Page 128 of Keeper of the Word

Elanna!

She was almost finished. She needed only a drop of time to encase the stardust into the Edan Stone.

The…Hall. Do not take…Maristel.

Elanna’s eyes flew upward.Maristel! What about Maristel?

“Do not peer up!” Gethwin yelled.

Elanna pried her eyes from the sky and, with her last remaining energy, sheathed the stardust into the essence of the Edan Stone. The moonstone irradiated. The brilliant white glowed gold, shimmering and sparkling like a star. Her right hand was brought back to life, the warmth of the moonstone reheating her blood like a steaming bath.

Abruptly, the last thunder burstclapped,and the Edan Stone dropped. Everyone pulled their hands away from one another. Elanna tore off the gloves and cupped her left hand, blowing on her fingers to regain feeling in them. Tara placed her left hand into the collar of her dress and held it in the pit of her arm. She whispered to the stars, tears streaming down. But she smiled. She was well.

Elanna’s eyes shifted in and out of focus. She turned to Gethwin, who blew on her hands as if to cool them. The witch noddedtoward the Edan Stone, and Elanna clasped it in her hand. The black rock was as it had been but for one detail. The azure scar was now silver.

“You still have thewordto give him,” Gethwin said, slumping and coughing into her sleeve. Her vigor drained.

Elanna nodded. Tolvar would do it. She knew he would.

“Tara!” Elanna exclaimed. Her sister slumped, losing consciousness.

“She will be all right,” Gethwin said. “’Tis the effects.”

Elanna took Tara’s limp hand.I’m sorry, Tara. I am so sorry. And when you awake, I shall tell you again and again?—

Gethwin interrupted her thoughts. “I’ve ne’er seen stardust before. ’Tis no wonder ’tis stopped Adrienne in its tracks.” Gethwin attempted to stand.

Elanna removed the pouch of nyxpaun from her cloak and held it out to Gethwin. “My thanks.”

The witch stretched out her arm to take it, but Elanna pulled it back.

“Before we began, you mentioned that the Edan Stone alone will not conceal Asalle. What more do we need?”

Gethwin’s lips widened into a grin until her cough took over.

“Aren’t you clever?”

“Witches certainly are known to be. Tell me.”

Gethwin reached out again for the pouch, wiggling her fingers at it. Elanna sighed and handed her the nyxpaun.

“You need a key.”

“A key? Explain.” Elanna was anxious to call for Goodsell to help Tara. Her back ached. Her hands throbbed. She wanted sleep. And most importantly, she needed to make sense of what the stars had struggled to tell her. But she knew that once Gethwin disappeared into the crevices of the city, their paths would ne’er cross again.

“The main gate of the city must be locked.”

“Is that all? I can easily gain the key.”

Gethwin shook her head. “Not the key of the gate master. A key to hold Asalle’s Heart until ’tis time.”

Elanna was drowning in fatigue, and still, these words caused her blood to race. “Tell me.”

“You need a key fashioned from the strongest mineral on the continent.

Elanna hung her head. “And the rarest.”

Starstone.