Then they stepped from the trees into a clearing awash with moonlight. The canopy of the trees had pulled back, opening to the heavens as if in deference to the ancient tree that sat at the very center. It was massive by any standard, its trunk thick and gnarled and its limbs twisted and broad, lending it an otherworldly, surreal look among even the largest and strangest of the old growth that surrounded it. The moonlight revealed it clearly, particularly the odd colors that infused its bark and leaves—the former a peculiar mix of mottled black and gray, the latter deepest green bordered in bright orange. Pen could see the colors clearly, even in the darkness. He could see the way they mingled with each other, forming a strange pattern that glimmered against the deep black backdrop of the starry sky.

He had found the tanequil.

He had seen it only once, in the flare of the vision revealed by the Elfstones weeks before, when Ahren Elessedil had used the magic in the Elven village of Emberen to make certain that finding the tree was an attainable goal. He had seen it then, but the vision was nothing compared to what he was seeing in front of him. No vision could adequately capture the size and majesty of that giant. No vision could reveal how it made him feel to stand before it, dwarfed by its size and the sum of its years.

Dwarfed, he thought suddenly, by its intelligence.

He blinked in shocked surprise. He could feel the tanequil watching him. He felt it considering him, deciding what it would do with him now that he was there. It was a wild, irrational conclusion, one couched in premonition. Nevertheless, he was convinced of it. The tanequil was watching.

“Pen, I have to go now,” Cinnaminson said suddenly, releasing his hand and stepping away. Her milky eyes shifted blindly. “The aeriads say I must go.”

“Go where?” He was suddenly afraid. He wasn’t sure if he was afraid for her or for himself; he only knew that he didn’t want to be separated from her. “Why do you have to go?”

“So that you can be alone. So that you can do what you came here to do.” Her smile was quick and dazzling, lighting up her face in a way that rendered her instantly beautiful. “The aeriads are going to show me what they look like. They brought me here so that I could see them. I won’t be long.”

He stared at her helplessly. “I don’t want you to leave.”

Her eyes shifted again, searching the space between them, making it seem as if she were trying to find a way to reach him. “You came to find the tanequil, Pen. You have done so. Make something good come out of that. Find what you need to help your aunt.”