There was silence in the room, broken only by the faint glow pulsing from the shard. Althea focused, channeling her energy into it just as her mother had taught her when she was young.

She felt grateful that those memories were still so clear — every gesture, every whispered instruction.

Moments later, the Luminis Shard responded. A gentle wave rippled through her, like the shard itself had a heartbeat, a pulse that echoed inside her chest.

That was the sign. She had reached him.

With a ...