds before I catch Ra’Sa’s eye. It is gentle and kind.
A part of me is glad that he will take me to Zlosa. There is something so reassuring about him. He’ll meet the girls as we travel back here.
I wonder if he will be as kind and reassuring to them.
As we finally reach the cavern filled with glowing red crystals, I pause.Fuegorras are everywhere.
Awe turns into excitement. I can hardly believe the shine and glow of the gems.
“Listen for your match.” Liana’s powerful voice fills the room. “It will sing a melody that you will recognize instantly,just as clearly as I speak to you now. Be mindful of your hammer strikes, though. The crystal you break out now will be sported on your chest till the day you die—no one wants a lopsided oval like the one Velen cut twenty years ago.”
Laughter ripples through the room. I make a note to meet that man.
The women around me start to move, and jealousy builds in my gut. I will not be able to join them.
But…Soon,I remind myself and watch as all the others find their stone.
Unexpectedly, while standing at the back of the cave, waiting for the others to finish, a song starts up to my left.
It is a cold, bitter song. One that calls to the innermost depths of my soul.
I gasp as I move forward, reaching toward one of the crystals. This one glints brighter than all the others, and my breathing is shallow.
I shouldn’t do this… But I reach toward it anyway.
As my finger brushes the gleaming crystal, something cracks open inside of me. It’s no longer a faint song playing off in the distance. It is a symphony that morphs from pain and bitterness to sweetness.
Like a promise of what it could do to me.
I recoil.
Backing away from everyone, I let the flashes of light at the front of the cavern continue as I slink back out into the hallway. I wait for the others to partake in this ritual, knowing that such things are not meant for me.
Irefused them.
The panic starts. First, with full body chills and then with nausea. I fear throwing up. Sweat collects up my back, and I press shaky hands to my mouth as my heart gallops.
If Ra’Sa were here…
I stop the thought before it can continue, swallowing the bile and closing my eyes against a wave of dizziness.