Page 56 of The Fifth Heir

Talia had been correct about the access restrictions. Two academy guards stopped me before I reached the first locked door, and the archivist required written authorization before allowing me beyond the public records room.

My torc provided authorization neither of us expected.

The violet stones warmed when the archivist refused me a second time. The seal over the restricted door responded, illuminating a line of runes across its frame.

ACCESS OF THE CHOSEN WILL NOT BE DENIED.

The archivist read the inscription twice.

“That wasn’t visible yesterday,” she said.

“It may not have been visible for a century.”

Her mouth tightened.

She opened the door.

The restricted archive was colder than the public room, with narrow aisles and shelves extending from floor to ceiling. Protective cloth covered the oldest volumes. More recent Trial records occupied labeled boxes along the western wall.

I found the official account of the previous Choosing first.

Four candidates had been selected. The heirs were sent to the North, South, East, and West quarters without difficulty. The First Trial began four days later.

No mention of a hidden passage.

No Fifth Wing.

No clear torc.

I returned the volume and searched earlier cycles.

The same record repeated across six centuries. Four heirs entered the academy. One completed the final Trial and received the crown.

The oldest volume I could access had suffered water damage. Several pages had been replaced by later copies, including the account of the First Trial. Different handwriting marked the restoration, but the wording remained identical to the modern version.

Four heirs shall enter by separate elemental paths. The heir who reaches the Crown Gate first will advance.

Below it appeared the inscription every candidate knew:

FOUR ENTER. ONE EMERGES.

I traced the letters through my glove.

The page felt thicker beneath the first word.

I held it toward the reading lamp.

A dark patch appeared behind FOUR, too regular to be water damage.

Something lay beneath the replacement text.

I took a lens from the archive desk and adjusted it over the page. The dark patch separated into several strokes, but a preservation seal covered the original writing. Whoever restored the page had not simply copied over the damaged section. They had locked the layer beneath it.

I tested the edge with Shadow.

Violet light passed from my fingertips into the paper. The seal absorbed it and tightened.

The book slammed shut.