Page 121 of The Fifth Heir

Talia walked deeper into the garden.

I remained a few steps behind, watching the path change beneath her feet. The stones looked ordinary before she touched them. After she passed, fine clear lines appeared across their surface.

“Stop,” I said.

She froze.

“What?”

“Step backward.”

“Why?”

“Trust me.”

“That phrase has not worked well for me recently.”

“Once.”

“You led me into a sealed Trial.”

“Malcolm did that.”

“You supported entering.”

“Because staying outside sounded dull.”

She gave me a look but stepped backward.

The clear lines vanished from the stone.

“Forward again.”

She did.

Light appeared beneath her boots and traveled toward the garden beds.

Plants moved.

Not from wind. The leaves turned toward her. Vines shifted along the walls, and closed buds rose from the soil beside the path.

Talia stared.

The buds opened.

Crystal petals unfolded from them, transparent at first. When the wall light passed through, color broke across the ground.

They matched her scale.

“Did that happen when you entered?” she asked.

“No.”

“Perhaps the garden responds to any heir.”

“Then it would have responded to me through the door.”

“You weren’t inside.”