Page 237 of The Fifth Heir

“I have studied references that scholars later classified as allegorical.”

“And the Fifth Wing?”

“An abandoned structure of uncertain purpose.”

“The torcs?”

“Relics.”

“Convenient answers,” Sebastian said.

“They are accurate answers.”

Camilla moved from beside the headmaster.

“They’re lies.”

Malcolm looked at her for the first time.

She seemed smaller than she had before the Choosing, but she held his gaze.

“You knew exactly what questions to ask me,” she said. “You asked whether Talia’s scale reacted to elemental exposure. You asked which heir’s power she redirected first. You asked whether her pain grew worse when she moved away from the four heirs.”

“You came to me voluntarily.”

“Yes.”

The admission traveled through the gathered crowd. Students and instructors had filled every walkway around the courtyard. I saw Master Orin near the front, still wearing his archive robes.

Camilla raised her voice.

“I gave Keeper Malcolm private information about my sister because I believed he would prove her selection invalid. I believed the Prism might reopen and choose me.”

A murmur spread through the crowd.

Her face reddened, but she continued.

“I was jealous. I was angry, and I told myself I was helping Talia escape a position she never wanted. The demonstration tested every weakness I described to him.”

Malcolm regarded her without sympathy. “You are attempting to redirect blame for your own ambition.”

“No.” Camilla swallowed. “I’m accepting mine.”

The distinction mattered.

It did not restore my trust, but it mattered.

She turned toward the headmaster.

“I also found the altered foundation plan and warned the heirs before the Trial took them. The repair order was issued under Keeper authority.”

“Without my signature,” Malcolm said.

“Because the signature page was removed.”

“Then you cannot establish who authorized it.”

The headmaster examined the fragment in his hand. “Keeper Malcolm, you will remain confined to academy grounds while the crown council conducts a formal inquiry.”