Page 67 of The Fifth Heir

Their control stones lit without effect.

I pulled harder against the invisible hold.

The gate was already halfway closed.

“Talia, get down,” Rafe said.

Lightning struck the floor beside the clear rune. The magic passed over it without breaking its hold.

Torren left his position despite the warning flash and reached for me.

The Fire path erupted.

A wall of flame rose between us, forcing him back.

“Talia!”

His hand remained stretched toward mine through the fire.

The four inner passages brightened. Their runes pulled at the men, drawing each toward his assigned route.

The outer gate narrowed to several feet.

Then one.

I saw the headmaster moving toward the opening. Malcolm caught his arm before the stone could close on him.

The gate sealed.

The clear rune released my feet.

Darkness filled the entry chamber for one breath before the four elemental passages illuminated again.

Torren stood behind the Fire barrier. Frost had formed between Leander and the center. Wind forced Rafe toward the Storm path, and shadow climbed around Sebastian’s legs.

None of them could reach me.

No fifth path appeared.

The First Trial had admitted all five heirs.

It had only been prepared for four.

Chapter 10

Talia

The four paths took them.

Torren disappeared first. Fire closed around him without touching his body, forming a solid red barrier across the entrance. Rafe shouted something I couldn’t hear as the wind dragged him backward. Frost covered Leander’s boots and pulled him into the icy passage, while Sebastian vanished beneath a wave of Shadow.

Then the elemental doors slammed shut.

I stood alone in the center of the entry chamber.

“Torren!”

My voice returned from the sealed stone.