Page 137 of The Fifth Heir

“Simultaneously?”

The word changed the conversation.

I looked at my father.

“Why does that matter?”

“Because the council must know whether her manifestation represents an independent element or an unstable combination of the chosen four.”

“You intend to argue that she is drawing power from us.”

“We intend to require the academy to answer the question.”

“How?”

“Under controlled conditions.”

My father spoke as though the proposal were cautious and reasonable.

Perhaps it was.

That was how dangerous decisions entered law: not as cruelty, but as reasonable precautions endorsed by people who would never stand inside the circle being tested.

Talia had redirected Torren’s fire. The Fifth Wing hearth turned clear when she approached it. Her torc accepted four elemental colors, and the First Trial’s channels converged beneath her feet.

If her magic depended upon ours, we needed to know before another Trial forced the connection.

“The torc reacted most strongly when all four elements reached the center,” I said.

Father listened without moving.

“The scale appeared under concentrated rune light. It divided the beam into multiple colors, but there was no elemental discharge.”

“Can she produce the effect deliberately?”

“No.”

“Has she attempted to redirect power since the assessment?”

“Not in my presence.”

“Is she training?”

“With Torren. Human defense only.”

“Despite her injury?”

“The healer cleared light activity.”

Father’s mouth tightened. “She conceals pain.”

I did not ask where he learned that.

The information could have come from the healer’s reports or from anyone watching her complete the assessment.

“She does,” I said.

“And the men encourage her?”