“We must decline.” The tattooed olforím pressed her fingertips together and pointed them first at her own chest, then at Ember’s. “To aid you in your rediscovery. Take all the time you need.”
“Okay. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.” Ember sighed, her shoulders sagging as she watched the two olforím float away without a word and disappear around a thick pillar supporting a neighboring temple. “It’s easy to walk away from a fae who can’t run after you, isn’t it?”
Shaking her head, she looked down at the pitcher and the basket of brightly colored O’gúleesh vegetables. At least I hope they’re vegetables. Or fruit. As long as it doesn’t have eyes or move around on its own.
Ember eyed the basket warily. “So far, so good, but I’m not even hungry.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it slowly out again. “Find what’s already mine. I’m looking for my own magic. In a temple. And apparently, that doesn’t qualify me for a trip to the mental ward.”
When she opened her eyes again, she studied every carved surface of the pillars in front of her, then focused her attention on the perfectly smooth white stone floor. Not gonna find it in a chunk of rock. I think.
A roaring bellow of rage burst from the other side of the valley, echoing through the stone temples and within the high natural walls around Nor’ieth. Ember scrunched her nose and looked over her left shoulder toward the sound. A flock of birds darted out of a grove of trees, nothing more than tiny specks from this far away. I’ve never heard him scream, but I’d bet the rest of my magic that was L’zar.
She snorted, and the snort grew into a chuckle of disbelief. “This whole thing is ridiculous. This place. This food. Finding the root. And now a screaming drow.”
Laughing, Ember leaned forward to sift through the produce in the basket and pulled out a pale-blue something that looked more like an apple than anything else. She sniffed it twice, tentatively poked it with the tip of her tongue, and lowered it to watch for movement. No eyes. Tastes like maple syrup, but that’s not the worst thing.
The blue fruit’s skin burst and sent cold juice dribbling down her chin when she took a bite. Humming, Ember chewed and gazed around the temple. Her stomach growled fiercely, and she gave it a gentle pat before swallowing her mouthful. Guess I was wrong.
Two minutes later, she’d eaten the entire blue maple-apple and had already gone through half a sprig of small berries that tasted like black licorice. Sucking the gooey fruit out of her teeth, she filled the cup from the silver pitcher.
She downed the whole thing and set it gently on the stone beside her. “Hey. These guys know how to set up a guest. Clean water. Privacy. Little bit of dancing fruit.”
Ember stopped and blinked at the sprig of black berries in her hand. She lifted it toward her face and squinted. The berries dangling at the bottom swung back and forth, glowing intermittently like flashing Christmas lights. “No.”
She swung the berries toward the basket and stopped when the light-colored woven material shrank and grew. Blinking slowly, Ember dropped the berries on the top of the produce pile, and beaded strands of bright-yellow light puffed out of the basket like dust. The lights rose steadily into the air, blinking and bobbing around the girl’s head before spreading out through the temple.
“Like flies. Firefruit. Flying fruit fire.” Ember burst out laughing, and she couldn’t stop it even when she clapped both hands over her mouth. Holy shit. Did they drug me?
She lunged toward the pitcher and almost knocked it over, temporarily distracted by her outstretched fingers flapping in front of her like bird’s wings. I’m losing it.
Her hand wrapped around the handle of the pitcher, and she drew it closer to take another sniff. Her mouth watered, but she set the pitcher aside and blinked at the dancing yellow lights swirling in front of her. Psychedelic fruit. I’m tripping my ass off, and they call that fixing my little difficulty?
With a strangled laugh, Ember rocked backward, gasped, and steadied herself with both hands pressed into the cold white stone. Okay, okay. Don’t freak out, find what’s already mine.
The lights in front of her coalesced into a shape that looked a lot like her. Two pale-violet eyes formed in the center of the blinking lights, then the fae-shaped figure raised one arm and swept it through the dancing lights. Ember’s mouth fell open, and she raised her own arm, which felt like it weighed a million pounds.
As soon as she extended her finger, the dancing lights burst away from the fae-shaped figure. They raced toward Ember’s fingertip and tingled up her arm and across her neck. That’s something.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the buzzing tingle of someone’s magic racing across her skin. Her head buzzed too. That’s just the fruit.
With a final bright burst, the yellow dancing lights swirled faster and faster, first around Ember’s body and then outward until they filled the entire temple. Her vision narrowed, darkening at the corners, and all the color around her dimmed except for one pulsing strand of lights.
No way. When I find what’s already mine.
The single strand of yellow lights that stretched farther away from her than she could see flared brighter the closer her outstretched fingers approached. Then she tapped the thread, and it flashed from yellow to violet. A small gasp escaped her, then Ember pinched the thread of purple light and pulled.
Warm, buzzing energy raced up her arm and bloomed inside her chest, filling every part of her until she thought she’d explode with purple light and fae magic. “Oh, yeah. Ha! It worked!”
She took a shuddering breath and looked down at her arms and chest, pulsing with the purple light. Even her legs, legs she hadn’t moved more than half
