“Close the doors.”Elder Rovan's command stopped the guards just as they were leading me towards the exit. I turned in time to see two men stationed near the entrance move into position, pushing the heavy doors together until they met with a deep, echoing thud. A moment later, I heard the bolts sliding into place then I looked at Rovan. “What are you doing?”“Securing the hall.”“Against whom?”He ignored the question, turning his attention to the guards who were still holding my arms…“Release him.”They exchanged a brief glance before letting go. I rubbed my wrists, watching the elders move away from the platform as though the distance between us might protect them from whatever had happened.The Severance Chamber was a mess. Two of the five pillars had cracked during the ritual, and fragments of stone lay scattered across the floor. Their ancient markings still carried a faint glow, although nothing compared to the blinding light that had filled the chamber earlier then I glanced at

The man outside the gate did not repeat himself.Sable kept close to the storage room's broken panel, one hand pressed against her injured side. I could hear the strain in her breathing whenever she shifted.“Your father wants you back inside,” she whispered. “That doesn't mean we should walk out.”“I know.”“Do you?”My first instinct had been to move, to find another way through the courtyard before the men outside decided to come in. But the passage behind us was narrow, and the person who had arranged this little test knew we might use it. Rushing into the open would only make their work easier.I lowered my hand from the wall. The faint pressure I had felt through the stone had not become clearer. Whatever stirred beneath my skin answered in fragments, never enough to tell me what waited beyond the gate.“We go back the way we came,” I said.Sable's expression changed slightly as she turned to me. “Straight into the fort?”“Not through the main corridor. We'll find another route