KIERYGAN'S POV
I had been flying for two days.
First to Mount Kyros, the old volcano that once shaped the northern lands of our kingdom. Beneath it, the Pyraethyst mine pulsed with dormant power. I descended in silence, shifting out of my dragon form and slipping past the warded runes carved into the black stone.
The mine was still intact.
Of course, it would be. This place was far too important to Malric.
Inside the dark tunnels, the Pyraethyst shimmered faintly in the dim torchlight, like fire trapped beneath stone. I ran a hand along the jagged edge of a newly exposed gem. It was cold to the touch, despite being born of volcanic heat.
Unlike the one the girl had given me. Hers had absorbed a flicker of her light, and it still held a quiet warmth. This one looks lifeless now, but
