Page 66 of Wings of Reverie

“Wait,” Weaver said, frowning. “What is—?”

“Did you hear it, too?” she asked.

But Weaver only nudged her to one side, squinting at the spot in the doorway she’d just left. “Scoot over,” he said, swiping away more of the snow. “Look at this.”

Periwinkle bent closer, raising her suncatcher. It lit on a gleam of color.

Set into the doorway was a metal tile studded with precious stones. Emeralds, maybe, she thought.

“It’s pretty,” she said. “What about it?”

But Weaver was already darting away to the mine they’dsearched just before. Brushing at the doorframe, first one side and then the other, the suncatcher shone on another sparkling tile. “This one’s different,” he called, beckoning her. “It’s different from the one over there.” Periwinkle followed him, feeling a low thrum of anticipation she didn’t quite understand.

“These stones are all brown,” she said, peering at the tile. “Reddish brown. Pinkish brown. Brownish…brown. But the ones over there were emeralds.”

“I know.” Weaver nodded, eyes intent. “I think they’re markers.”

Periwinkle straightened. “Markers?”

“I think they show which mine held which stones. So if we can find the sapphire marker—”

“Then we find the Sapphire Mine,” Periwinkle finished. “Come on. Let’s check the others.”

One mine entrance after another, they cleared away the snow and ice that coated the doorframes. There were the brown stones and the emeralds they’d already seen, plus amethysts, rubies, diamonds, and glittering yellow stones Periwinkle didn’t recognize. One mine had a streak of silver at its entrance where the others had tiles.

At the eighth mine, Periwinkle found it.

It was a metal tile set with sapphires, hung just above her eyeline. Melted-ice blue, sky blue, midnight blue. Below it was a streak of gold, just where the other mine had had a streak of silver.

Someone had embellished the exposed vein, carving the rock and the gold visible underneath into something like a needle.

Weaver traced its outline, a faint expression of awe on his face.“Follow the needle,”he said, facing her. A smile split his face. But Periwinkle could hardly breathe.

“Weaver,” she said. “I think I saw this in my dream.”

“What?” He glanced from her to the needle and back. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Periwinkle said. “Things like this just keep popping up in the middle of my nightmares. This gold needle. A golden web. A long gold thread leading me somewhere.” She turned to him, shaking her head in confusion. “I don’t know what they mean. Do they show up in your nightmares, too?”

“No,” he admitted. “I haven’t seen anything like that.”

Periwinkle stared far down the mine shaft, drawing in a long breath.Follow the needle, the clue had said.

“Sparkles.” Weaver paused at her side. “Maybe we should wait. I think—”

But he broke off. There was no point finishing the sentence. Like always, Periwinkle had already gone ahead.

18

Periwinkle zipped down the mine shaft, suncatcher raised. Right, right, second left, third right, she followed the vein of gold as Weaver raced after her. She thought she heard some sort of muffled sound far behind them, but she couldn’t stop.

Follow the needle, the notes had said, and she was, just like she’d done in her dream: following the only glittering thing in the dark as fast as her wings could carry her.

The dream magic was leading her. It wanted her to find the spindle.

The storm would come, but first they’d heal the rot in the PixieDust Root. And Weaver—Weaver would finally feel the wonder. He would finally understand.

All at once, the tunnel ended, and Periwinkle drew up short at an open doorway that led into a dark, cavernous room. Weaver was at her shoulder a moment later, panting from their race. She raised the suncatcher, its light flickering alone in the deep.