“Help me catch them?” Thana asked.
Catch, not kill. She was still Thana. “Yes.”
Thana took her hand and kissed it.
“Shall I create a way for us to climb down, or shall we move on?”Sylph asked.
Prince Gunnar stared at nothing for a few moments, but Sylphdidn’t know him well enough to guess at his thoughts. She’d never really knownhim, and she pitied him his mask. At least she didn’t have to pretend to bejolly all the time at home.
“We go down there,” he said. “At least for a little way. Maybewe’ll get lucky.” He nodded at Dina. “Picket the horses. We’ll be back forthem.” He glanced at Sylph. “Do what you can to…make the entrance…efficient.”
She nodded, certain he meant that she was not to disturb thenearby bodies. Sometimes, doublespeak came in very handy. Even Thana didn’timplore the prince to say what he meant at the moment.
“Thank you,” Thana said, wiping her tears on her sleeve.
Sylph couldn’t help a cluck of her tongue, but she didn’t have aclean handkerchief to offer.
Thana gave her a crooked smile. “I know what that was for. I’mgoing to lick my thumb and clean your cheek next.”
Sylph fought the urge to flinch. “Please don’t. And stand backnow, away from the hole.”
Thana nodded, but before she got far, Sylph kissed her quickly onher tear-stained cheek.
The ground was easy to part, the earth already disturbed. Shesensed the force that had cracked the larger stones, an explosive pyramid thatleft some edges jagged and raw like open wounds. She went carefully by the sad voidsin the sea of earth.
It amazed her, as it never would the unfeeling ground, that anelement she’d grown so close to in so short a time was partly responsible forthese deaths. She was surprised by her depth of feeling. If these crimes hadbeen discovered by someone who’d believed a lie about a sinkhole, it wasn’t asif they could put the ground on trial or injure it with slanderous whispers.
As much as she felt moved by the earth’s history, what she’d cometo think of as memory, the stone that all the world rested upon was not alive.She had to be the closest to it out of anyone, taking comfort from its powerand security, but she could not fool herself into thinking that it cared.
Even so…she cared for it.
Thana looked awed again as Sylph created a stairway down into thedarkness. She was glad someone else could feel emotional about her power. Maybeone day, her magic might be understood.
“What do you think we’ll find down there?” Sylph asked. “Besidesthe culprits.”
“Answers, I hope.” Her face creased with concern. “For all weknow, the source of the crystal might not be far away. Will you be all right?”
Impossible to know. Even the feel of unworked crystal at theacademy had her flailing, desperate to latch on to any pyramid. “I have this,”she said, looking at her stone pyramid. “It holds much the same power. I canonly promise to try to keep my head.”
“That’s all anyone can promise,” Thana said with a snort. Shestared at her feet. “I want you to know how proud I am. Of you,” she added,speaking quicker after the heartwarming words. “I know that sounds awkwardcoming from someone that you…” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I wanted you toknow. I mean, I don’t want to sound like a parent or your aunt or anything.”
Sylph grabbed her hand. “Thank you.” When Thana smiled and wentto pull away, Sylph tightened her grip. “No, you have to understand, to hearthe words I’m not saying, like you did before.” Shame burned in her. “No, wait,I want to try.” She lined the words up in her head, everything she’d tried toexpress during every clumsy attempt. She didn’t want to blather on about holesin her heart or other organs. She wanted it to be true and right.
And to her surprise, Thana didn’t blush and turn away or make ajoke to fill in the silence. She waited.
Sylph breathed deeply, feeling as if she’d just taken the stage.“You are…I am…” She fought a stab of frustration. “We’re friends. Right now.And whether we are ever more or not, I will always cherish all the moments withyou. And I look forward to my future moments because no matter what we will beto one another, every moment spent with you feels like a gift. If that’s love,then that’s what I feel. I don’t know if it’s the love of a friend or if myever-present desire to kiss you means it’s more, but it sits inside me like alight, and I never want to see it dim.”
The words that had started as a trickle became a flood, washingaway her mask as they came, so she had no idea what her face was doing, nor didshe care.
Thana’s eyes sparkled like black jewels, and she practicallyleaped into Sylph’s arms, burying her head in Sylph’s shoulder. “You said youweren’t good at words, but you are,” she said around her sobs. “You’re good ateverything, and it’s not fair, and I’m sorry I thought of you badly at times, evenwhen you deserved it, and I feel the same way, and if you die in this hole, Iwill be so angry with you.”
The muffled rant tickled her, and she laughed through her tears,kissing Thana’s head. She heard another small sob and glanced over to see Dinacrying, though she had the decency to look away. Prince Gunnar stared atsomething in the distance, but he was blinking rapidly and had his arms crossedas if holding his emotions inside.
He cleared his throat after several moments of silence. “Come on,you two. No time like the present and all that.”
Thana pulled away, sniffling, and Sylph had to look away beforeshe wiped her face with her sleeve again. Love and such was well and good, butsome things just weren’t done.
Chapter Eighteen
Gunnar caught Thana’s shoulder as they lined up for thestairs Sylph had created in the rock. He leaned in to whisper, “That wasbeautiful, Than. I’m so happy for you.”
She grinned, too pleased
