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With each passing hour, Sterling’s shoulders grow more rigid, and I catch the twitch in his jaw that means he’s grinding his teeth again.

We all have our wings out, using the enhanced vision that comes with them. We’re utilizing every advantage we have.

And still, nothing.

“We’ve walked the entire perimeter of this cave twice.” Sterling drags a hand through his dark hair for perhaps the twentieth time today. His fingers leave furrows resembling a freshly plowed field. “Our notes on the map said⁠—”

“It said ‘vicinity of the northern peak.’” I share his frustration, the emotion a low-grade fever in my blood. “That covers a lot of ground.”

Agnar slaps a palm against the stone wall. The hollow clang echoes deeper into the cave. “Excellent progress, wouldn’t you say? At this rate, we’ll find it by next winter. Maybe the one after.”

I shoot him a look that he pretends not to see while his blue eyes scan the ceiling like the answers might be written there. His sheathed sword bumps against his leg as he shifts his weight in the nervous habit of a man who’d rather be taking action than standing around.

I press my palm against the cool stone wall, seeking…something.

Anything.

My fire magic tingles beneath my skin, but I hold it back. Magic responds to magic. That’s what the old texts say.

Then I see it.

A shimmer in the rock face, like the air above a bonfire but more subtle.

“Wait.” I gesture straight ahead. “Look.”

Sterling and Agnar both pivot. Sterling’s brow furrows, but Agnar’s eyes widen ever so slightly. “What is that?”

I gravitate closer. “The rock…it’s moving.”

As I approach, the gleam intensifies, spreading like ripples in a pond.

Sterling’s fingers close around my arm in gentle warning, but I slip from his grasp, lured forward by an inexplicable urge.

Magic recognizes magic…and something inside me recognizes this.

Before our eyes, the rock melts away like dispersing mist rather than crumbling stone, revealing a crystalline archway that wasn’t there a moment ago. These are the same kind of crystals that cover the temples.

Anticipation builds as the three of us exchange glances. No words necessary.

Finally. We’ve found the way through.

I flex my fingers and summon a small flame, letting the blaze dance across my palm before shaping it into an orb that hovers just above my open hand. The fire casts warm light that pushes back the darkness and creates strange shifting shadows on the cave walls.

The crystals catch and split the flickering light into dazzling colors I’ve never witnessed before. Shades that shouldn’t exist and have no name.

A shiver quakes my body as I step through the archway. “Stay close.”

Beyond the entrance, a high, narrow passageway lined with massive crystal formations awaits. Ancient. Impossibly old. They jut out from the walls like giant beehives, translucent and seemingly filled with old honey, the amber fluid trapped in geometric prisons.

My flame illuminates the formations in unsettling ways, refracting and reflecting until finding the light’s origin becomes impossible.

The effect is beautiful but wrong, like tumors formed of jewels.

As I stare at them, my stomach begins to writhe.

“Anyone else feel that?” Agnar’s voice is strangely muffled.

I don’t need to ask what he means. The crystals vibrate in intermittent waves that cause my ears to pop repeatedly. A metallic tang clings to the air.