Page 115 of The Fifth Heir

“Only the people who know you.”

She reached across the table and covered my unwrapped hand with hers.

“I know you never asked for this.”

“No.”

“And I know you’ll keep pushing until you prove you deserve it.”

My throat tightened.

“What if I do deserve it?”

Camilla’s fingers went still.

Then she squeezed my hand.

“Then you shouldn’t have to destroy yourself proving it.”

The answer sounded exactly like the sister I had trusted my entire life.

I told her everything.

The fire in the assessment chamber. The pressure of the center rune. How the paths connected, the ache beneath my ribs when I moved away from the others, the way the torc responded when all four powers reached it, where my shoulder hurt, and how Sebastian believed the torc might be awakening something dormant inside me.

Camilla listened without interrupting.

Only once did her composure slip—when I described how the center rune had answered me. Her fingers tightened around mine, then relaxed so quickly I might have mistaken it for concern.

When she left, she took none of the honey cakes.

She carried every weakness I had given her.

Chapter 16

Rafe

Talia’s sister left the Fifth Wing carrying nothing but a troubled expression.

She entered with a basket. I knew because I had spent twenty minutes trying to convince her that visitors traditionally paid tribute to every heir, not only the one they were related to.

Camilla remained unmoved.

When she departed, the basket stayed behind.

That should have meant the visit went well. Talia had honey cakes. I had already stolen two.

Instead, she stood in the study doorway watching her sister walk down the corridor.

The outer door closed.

Talia remained there.

Sebastian sat inside the study with three open books and appeared not to notice. He noticed everything, but pretending otherwise allowed him to avoid conversations involving feelings. Leander had left for another meeting with the headmaster, while Torren was downstairs questioning the healers about Talia’s training restrictions.

That left me.

The obvious choice.