Page 53 of The Fifth Heir

He had tried. The burn marks made that much clear.

I waited until the assessment chamber emptied before approaching the central circle. The headmaster had sent Talia to the infirmary despite her insistence that she was uninjured. Torren went with her. Rafe left to question the academy attendants about the failed control rune, while Leander accompanied the Keeper of Trials to a private review.

No one asked what I intended to do.

That suited me.

The Fire rune remained dark, but heat lingered in the channels surrounding it. I crouched where the magic had escaped the containment circle.

One scorch mark cut toward the examiners.

A second crossed it from the right.

Torren’s intervention had struck the original flame at an angle. His power changed its shape, but not enough to stop it. If he had regained control, the redirected fire would have continued along the line he established.

It had not.

The final burn traveled sharply left toward the containment wall.

I followed it across the floor.

Near the center disc, a clear section interrupted the blackened stone. It was barely wider than two hands. Fire had surrounded that spot without touching it.

The place where Talia had stood.

I placed my palm over the mark. The floor held no residual heat.

That was wrong too.

Fire left warmth. Frost left cold. Storm charged the air, and Shadow thinned the light. Elemental magic always left evidence of itself.

Whatever had occupied this clear patch had left nothing I recognized.

I examined the control channel. A shallow nick marked the stone beside the failed rune, narrow enough to escape notice from the gallery. It might have been old damage. It might have come from the overload.

It might have been made by a tool.

Someone entered the chamber behind me.

I rose.

The Keeper of Trials stopped beside the observation stairs. His white mantle had been replaced with a plain black academy coat, but he still carried the metal staff from the Choosing.

“The assessment chamber is closed.”

“I’m examining the failure.”

“That is the responsibility of the academy’s runemasters.”

“They left.”

“They will return with the appropriate equipment.”

“After the floor is cleaned?”

His gaze moved to the containment wall. “The pattern has been recorded.”

“From the gallery?”