Page 4 of The Fifth Heir

“Then make a note and examine it after the Choosing.”

I looked toward the sealed doors. “That was what I intended to do.”

“While kneeling behind a lamp when the candidates are about to enter?”

“I still have time.”

“You always believe you have time for one more task.”

She reached for my shoulder before stopping herself. Camilla knew I disliked being fussed over, particularly where other people could see it. She lowered her hand and inspected my robe instead.

A streak of dust crossed the front where I had leaned against the pedestal.

“You can’t remain in the Hall dressed like that.”

“I have another robe in the records room.”

“Good.” Her attention returned to the hidden marks. “Do you want me to tell Master Orin?”

“No.”

The answer came too quickly.

Camilla’s mouth tightened. “If you believe you found something significant—”

“I don’t know what I found. That’s why I need to examine it.”

“Later.”

“Yes. Later.”

The tension eased from her face. She looked toward the four torcs displayed across the chamber, and for the first time that morning, her composure slipped. Her fingers curled once at her side.

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

“Of course not.”

“You checked the entrance three times before you came in.”

“I was making certain Mother and Father had received their seats.”

“They arrived an hour ago.”

“And Mother has probably spent that hour telling everyone within reach how certain she is that the Prism will select me.”

I smiled despite myself. “She only says it because she believes in you.”

“She says it because she has already ordered a portrait gown.”

That sounded exactly like our mother.

Camilla’s lips curved, but the expression disappeared when the outer doors began to move.

Bronze scraped across stone. The deep sound rolled through the Hall, and the waiting voices beyond it fell silent.

My sister straightened.

The change in her was immediate. The woman who had worried about our mother’s boasting disappeared beneath the discipline of the candidate who had prepared for this ceremony most of her life.