For several moments, Mirabelle remained exactly where she had landed.
Sitting in the lake.
Her green dress continued to absorb water around her, the fabric growing heavier by the second and clinging to her legs.
She barely noticed.
Her attention remained fixed on the enormous crystal hovering above the water.
The Territory Core.
The Beast Core.
Whatever she was supposed to call the ancient thing that had just held an entire conversation with her, entrusted her with some mysterious power, threatened the extinction of her bloodline if she misused it, and then thrown her out of its strange golden realm.
Mirabelle blinked.
Then something caught her attention. Something inside her.
The connection!
Her eyes widened slightly. The black current was still there. Except — It wasn't black anymore.
Mirabelle closed her eyes and focused. The vast dark stream she'd followed through the forest had transformed completely.
