Viana sat up, her heart pounding. Eryndor had not appeared like this since he healed the others after the assassins' ambush.
She dressed quickly, quietly, and followed the shimmering guide. It led her silently through the darkened palace halls, past sleeping guards, down to the secluded wing where Rissa's laboratory lay.
The oak door, usually locked and guarded, seemed to yield to Eryndor's presence, swinging open without a sound.
Rissa lay asleep on a cot in the corner of her lab, surrounded by her instruments and the faint, sweet smell of chemicals. The Desert's Embrace plant sat in its sealed glass chamber, its leaves glowing softly. Eryndor drifted towards it.
Viana watched, mesmerized. Eryndor placed his shimmering hand on the glass.
A wave of pure, silver light pulsed from his touch, engulfing the small plant. The faint glow of its leaves intensified, becoming a brilliant emerald. The plant itself began to tremble.
