Page 14 of The Fifth Heir

Nothing happened.

He struck it again.

The beam remained.

“Release,” he commanded.

The Prism did not respond.

A muscle moved in Malcolm’s jaw.

Master Orin stepped in front of me. He kept a careful distance from the light, though one edge passed across the sleeve of his black robe and broke into pale ribbons.

“Talia?”

“I’m all right.”

“You don’t look all right.”

“I can’t move.”

His mouth tightened. He turned toward the dais. “She cannot breathe properly.”

The headmaster descended the first step. “Do not touch the beam.”

“I hadn’t planned to.”

The pressure increased.

A sound escaped me before I could stop it.

Camilla left the Stone line immediately.

An attendant caught her arm. “Candidates must remain in formation.”

Gray scales flashed across the back of Camilla’s hand.

“That is my sister.”

The attendant released her.

Camilla crossed the Hall, but Malcolm moved into her path.

“Stay back.”

“She said she can’t breathe.”

“The Prism has never produced a fifth beam. We do not know what contact with it will do.”

“It’s already touching her.”

Malcolm’s gaze hardened. “Which is why we will not introduce another elemental power until we understand what occurred.”

Camilla’s protective scales appeared along her throat. Granite gray spread beneath her skin, tracing both sides of her neck and disappearing into the collar of her uniform.

“I am going to my sister.”

The floor trembled beneath her boots.