to refuel me. So, as amethyst crept up from the mountain's base, I drew on the remaining bits of yellow. I figured that it would fuel me while simultaneously weakening the mountain. I took only the tiniest amount since it was my first time feeding on Danu. Technically, we were constantly fueling each other—the realm revived my magic and then it cycled back into Danu—so taking extra fuel might not have any effect or it could make things worse. I simply didn't know—thus the tentative sip.
As soon as I started to draw on the mountain's asha, the amethyst retracted like a drying sponge. Feeding on the yellow had the unexpected result of making it stronger. It defied all reason. But, I was prepared for an adverse reaction and I immediately stopped siphoning the color. When I did, the amethyst bloomed outward again. I used the last of my strength to push it over the peaks and cover the mountain. The rumbling ceased, the realm went still, and I stumbled against the railing. Everan grabbed me and took my weight.
I looked up at him and smiled. “I just put a mountain to sleep.”
Then I passed out.
Chapter Six
I woke up in an enormous pink bed. Swaths of blushing silk hung over me, embroidered with golden flowers. I blinked up at the extravagant canopy, then lowered my gaze to the dusky rose quilt that had been pulled up to my shoulders. The bed spread out around me, marooning me in the center of a sea of velvet and silk. Past the shores of that sea, a luxurious room waited. A fireplace stood to my right, its dark mouth covered by a painted screen. Above it, on its gilded mantle, a tall mirror loomed between a matching set of pink vases. A swan chaise lounge angled before the fireplace and a slender, round table stood beside it, its polished top holding a pair of gloves. Directly before me, a dressing table perched on dainty legs beneath a soaring window. Another mirror stood upon its marble top and a feminine chair sat before it.
To one side of the dressing table, a glass door opened on a long balcony. I could see the mountain I'd calmed rising beyond the balcony's railing, snow still crowning its peaks. Plants filled that outdoor space to bursting and a cool breeze scented with snow flowed in through the open doorway. To my left were three doors, a small dining set, and my husband. Everan slouched on a chair beside me but once he saw that I was awake, he surged to his feet and moved onto the mattress.
“How are you feeling?” Everan asked urgently.
“Fine.” I sat up. “Where am I?”
“Your mother's rooms,” he said with the reverent hush people use in graveyards. “Your grandparents have kept it as it was the day she left—down to the open door which they refused to let me shut.”
“Like a shrine,” I whispered and looked down at the bed. “My mother slept here.”
“Yes,” he confirmed even though it wasn't a question.
“The mountain held,” I abruptly changed the topic.
“Yes.” Everan waved a hand toward the balcony and the mountain beyond. “Whatever you did, it stopped the second avalanche.”
“I saw that color again,” I went grim as it all returned to me. “That shade of yellow I saw at the forge, it was covering the mountain.”
“Yes, I saw it too.”
“Yes, of course, you did,” I murmured. “I just forgot.”
“It appeared to me that the color had infected the mountain's asha.”
“I don't know what's happening here, Everan, but I think we need to stop it.”
“Are you feeling up to another excursion?” He looked me over warily.
“Sure.” I waved him off the bed.
Everan got up and I slid out from between the covers. He brought my shoes to me and frowned at me as I put them on.
“I'm fine,” I assured him. “Truly.”
“Why did you stop me from helping you?”
“I can put on my own shoes, Everan,” I grumbled.
“No, I mean with the mountain.”
“Oh.” I paused. “Yes, that's something else we need to discuss.”
“What happened?” He went still.
“I thought I could feed on the mountain's asha but when I did, that yellow started to expand. Feeding on it only made it stronger. That should not have happened.”
“We need to talk to your grandparents,” Everan said grimly and held out his arm.
Everan escorted me out of my mom's old suite and into a corridor. We went down a floor to a meeting room where my grandparents and uncle were