"I've something for you." Watching him, she took one of the glass drops from her pocket, held it out in her palm.
"It looks like a tear."
"Aye." She waited while he held it to the light and studied it.
He rubbed a thumb over the smooth glass. "Are you giving me your tears, Maggie?"
"Perhaps I am." She took another one out of her pocket. "It comes from dropping hot glass in water.
When you do, some shatter right away, but others hold and form. Strong." She crouched and chose a rock. While Rogan watched she struck the glass with rock. "Strong enough that it won't break under a hammer." She rose again, holding the undamaged drop. "It holds, you see. Does nothing more than bounce away from the blow and shine. But there's this thin end here and it only takes a careless twist."
She took the slim, trailing end between her fingers. The glass turned to harmless dust. "It's gone, you see. Like it never was."
Born in Fire
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400 year-old mystery of Prince Rupert's drops finally cracked
A Prince Rupert's drop looks like a glass tadpole from a beginner's crafts festival, but it's so strong it can take a hammer hit without breaking. That would be impressive enough, but if you break its tail, which can be done with finger pressure, the drop explodes into powder. The reason for this has mystified scientists for 400 years, but a team from Purdue University, the University of Cambridge, and Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia finally has an answer.