Glintstone light flickered incessantly as Rennala and Ranni cast spell after spell. Mother and daughter moved in perfect unison, like a meticulously choreographed magical duet.
The Amber Egg hovered in midair, radiating a warm yellow glow. Its light resembled the evening sun, gentle on the eyes and inexplicably reassuring.
Tarnished and the others stood nearby, watching without blinking, their heads slick with nervous sweat.
Tanith clenched her fists so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her palms. Sellen pressed her lips together, not daring to say a word. Even Jerren breathed as quietly as he could, afraid of disturbing the two queens' spellcasting.
This continued for a full twenty-seven minutes.
For everyone present, those twenty-seven minutes were harder to endure than twenty-seven years.
Finally-
Rennala let out a long breath and put away her Staff.
The warm yellow glow gradually faded, and the Amber Egg settled steadily onto the table with a soft clink.
"All done."
The Queen of the Full Moon turned, elegantly dusted off her perfectly clean hands, and smiled at everyone-
Or, more precisely, at the tea set that had long since been prepared beside them.
"Have a taste. This Glintstone Tea is exclusive to our Carian Royal Family."
Tarnished and the others hurried forward with their thanks, each taking a cup and savoring it.
Tanith was the first to exclaim, "This tea..."
She held her cup, her expression as complicated as if she had seen something unbelievable. "At first, I thought I was drinking ordinary fruit tea. But a moment later, a burst of crisp glintstone energy exploded on my tongue, like... like stepping into a lake bathed in moonlight? How can it have so many layers?"
Sellen nodded repeatedly, a rare look of enjoyment on her face. "It isn't just the taste. This tea