Page 57

He smiles. "The side where you stop choosing your own sacrifice before asking whether anyone has another idea."

Another root cracks. The bridge drops several inches. "Fine," I say. "Ideas."

Rowan crouches near the edge. "I can cross first." She says.

"That is not an idea," Nyra replies. "That is volunteering faster."

Rowan looks at her. "I'm a wolf. We're competitive."

Cassian closes his eyes. Not surrender. Concentration.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Listening." He says after a few seconds.

"To what?" Nyra asks.

"The fear."

The bridge creaks again. Cassian's brow tightens. "There's too much." He says quietly.

"No offense," Rowan says, "but that seems appropriate."

Cassian shakes his head. "No." He opens his eyes. "The Trial is pushing panic. Urgency. Sacrifice."

Nyra looks toward the marker. "Trying to make us choose quickly."

Cassian nods. "But something beneath it feels wrong." He steps closer to the ravine. "Rowan, what can you hear?"

She kneels. The mist shifts far below. "Water." She answers.

"Anything closer?"

Rowan tilts her head. Her breathing slows. Then her expression changes. "Roots." She says.

"We can see the roots," I say.

"Not those." She reaches one hand into the mist beneath the visible bridge. Her fingers disappear. Then touch something. Solid. A second layer. Hidden. Nyra kneels beside her. She extends both hands toward the ravine. The roots beneath us tremble. Not manifestation exactly. Recognition.

"There are dozens." Her blue eyes widen. "The visible bridge isn't the only crossing."

The marker flashes red. ONE MUST REMAIN. I look toward the words.

"No." The Trial wants a decision. That does not make its proposed options true. "Nyra, can you guide the hidden roots?" I ask.

"Not control them. Invite them." Her gaze meets mine.

Professor Neris' lesson. Living magic cannot be commanded. Only encouraged. Nyra places her palms against the soil. Closes her eyes. For several heartbeats, nothing happens. Then the mist shifts. Pale roots rise beneath the visible bridge. One. Then another. A woven path hidden beneath illusion.

Rowan grins. "There you are."

Cassian's shoulders relax. The projected fear around us weakens. I look toward the marker. The words remain. One must remain. A command designed to become true only if we accept it.

"We cross together," I say.

No one argues. Rowan goes first, testing each root. Nyra follows, keeping one hand near the living bridge. Cassian stays between us. I take the final position. Not because I am sacrificing myself. Because every group needs someone at the back.

Halfway across, the visible roots collapse. The illusion falls into the ravine. The hidden bridge remains. Real. Stable.