out of the way.
Once the goddess’ statue had been uncovered, I wondered why the winged goddess always looked so perturbed. Perhaps it was watching over humans for so long that did it. I would have gotten annoyed by now, too.
“Look at that,” Kewyn whispered, pointing at the statue’s hands.
Now that the orb that the goddess was holding was clear of snow, it began to sparkle, emitting a subtle glow.
“Just like the lamps in Eigiollys,” I said before I could catch myself.
Kewyn stopped mid-step. “What do you mean “in Eigiollys?””
She looked at the half-blood, who quickly looked away as if he had not heard her.
“You’re joking.”
“Maybe,” Rio smiled.
The blonde frowned then swung back to look at the blue orb. “Why does it glow like that?”
Rio did not answer, and so Kewyn turned to me. All I could do was shrug. I did not know myself, and I had not the time to research it. I doubted even the books would know.
“It’s magic, I assume,” I said.
By this point the half-blood had perched on a lump of snow next to me and the kin was wandering around the platform, listening but offering no input. He either had no curiosity at all, or he knew all the answers already.
“It’s a little spooky,” she said. After a moment she whispered, “But quite pretty.”
The blonde leaned forward, reaching out toward the orb. My eyes widened as she did so. If I had learned anything from these temples, it was that a simple touch could do so much.
I shouted, “Wait!” but just a second too slow.
Kewyn’s fingertips brushed across the face of the sphere, and I cringed as there was a loud thud and a growing roar all around us. My bones quaked with the strength of the sound wave, and I clutched my hands over where my ears were under my hood. After a few seconds it was over, and I slowly took my hands down and looked at Kewyn.