“Go ahead then, not all of us can do what we want.” After Kirsten said it, she noticed both Bo and Thomas gave her a look of disbelief. “What? I can follow orders. I’m doing what Anders asked of me and using the crystals.”  

“If Anders told you, you had to go work in the medical tent because your crystals could heal people instead of killing them with magic, there is no way that you would stay in that tent once the battle started,” Thomas said. 

“Yes, I would. I have willpower,” she said defiantly. 

“Yeah, you demonstrated your self-control in the last battle,” Thomas said. 

“Bo, back me up here,” Kirsten said. 

Bo rubbed at his neck where Rankstine had struck him with energy in the last battle. “Maybe you’re better now that you’ve had some practice; but if it’s like the last time, you can get a little out of control.”  

Kirsten nodded, “I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t want to go to the medical tent either. I just don’t want to see you go, either of you,” she added. 

“If those dragonriders Anders saw decide to attack us, there’s not much chance we’ll be seeing anything after that,” Bo said. 

“Fair enough. I’ll enjoy the time we have while we have it,” Kirsten said, taking Bo’s hand. 

After several moments Kirsten heard a woman with a distinctive accent speaking behind them, “Excuse me, girl?” 

Kirsten turned around to see a lean woman with short black hair, pierced septum and tattooed arms. At first, she thought the woman was Rolloan, but quickly realized she was Lumbapi.  

“You were with Anders at the beach when we arrived,” the Lumbapi said. 

Kirsten nodded, recognizing the brightly colored clothing as the Southland native’s princess Anders had greeted. “Yes,” she said with a nod. They kept up their pace and the woman joined them. Kirsten motioned to Thomas and said, “We’re his cousins.” 

“Just who I was looking for,” she responded with a smile. “I am Inama.”  

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kirsten,” she said moving her hand across her body to shake the Southland woman’s hand. 

Inama took Kirsten’s hand and gripped it hard, she shook it up and down in an exaggerated way.

Kirsten pulled her grip away and flexed her hand, “That’s quite the handshake you’ve got.”  

“That is how you greet one another in Westland, is it not?” Inama asked. 

Kirsten nodded, “Yes, but usually with less enthusiasm.” 

“Oh, sorry. I have little practice. We do things differently in my culture.” 

“How’s that?” Bo asked, leaning forward across Kirsten to address Inama. 

“It is formal to kiss each other on the cheek when meeting someone new or after an extended time apart,” Inama said. 

“Well, in that case, I should introduce myself,” Bo said. Kirsten elbowed him in the shoulder, and he winced saying, “the Westland way, I mean.” He reached over and grasped hands with Inama shaking in a less exaggerated fashion than with Kirsten. “I’m Bo.” 

“And I’m Thomas, Anders’ other cousin,” Thomas piped in following Bo’s introduction. 

“What can we do for you?” Kirsten asked, curious as to why Inama had been seeking them out. 

“I heard a young man from our tribe talking this morning. He had met a Westland boy in camp who claimed to be Anders’ cousin. This young man had a magical sapphire with him. When I asked my compatriot more, he told me that others among you also have magic crystals taken from Merglan himself. I didn’t believe him and accused him of lying, but he assured me that the dragonrider’s family had the crystals and had been training with them. Since I don’t like speculating about rumors, I came to find you and clear up any confusion the young man might’ve had.” 

Kirsten glanced at Thomas. He shook his head and shrugged. 

“So, you didn’t know about the inhabitance crystals Natalia had?” Bo asked. 

“I had heard she found a power source in the castle, but for security reasons, no more information was passed to the other ships about what they had onboard,” Inama said. 

“In all the confusion of preparing for the fighting, they must not have told you,” Kirstin said. 

“It’s true, then, that you have magical crystals from the evil dragonrider, just like the one the Elf Queen used?” Inama asked. 

“Elf Queen?” Thomas asked. 

“Yes,” Kirsten said. “Anders has been training some of us while we waited for the fighting to begin. We haven’t had much time to work on our technique, but I’m better than I was when we started.”  

“Where can I get one of these crystals?” Inama asked.  

Kirsten hesitated. She could tell Thomas and Bo were counting on her to answer the question. She hadn’t realized that the people of Southland hadn’t been included in the news of the spare crystals. After a moment’s deliberation, she thought, The Rolloans and the Westland Army had their chance at training people. Who am I to say a Lumbapi leader can’t try? She might not even be able to activate a crystal, like Britt or Bo.

Finally speaking up, she said, “We can give you one.” 

“Really?” Inama asked. 

“Really?” Thomas added. 

“Yeah, I have five, why not see if she can use it. The Rollo warriors have one and the Revolution had their try with the crystals,” she said. 

“That’s true,” Bo said, backing her decision.  

“How do you expect to explain how to use them when you don’t fully understand yourself?” Thomas asked. 

“I am no stranger to magic,” Inama said. 

“Good,” Kirsten said. “That will make my description of how to use it easier.” Kirsten explained to Inama everything that Anders had told them about tapping into the crystal’s energy. “Does that make sense?” Kirsten asked when she’d finished. 

Inama nodded, “It sounds like you are describing the spiritual connection with the natural world. In my culture we are aware that all things have energy flowing through them, we just lack the ability to access that energy in the same way dragons can.”  

“Exactly,” Kirsten said. “At least I think that’s what Anders was saying about it.”  

“You called them inhabitance crystals, why?” Inama asked. 

“Because of the way they can store magical energy. Merglan harvested and charged the crystals for years. When Natalia took them, she somehow made them safe for us to use. Now some of us are able to use them.” 

“Not everyone can use the magic?” she asked. 

“For whatever reason, some of us can’t,” Kirsten said, looking at Thomas.  

“Can you show me how you use the magic?” Inama asked.