‘Fine,’ I tell him.
We emerge through a trapdoor on to the ground floor of the Keep. Instead of taking us to the training room, Alator comes to a stop outside a door which opens to reveal another set of four doors, each of them a different court colour. Flint barely has time to squeeze my hand before the Ignitia Heirs are herded through the red one.
Behind the blue door is a room strewn with chairs and a small table heaped with food. On the other side of the room is yet another door, this one gold. Fjord tries the handle, but it won’t budge. The four of us sit in uncomfortable silence until Alator reappears, informing us that the Drawing is complete. The Drawing is an ancient ritual in which the Crowned Council each place their signet ring in a golden bowl, and the emperor’s son – so in this case, Hal – picks them out one by one, thus determining the order of the trials.
‘The Aquatori are up first,’ announces Alator cheerfully.
The moment the blue door closes behind him, the golden door on the other side of the room creaks open.
‘What are we waiting for?’ says Fjord. ‘Somebody go.’
‘I don’t see you rushing forward,’ Kai points out.
Fjord rounds on him. ‘Are you calling me a coward?’
‘No,’ says Kai calmly. ‘I was just stating a fact.’
Fjord forces out a derisive laugh. ‘Perhaps the Storm Weaver would like to go first? That’ll certainly make the rest of us shine in comparison.’
‘Leave her alone, Fjord.’
‘Always jumping to her defence. Come on, Kai. Why don’t you take her place?’
Marina tosses her hair over her shoulder. ‘Oh, please.I’llgo.’ She flounces across to the golden door. ‘Good luck measuring up to me,’ she calls, smirking. ‘You’ll need it.’
The door shuts with a clang behind her.
I rub my scar, trying to focus only on the sound of Fjord’s foot tapping against the floor. There’s not a clock in the room, so I can’t tell how much time passes before the door swings open once more and Fjord disappears through it without a backward glance.
When the door opens for a third time, I’m light-headed with nerves.
Kai looks at me. ‘Ladies first.’
I shake my head. ‘I can’t.’
‘You can,’ he says.
‘No, seriously, I can’t.’
‘All right.’ Kai takes a deep breath and gets to his feet. ‘See you on the other side?’
He walks through the golden door, leaving me alone.I rest my chin on my knees, arms wrapped round my legs, until the door eventually opens for the fourth and final time.
At first I don’t move. Everything has taken on a dreamlike quality. The blue walls seem bluer, the chairs seem to shrink, the ground seems to shift beneath my feet as I force myself to stand.
You can do this, Grandmother had said.
Can I? I’m not so sure. Running away and hiding somewhere nobody can find me sounds like a far more appealing alternative. But could I really do that to Grandmother? Could I really do that to myself, after everything?
I think of my mother. Not as I remember her, but as she was before, when she was my age, when she was an Heir. She was scared, too. Yet she still walked through that door.
I take a step, then another, and when I find myself in the passageway beyond, it’s as though I can feel her beside me. So I keep walking. On and on until I see the mouth of the tunnel up ahead. My heart has climbed into my throat. I think I might choke on it.
I say a silent, futile prayer before stepping out into the light.
18
My eyes take a few seconds to adjust, then I begin to piece together my surroundings.
