Page 161 of The Fifth Heir

Every lesson my father gave me warned against dividing my authority from the North in public. I felt the separation happen anyway—not a severing of loyalty, but a refusal to let loyalty replace judgment.

“The Prism selected Talia.”

The acoustical runes carried my voice into every gallery.

The arguments diminished.

“The fifth beam followed a hidden pattern built into this floor,” I continued. “The Fifth Wing admitted all five heirs. A fifth torc recognized her, the First Trial required her presence to open, and her intervention brought every heir out alive.”

My father’s expression remained controlled.

The Northern representatives watched me.

“The demonstration established that she possesses power we do not yet understand. It also established that someone reversed the safety channels and directed four elemental forces toward her.”

Malcolm stood beside the headmaster.

His eyes remained on me.

“Removing Talia rewards the person who designed that failure. It allows an attack to achieve through procedure what it failed to accomplish through magic.”

The Stone representative rose. “You cannot call it an attack before the investigation determines intent.”

“The headmaster already did.”

“And you believe Talia should enter another Trial without knowing whether she endangers the other heirs?”

“No. I believe all five of us should train together until we understand the connection.”

A murmur moved through the Hall.

I faced the dais.

“She remains an heir.”

Torren joined me.

Then Rafe.

Sebastian stepped into line on my other side, still holding the black channel fragment.

The headmaster looked at all four of us.

“The suspension petition is denied pending completion of the sabotage inquiry.”

Sabotage.

This time, he used the word openly.

The Fifth Wing remained quiet when I returned.

Talia sat alone in the study with her right arm resting on the table. The scale at her wrist was visible without special light now. It reflected small colors onto the pages around it.

The wall runes turned white when I entered.

She had already heard.

“Sebastian told me what you said.”