Page 226 of The Fifth Heir

They did not point inward.

They formed a circle.

Red, silver, violet, and blue light traveled around the central chamber, connecting our four passages. A clear path opened through the ring and ended beneath Talia’s hands.

The original Trial had not been designed to force four powers into her.

It had been designed to let us offer them.

The gates remained closed, but the barriers between us turned transparent. I could feel the others through the fire torc—not their thoughts, but their presence. Rafe’s restless current. Sebastian’s controlled depth. Leander’s steady cold.

At the center waited Talia.

Her fear touched all four of us.

So did her trust.

She rose to her knees. Clear light gathered beneath both palms.

“I don’t know if I can contain you,” she said.

“You don’t have to,” I told her. “Give us one direction.”

The fire in my passage answered her light.

I held it back until she looked at me.

“This is your choice too,” she said.

“Yes.”

“What if there’s no way back?”

“Then I’ll meet you wherever it takes us.”

I opened my hand.

My dragon lowered his head.

For the first time in my life, I did not command the fire.

I offered it.

Red power crossed the gate and entered the circle.

One by one, the others followed.

Storm.

Shadow.

Frost.

Four elemental streams surrounded Talia without touching her.

She lifted her hands.

“Together,” she said.