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“Why?”
“I’m not sure how much Waurlyn shared with you, so try to suspend your disbelief for a few minutes. The fey as they are weren’t born; they were created by a curse placed on them thousands of years ago. Yeah, magic. Hard to believe, right? But I’ve seen the hellhounds’ eyes. That otherworldly glowing red. And I’ve felt that unnatural pulse of power that comes from their hearts.
“Now, hear me out. They weren’t born like that either. According to Molev, they started out as deer, and each time they were killed, they evolved into something darker until, eventually, they were the hounds we’ve seen. They evolved in the caves. Just like the fey. But different.
“In order for the fey to resurrect after death in these caves, they needed to be wearing these crystals. The hounds didn’t. They just came back. In order to kill them here, the fey have to crush their hardened hearts. What if the hounds’ hearts are their crystals? I don’t understand how they can’t die up here while the fey can, but I think this crystal might hold the answer to how to kill them.”
She took it from me, turning it over in my hand. Doubt filled her expression.
“I’ll take a look.”
When I didn’t move, she added, “It’ll take some time.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in an hour. And that’s Eitri’s crystal. He wants it back when you’re done.”
I left her to work, told Eitri I would return, and hurried to Mya’s house. Drav answered on my second impatient knock.
“I need to talk to Mya,” I said.
“She’s sleeping.”
“Which room,” I said, already walking farther into the house. Drav didn’t try to stop me when I turned on their bedroom light.
“Mya, I need you to tell me about the source.” She didn’t move. I shook her shoulder. “Mya.”
She groaned, rolled over, and tried to focus on me.
“What?”
“I need you to tell me about the source crystal. It’s important.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
Her eyes drifted closed again,and I looked back at Drav.
“Help her up. She’ll wake up faster if she’s standing.”
Drav frowned at me and glanced at Mya.
“Drav, Molev said we’re running out of time. Please. She can nap after.”
He grunted and carefully withdrew Mya from her warm nest. She scowled and swatted at his hands as he stood her up, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The hounds and the fey were both made in those caves, right? The hounds don’t die here or down there. The fey can die up here and have to wear their crystals in order to be reborn down there. I think that’s the line that differentiates the magic that made them both. Molev told me what you said you saw when you touched the source crystal. That the crystal was a source of magic here when their magic was dying in their homeland. You told him they cursed them. With what magic though if theirs was fading? I think they used the source crystal’s magic to create the curse, and I think that’s why Molev’s gut is telling him we need to go back to the caves. But I need to hear it from you. What did you see when you touched the crystal? More importantly, what did you feel?”
Her now alert gaze held mine for a moment.
“I think you’re right. About them using the crystal’s magic. After they left their home because their magic was dying, they couldn’t sense any anywhere but in those caves. They said once they lost their power, they would become just like humans. I don’t think they had the power to create a curse without using the crystal. They put their hands on the ground and called up the power from the earth, but the only source was the crystal.
“I remember feeling sick to my stomach when I touched it. I only touched it for a few seconds, but I saw so much. And when it released me, I felt even sicker. Like I could have thrown up.”
I nodded, understanding what she meant.
“I was close to Molev when he removed a hound’s heart. It emanated an energy that felt wrong somehow. Would you describe the crystal like that?”
She shook her head.
