Page 154 of The Fifth Heir

Red became gold, orange, and white. Blue separated into pale silver and clear cold. Storm spread into fine lines of electricity, while Shadow divided into shades of violet so deep they approached black.

Color filled the Hall.

It moved over the four men first—gold across Torren’s flames, silver-blue through Leander’s ice, white lightning over Rafe’s scales, and violet radiance inside Sebastian’s Shadow—before climbing the galleries like dawn through cut crystal.

It crossed the walls, the emptying galleries, and the central Prism. The crystal caught every divided beam and sent it across the ceiling in a brilliant spectrum.

The audience stopped running.

For several seconds, everyone looked up.

I redirected the separated power into the outer ring.

This time, the channels held.

The black repairs shattered.

The control pillars went dark.

The four elemental connections withdrew.

Torren reached me as the clear lens disappeared. His hands closed around my waist before my knees hit the platform.

The inner containment barrier collapsed.

Air rushed into the circle.

Rafe, Sebastian, and Leander crossed behind him. The healer reached for my wrist, but Torren kept me upright until I could stand without his help.

Rafe’s wind cleared the remaining heat from my face. Sebastian drew the last clinging Shadow away from my boots, while Leander cooled the swollen skin around my torc without touching the crystal. They worked around one another as if protecting me were another pattern all four already understood.

“I’m fine,” I said.

His eyes flashed red. “Don’t.”

The scale no longer burned.

It remained visible, clear and hard against my skin.

The crystal torc held all four elemental colors for one final breath before becoming transparent again.

Silence filled the Hall.

Most of the audience remained near the exits. My parents stood at the gallery rail. Camilla stared at the divided light fading around the Prism.

Malcolm stepped through the broken containment ring.

He looked at the black metal scattered across the platform, then at me.

“You drew power from all four heirs.”

“No,” Sebastian said.

Malcolm did not turn.

“She redirected it,” Sebastian continued. “The mechanism drew the power. Talia prevented the discharge from reaching the galleries.”

“She manipulated four elements without possessing any of them.”