They continued the appraisal.
The corrupted heart.
Dominic lifted it out of the bag with both arms. The thing felt heavier than it looked. It was the size of a large melon, maybe bigger, a lumpy mass of crystallized shadow that seemed to pull light into itself. A sickly warmth rolled off it, strong enough to feel from three feet away. He set it down on the velvet cloth Selin had spread across the table. The fabric underneath frosted over right away, even though heat still poured from the heart.
Selin leaned in close but did not touch it. She walked a slow circle around the table, eyes narrowed. She moved even slower than she had with the gold core.
