24. Amber

The light bendsand refracts through Damien's crystal.

Unlike last time, I hold on to the light with my mind, controlling it in a single beam toward Morgan's crystal.

Come on, I think, concentrating as hard as I can to nudge it toward Blaze's.

It misses its mark by inches and hits the wall, sizzling and leaving a black mark on the stone.

I curse and place the crystal down near my feet. Now that it's been used, it's worthless.

Damien's and Morgan's are, too.

Five crystals down.

Fourteen to go.

"It's okay, Amber," Damien says, steady and reassuring. "Just adjust the angle slightly. You've got this."

"You say it as if you direct beams of sunlight through crystals every day," I snap, unable to keep my frustration from coming out.

He remains calm as he walks to the chest and removes three more crystals. "True," he says, approaching me and dropping a fresh crystal into my hand. "But I know how to wield a blade, and how to control the air in concentrated blasts. The concept is the same. Focus, precision, and an unwavering belief in yourself."

My heart flutters at how close he's standing to me, and all I can feel is the intensity of his gaze.

"I said focus," he repeats, amusement dancing in his eyes. "On your magic, and on the crystals. Do you think you can manage that?"

Yes, if you stop standing so close to me, I think.

"Sure," I say instead. "Third time's the charm."

He turns around and steps back onto his disc, positioning his new crystal in the same place as before.

Again, my beam of light passes perfectly through his crystal, and I pivot slightly, redirecting it toward Morgan's.

My control wavers, and I miss.

Anger rushes through me, and I chuck my crystal at the wall.

It cracks against it, but it doesn't shatter.

It'll take another beam of light through it to make it do that.

"Off again." The Abbot puffs out his chest, despite the ropes binding his wrists behind his back. "You're not worthy of entering the portal. It's best you save your energy, get out of here, and find another way to retrieve the Solar Scepter."

"I am worthy." I grit my teeth and march to the chest, pulling out two more crystals.

The monks nearest to the chest watch me closely, not saying a word.

I turn around to hand a crystal to Damien, but he's not standing on his disc anymore. Instead, he's walking around the room, taking note of the locations of the rest of the discs.

"Let's adjust our positions," he says. "Even a slight change might help."

It's a good idea. So, we spend the next few minutes strategizing new discs for Morgan and Blaze to stand on.

Once we're set, I steady myself and try again.

I fail.

I keep failing until there are only four discs left.

There are four of us. This is my last chance. If I blow it, it's over.

The Abbot will have been right about my not being worthy. I'll disappoint Sunneva, Damien, the entire clan, and, most frustratingly, myself.

"I have an idea," Blaze chimes in before I can start.

"What?" I ask, open to anything.

"On the plane, when I was researching how to make my blade stronger, one of the other words I thought about using was fortis. Strength," he says. "If I inscribe it on the crystals, maybe they can survive more than one blast."

"You're going to do what to the crystals?" the Abbot asks.

"Use my magic on them," Blaze says coolly, keeping his focus on me. "So, what do you think?"

"I'm thinking I have no idea why you waited until now, when we're down to our final crystals, to mention this," I say.

"I thought you'd pass the trial on your own, and that I could conserve my magic." He shrugs, and my cheeks heat with embarrassment at how he's calling out my failure—even though he's not wrong.

I look to Morgan to ask her thoughts, but from the way her eyebrows are knitted together in concern, she's clearly on the fence about the idea.

Blaze is also watching her, waiting.

"Altering the crystals sounds risky," she finally says. "What if it changes how they refract the light? Or makes them unable to refract it entirely?"

"It's a risk, but what other choice do we have right now?" he replies without missing a beat.

"You have plenty of other choices," the Abbot chimes in. "One of them being to admit defeat and leave."

"Shut up," I snap at him—a phrase I assume is rarely said to monks—and turn back to Blaze. "I think it's a good idea."

We all look to Damien, since he's yet to give his opinion.

"Use the word indissolubilis instead," Damien says, and it sounds like an order, not a suggestion. "It means unbreakable—not just strong—which will be more effective."

"Are you sure?" Blaze asks.

"You're welcome to dive into that book of yours to verify it," Damien says. "But I suggest we don't spend any more time here than necessary."

Morgan has her dagger out and is studying it, thinking.

Maybe she'll use her magic to scry and see what we should do? I know she doesn't want the monks to know what she's capable of—and given their attack, I don't blame her for not wanting to trust them with her secret—but any help is welcome right now.

"Do it," she finally says to Blaze. "You're right. It's our best chance to win this trial. We have to try."

I'm not sure if I'm happy she agrees with us, or annoyed that she doesn't believe I can get it on my final try.

Either way, it doesn't matter.

The only thing that matters is doing whatever's necessary to open that portal.