“He will be with you momentarily,” Achira said as she left.
We settled on the low couches then Binx reached for the refreshments laid on an equally-low coffee table. A silver vase of marigolds perched amid plates of sweets and a pot of tea. Binx went for the sweets and stayed away from the tea. I grinned as I did the opposite.
Then a Naga walked in.
This one was in his Weresnake form; an interesting combination of snake and man. A cobra hood draped his head, emerging from his forehead smoothly. Skin became scales at the border of his face, in a line from temples up to crown but from his temples down, the snakeskin hung like the fabric of an ordinary hood, down to his collarbones where it reattached. A wide neckline, bordered with gold embroidery, laid along the fold. Within the hollows of the hood, waves of dark hair hung to the man's shoulders and the graceful column of his throat stood bare. He looked human if you disregarded his hood and golden snake eyes.
“Welcome to my home.” The Naga inclined his head. “I am Daha.”
“Thank you for seeing us on short notice,” Slate said. “We have an urgent need for clarity.”
Daha smiled serenely. “Yes, I imagine you do, Zone Lord. There is unrest in our home.”
“You could say that,” Slate agreed.
Daha took a deep breath, his stare traveling over all of us. It widened slightly on me. “But I will not read you, Zone Lord.”
“Excuse me?” Slate growled.
Daha held up one elegant hand. “I will see Elaria Tanager. Alone.”
I blinked in surprise then looked at Slate. He scowled but nodded; seers could be weird, it's kinda their thing, and it's best to just go with it. I stepped forward.
“Achira will attend the rest of you while I meet with the Spellsinger,” Daha declared. “Your Majesty.” He held an arm out to me.
I glanced at Slate again, shrugged, and laid my hand on Daha's forearm.
Chapter Ten
“Please.” Daha waved his hand toward a wide, low chair; heavily carved to the point that it resembled a throne and padded with a thick cushion.
He'd taken me upstairs to the second floor and into an airy room with a plant-laden balcony that let in a cool breeze and lots of light; both of which were manufactured but nonetheless felt natural. There, the carpets were plush, detailed, layered, and scattered with pillows. Potted plants crept in from the balcony to take up the few spaces of bare floor. Daha chose another throne-like chair, set at a right angle to mine, for himself.
Then he stared at my chest.
I frowned and cleared my throat.
Daha shook his head slightly. “I'm so sorry, but I'm drawn to your pendant. May I ask, what is it?”
My hands went to the collection of pendants that hung from a gold chain around my neck. Two were Shining One amulets; my travel stone was a piece of clear, polished crystal whose depths swirled constantly with light and my contact charm was a piece of barite shaped like a cone but with a natural formation on the wide end that looked like the petals of a rose. Lastly, there was a simple, unpolished chunk of onyx whose purpose I'd yet to discover.
“Which one?” I asked Daha.
I had assumed his attention had been caught by the swirling light of the traveling charm. It could be distracting which was why I usually kept it tucked down my bodice. The pendants must have fallen free when I'd sat down, catching the seer's attention. But Daha focused on the flat-black of the onyx amulet, pointing at it to be absolutely clear.
“Oh. This is the result of...” I frowned as I searched for a way to explain it.
“Great magic,” Daha finished for me.
“Yes, great magic,” I confirmed. “Two friends and two lovers helped me create this. We didn't set out to; I was training and ended up uniting our magic. When our magic combined, it formed this. It was originally one large chunk but Lucifer, one of the friends who helped create it, separated the onyx into smaller pieces so each of us could have one.”
“What have you used it for?”
“So far, I haven't used mine for anything but Torin's stone saved his life. My husband was attacked and his pendant absorbed the magic. It was, unfortunately, destroyed in the process.”
“Fascinating,” Daha whispered.
“Would you like to hold it?” I asked when he continued to stare at the amulet.
“I would be honored.”
I slipped the chain over my head and offered the entire thing to him. Daha took it reverently, laying all three pendants in his palm. He stroked the Shining One charms absently then slid them down to hang from the chain as he closed his fingers over the onyx. Daha's breath shivered out of him and a smile full of wonder stretched his lips.
“There is God magic in this stone,” Daha whispered. “And also music and fire and... love.” He smiled at me. “You've created something that has never existed before, Elaria; a collection of magic that shouldn't be able to unite. You have made the dissonant into something harmonious.”
“That was probably the Spellsong,” I said lightly.
“No, it was everything you are,” he protested. “You are the pitch that focused their voices. The note that made the magic into music. You did that.”
After an awkward pause, I asked, “Can you see what it can do?”
Daha pondered the amulet. “It's not a charm like these other two; it doesn't have a specific purpose. This is raw magic; it's potential is limitless. It just needs you to direct it.” He offered it back to me.
“Thank you.” I took the necklace and put it back on my
