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"I choose Eirea."

The bracelet warms. "Choice accepted."

Then— Nothing. No consequence. No explanation.

Rowan sighs dramatically. "I dislike successful guessing."

"It wasn't guessing," Nyra says.

"No?"

"No."

"Then why?"

Nyra answers without hesitation. "Because if I didn't know what the Academy wanted I'd choose the person I trust most."

The darkness hides my expression. Perhaps that's for the best. Something unexpectedly warm settles beneath my ribs. Not pride. Responsibility. The Trial has handed me trust. I hope I deserve it.

The ground begins sloping downward. The air grows colder. Water drips somewhere nearby. A cave? No. The echoes are too open. A ravine perhaps. Nyra suddenly stops again.

"I don't understand." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"The bracelet says move left."

She takes one hesitant step. Immediately the bracelet burns. She gasps. "It changed."

"To what?"

"Right."

Before she moves again Cassian speaks. "Wait." His tone changes. Entirely.

"What is it?" I ask.

"The fear." Silence. "It isn't where it was."

I frown. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." His breathing slows. "The emotion shifted."

"Shifted where?" Rowan asks.

"Behind us." He answers.

"I hear..." Rowan starts. She goes quiet.

"What?" I ask.

"Footsteps."

All four of us stop breathing. Footsteps. Slow. Measured. Following us. I listen. Nothing. Then— One. Two. Three. Definitely footsteps. Not ours.

Nyra whispers, "The bracelet says don't turn around."

Rowan answers immediately. "I wasn't planning to."