After the requisite greetings were exchanged, I gave my report. I went over the Heart of Earth's previous and current state—including the theft of its asha and magic, the Bargests and their contribution, and the possibility that the magic taken from us might never be regained.
“So, what you're saying, Queen Amaranthine, is that someone deliberately stole Earth magic from the heart,” King Dranalt concluded.
“Magic and the asha containing it,” I confirmed.
“If I could?” Master Halbren, one of our mages, lifted a hand to interrupt us.
“Of course.” Everan waved him forward.
“I support Queen Amaranthine's theory,” Halbren said. “If the Heart of Earth took asha and magic to heal itself, it was obviously in desperate need of them both. If it were in need, it means that it was lacking. Neither asha nor magic can simply vanish; the only way to cause a deficiency is for it to be removed. Ergo, it was taken, and it must have been taken by someone powerful enough to cut themselves off from Danu and still survive.”
“Impossible,” Elisande scoffed. “We all need Danu as much as it needs us.”
“Yes, and yet, this is happening,” Master Halbren spread his hands out in a baffled gesture. “Perhaps it was the theft itself that made the magical exchange irrelevant for the thief.”
“This isn't simply my theory,” I clarified. “This is what the Heart of Earth showed me. Someone or something took some of its asha and magic.”
“But how?” Uncle Nial asked.
“We didn't touch it,” I murmured.
“What's that, Amara?” my grandfather asked.
“When Everan and I spoke to Sairana, I told her about unearthing the magic of Danu,” I explained. “She called it the magic mantle. Magic flows from the hearts into the mantle, into Danu, then into us, and back again. But when I first mentioned finding it, Sairana was distraught and asked if we had touched it. I asked her if we could have hurt the mantle by merely touching it and she replied that normally she'd say no, but in light of the current circumstances, she wasn't sure.”
“What are you trying to say, Queen Amaranthine?” Elisande huffed. “You're normally more articulate than this.”
“My apologies. I'm a little unnerved.” I grimaced. “What I'm saying is that I think someone found the mantle before we did and they touched it. Without Danu serving as a buffer between them, the thief could have connected to the undiluted flow from the Heart of Earth.”
The mages started murmuring. Those few who were seated at the table got up and joined the others. The rest of us went silent, watching the mages and each other. Smart people know when to seek the advice of someone wiser than themselves and every royal there was intelligent. One of them might be a little bitchy, but she was still a smart woman—or maybe I should say cunning. After several minutes of conferring, the mages came to a conclusion.
Master Erlandral stepped forward to share it with us. “From what we've heard and what I have seen myself, we have determined that a Danutian who touched the mantle would likely receive a dose of magic from the heart of their main element. The magic would be attracted to that within the Danutian. If this person then continued to touch, or perhaps even delve into, the mantle, they would receive more of that magic. Possibly even to the point of draining asha from the heart of that element.”
“We're looking for an Earth Sidhe,” Everan declared.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Master Erlandral said. “We believe so.”
“Well, at least we don't have to worry about the other elemental hearts being burgled,” Elisande muttered.
“Actually”—Erlandral looked at his fellow mages for confirmation and they all nodded—“every Danutian has all of the elements within them and so the potential is there to connect with any elemental heart. We're assuming the thief is an Earth Sidhe because the main magic inside him would call to the magic in the mantle and then connect to the heart. But once he was powerful enough, he might be able to choose which magic he takes.”
“So, all of the hearts are at risk?” my grandmother clarified.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Master Erlandral said gravely.
“Why would anyone do this?” Princess Farinne asked with panicked exasperation. “Danu is their home as much as it is ours. Why damage it? If they kill Danu, they'd have to leave and then their magic would die anyway.”
“They likely don't realize that they're doing any damage,” Erlandral said. “Or perhaps they don't care. And as far as the magic