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Mortar and stone ripped free.

“Catch, dear.”

And then every single one of those dark wooden beams came crashing down.

Instinct kicked in, and Taly fell to the floor as splinters and dust and debris rained from up above. She raised her hands, the gesture futile against the hundreds of pounds of broken wood that were hurtling toward her.

But then somehow—from somewhere—there was another instinct. A reflex that hadn’t been there before. Her aether exploded out of her, flickering threads of golden magic spindling the air and shooting towards the sky.

The world went quiet. Still. And for a moment, it was all Taly could do to lie there, listening to the thunderous beat of her heart and the fairies’ giggling overhead.

“Not bad,” the Queen remarked, almost bored. She hadn’t moved from her seat at the pew, and she stared up at the cloud of chaos overhead, frozen midway down. Covering the whole of the temple, it was like a nebula interspersed with scores of jagged beams and pieces of stone and crystal. Sunlight glinted off each suspended mote of dust, casting strange unmoving shadows. “Finally, a situation suited to just how much aether you like to throw around.”

“What the hell?” Taly panted, still crouched defensively on the ground.

But Azura just continued to look up. “A bit sloppy, though.” Her fan flicked closed, and she gestured to the web of threads crisscrossing the temple. “I shouldn’t be able toseethe spell. You’re still using too much aether. Fix it.”

Sweat beaded on her brow as Taly fought to keep the spell steady. Her magic simmered beneath the surface, restless. “Are you joking?” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m holding up the damn ceiling.”

“Fix it. Believe me—you’ll thank me later.”

Taly exhaled through her nose and pushed against her power, shuddering when it tried to snap back at her, like a child that had just been told it couldn’t go outside to play.

Slowly, the flickering threads began to dim until the air was clear.

“Better?” she asked breathlessly.

Azura eyed the cloud of splinters and shattered beams, then looked to Taly, pursing her lips at the dull glow that still surrounded her fingertips. She gave a slow nod. “Much.” She patted the pew beside her. “Come. Sit.”

No way. Taly didn’t trust herself to breathe, much less move.

“My dear,” Azura said, twisting in the pew, “are you in any danger of losing the spell?”

Taly looked up, then back to Azura. She tentatively prodded at the spell. “No,” she said after a moment. Her aether was bucking at the reins, still wanting to fan out. But her grip on the spell was surprisingly steady.

“Then sit down.”

A command from her High Lady, and Taly obeyed, slowly, carefully, easing herself off the ground. Even though she tried not to, she kept glancing up as she slid into the pew beside the Queen.

Azura said, “I want you to hold the spell until I say stop.” That fan flicked back open. “This afternoon’s lecture—”

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,Taly thought, eyeing a portion of the spell that was beginning to warp, allowing a few splinters to trickle down.

“—will focus on crystals. Every facet of our lives involves crystals in one way or another. They’re in our homes, our businesses. They’re used to grow food and power our plumbing. Even the fabrics we use to clothe ourselves were likely woven on crystal-powered looms. Crystals form the cornerstone of our very way of life, and yet, very few take the time to understand just what they are. Tell me, dear—do you know where they come from?”

“They’re mined,” Taly replied automatically.

“True. But I didn’t ask you where we find them. I asked you to tell me where they come from? How are they formed?”

“I…” Taly hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“And what is it that allows them to focus and refine aether.”

“Um…” Taly frowned. “I’m not sure.”

“What is it that makes them go dark?”

Ah! That one she knew. “The Genesis Shards. Crystals need their respective Shards to function, so if the Shard suffers, so do the crystals.”