He was silent for a moment, before he slowly nodded. ‘Perhaps it is now time I told you some things. You have been to the heart of Sindara and seen the pool, where there is a green jewel resting at the bottom, deep below the surface. The eldren call it the Wellspring, and it is the origin of their power.’

‘I remember,’ she said. The pool had glowed fiercely as life returned to Sindara, emerald light shining throughout the glade.

‘Here at Athos, we humans have our own wellspring, which we call the Source. It is said that the gods gave the jewels as gifts to the two races, that they gifted the eldren the magic of living things, and humans the magic of the elements.’ Zedo gave a slight shrug. ‘If the Oracle knows the truth, she has never told us.’

He touched the tips of his fingers to Chloe’s temple.

‘Being close to the Source restores your balance. But if you were to leave this island before you are ready, you would suffer again. The power of the Source is stronger in Athos than anywhere else.’

Chloe’s brow furrowed. ‘This jewel . . . the Source. It’s in the Oracle’s cave, isn’t it?’

Zedo started. ‘How did you—?’

‘The fires. They cluster around the cave. And the flame the Oracle stares into is the biggest of all.’

‘You have a quick mind. I have always thought so. Yes, the jewel is deep in the cave.’ The magus hesitated. ‘Like you, my brothers and I came to our powers late. After a raid saw our village enslaved, our captors decided that because we all look the same we were cursed and gave us as offerings to the Oracle. Those who were the Oracle’s guardians before us taught us what they knew, but because we were no longer children we had to solve the same problems you must solve now. Even we cannot leave Athos for long periods . . . We are destined to live out our lives here. The Oracle cannot leave her cave; her ability to see the future is bound to the jewel.’

Zedo turned to look down from the top of the hill, gazing toward the opposite side of the island from Seer’s Cove, where there was a sprawling cluster of crumbled ruins. Once it had been a series of grand temples, but now only a few of the stone structures were standing. Chloe and the brothers ate, slept, and studied in the shell of what had once been a long dormitory, with enough beds for hundreds.

‘This is where fate has brought you. Once, long ago, we taught many, and the head priests and priestesses of our temples around the world were all able to call on the materia in times of need. Now we must teach again.’

‘But what purpose is there to it?’