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Glancing back at the statue of Revka, I straightened my shoulders and inhaled. Wherever we were going, it seemed I may finally find answers to questions I’d never dared state out loud.

“Where are we going?” I asked, setting a foot on the cool, slightly damp earth of the first step.

“To the source of our magic,” Zariah answered. “Don’t you feel it?”

My mouth dropped open. I did feel it, though I hadn’t quite named it yet. It was an ever-present hum in my mind and body that throbbed along with the light emanating from the crystals surrounding us. The buzz that started in the trees. It sang deep in my bones, calling to my magic. And when I tried just then, the power inside me leaped forward, faster and stronger than I’d ever felt it before.

I raised a hand in front of me, marveling at the way it seemed to glow with sparkling bits of ether even without squinting my eyes. And when I glanced at the others, I saw that they, too, were bathed in an aura of light.

We descended into an enormous cavern carved almost entirely of crystal. In here, the glow and hum of the magic within pulsed so brightly and loudly that I doubted anyone, even a human with no wielding abilities, could deny its presence.

I spun in place, taking in the otherworldly beauty of the scene around me and the way it spoke to my entire being. I hadn’t realized before that I’d been missing anything, but I suddenly felt a part of me relax, like I’d just returned home from a long journey.

“Welcome home, Nyah,” Zariah said, gesturing at the enormous crystalline structure surrounding us.

“This is the source?” I breathed, unable to stop my gaze from darting from one cluster to the next, each more magnificent than the last.

“The source is a specific cluster of concentrated crystals. The godstones are the ones inside the center.”

Zariah led the way to a roughly circular railing—also constructed of crystal—which ringed a pit that dipped down at least twenty feet. Inside, thick protrusions of stone jutted upward at varying heights, each with a tip that tapered into a thinner, flatter point. Like the rest of the crystals in the chamber, they were clear with multi-colored strands of ether shimmering both within and without. But unlike the rest of the cave, the colors inside the crystals in the pit melted in a glowing rhythmic pulse between purple, aqua, and blue. And as I clutched the railing, studying the sight, I realized the hum from inside this cluster sang at a different vibration than the rest.

Zariah caught my wrist, startling me. I hadn’t noticed I’d been leaning so far over the edge, reaching toward the closest one. My cheeks burned as I stepped away, but as I did, I noted an oddly empty spot between two of the larger source crystals, closest to the edge where a jagged stump sat, and I wondered if one of the crystals had been broken off at some point. The idea of it sent an actual pain through my heart, and I grimaced.

“The godstones are the source of the ether,” Darvol explained. My attention was redirected to him when I detected a sense of awe in his booming voice that I had never heard from him before. “It is a symbiotic relationship. The godstones produce the ether that feeds our magic.”

“But what do they get in exchange?” I asked, longing to again reach out and stroke a particularly smooth point about the width of my arm. An electric charge tingled along my skin at the mere idea of it, and it was far from unpleasant. I smiled at them, once again finding it hard to pry my eyes away.

“Experiences,” Zariah said, and my gaze found hers. In the cave, her eyes sparkled with an even brighter undulating ribbon of color that stole my breath.

“I don’t understand,” I said, this time certain the arrow-shaped crystal closest to the other side of the pit was calling to me.

“They’re living beings,” Darvol said, moving close and setting a finger on that exact point. “They crave what they cannot have, just as we do. And they do not carry the senses that the human body does.”

“And so, we share with them,” Zariah continued. “In order for them to experience the world in new ways. Everything we see, touch, hear, and even taste becomes part of their understanding.”

My hand froze between the railing and my body, where it had once again wandered. I swallowed. “They can see and feel everything we do?”

As if in response, the ones closest to us brightened, forcing me to squint and avert my eyes. The humming intensified for a moment, then subsided again.

My first inclination was to hide. These…beings knew everything about me? Even my most private moments. A blush again warmed my face as I shifted uncomfortably.

Zariah laughed, and I swore the crystals did as well, judging by the cadence of their buzz.

“They’re selective and discrete, I assure you,” she said, pulling me to her side and away from the edge. “And your experiences will not be as clear to them as Revka’s. You are once removed and so the connection is dulled slightly. But watch.”

She stepped forward and waved a hand toward the tallest protrusion, which had a relatively smooth side facing us. An image burst to life on the surface. It was a full-color, moving picture of the three of us from a perspective that appeared to be looking up at us.

“Okay, then how does all this help provide answers?” I asked, remembering their stated reason for bringing me here.

“We need to see what’s become of our sister,” Zariah said, grasping my arm a bit harder than she’d yet done. “And now that you are close enough, the crystals can look inside the memories built into your being to find the truth.”

“How?” I asked on a breath.

“We need to place you in an ether bath,” Darvol said from just over my shoulder, far too close for comfort.

“What’s an ether bath?” I asked, spinning toward him and taking a step back, only to run into Zariah. Alarms burst in my head. Or maybe it was just the hum of the crystals rising with my anxiety. It was hard to separate myself from them, I realized with some shock and a good helping of trepidation.

I was trapped in the belly of a remote island with two creatures who were far more powerful than I, no matter what they said I was. I was at their mercy, and that fact made me itch to run for the surface and fresh air.