The secure study within the Emerald Kingdom palace felt incredibly vast and entirely too quiet. The roaring fire in the large stone hearth had been reduced to a pile of glowing, pulsing embers to keep the room from becoming uncomfortably warm. The heavy velvet curtains remained tightly drawn, completely isolating the room from the bright afternoon sun outside. The only source of illumination, aside from the dying fire, was the soft, ambient glow of the magical crystals Fox had installed on his mahogany receiver box.
Mana sat perfectly still in a high-backed leather chair, her green eyes fixed unblinkingly on the brass speaker. Her hands rested in her lap, her fingers twisting nervously around a small, smooth crystal of pale blue quartz. This was the single-use communication crystal Fox had designed specifically for this mission. It was linked directly to a matching stone currently resting securely in Raven's pocket.
