They followed Khairu down the dark, empty corridors, Lucian reeling from the encounter. The Talent took them to a heavy wooden door, which Khairu pushed open with a creak, revealing a bare stone room containing a chest of drawers, a couple of candles, and a small bed. The bed came with a rough-looking blanket.

  “These will be your quarters, Lucian.”

  He looked back at Emma, who watched him with widened eyes. They might have time to talk about it later, but they couldn’t do so here, in front of Khairu.

  When Khairu left, Lucian closed the door and got out his slate to provide light. The room was so small he felt as if he were back in his holding cell. For such a large building, he would have thought there’d be more room.

  Lucian sat on the bed for a couple of minutes, wondering what to do with himself when a timid knock broke him from his thoughts. When he answered, Emma stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

  “About what happened on the ship,” she said. “Khairu asked me how I knew you were a mage, and I didn’t want to lie about it.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Lucian said. “You should have just told me.”

  She sighed. “I know. I thought you would be mad.” Her expression was apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

  “Vera is more important.”

  Emma joined him on the bed. “I know! How could she have gotten here before us?”

  “Maybe she came in a separate vessel. But her being here makes no sense. On the ship, she said the Academy’s teachings were a joke.” He shook his head. “Could it be some elaborate test?”

  From Emma’s silence, Lucian could tell she was stumped, too.

  Lucian wanted to call Vera out on it. That might lock him out of consideration, but hadn’t Vera preached honesty?

  It was time to test her on her word. Lucian had to be true to himself, whatever the consequences. Maybe that would only get him rejected, but if so, then at least he could hold his head high.

  But what was the point of holding his head high? He needed to be accepted here. If he wasn’t, Lucian was out of options.

  “What do we do?” Emma asked.

  Lucian closed his eyes, trying to imagine a future in this place. A future next to Emma, but not with her. A future of giving up his wants and following orders. All to control his connection to magic and not die in the process.

  It seemed a bleak prospect. But the fraying, with its rot and mental disease, was a far worse alternative.

  The door creaked open, revealing Khairu. From the way she stood in her gray cloak, Lucian thought she was going to scold them for being together.

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  Instead, though, she cleared her throat. “It’s time.”

  It hadn’t even been a quarter of an hour since the audience. That meant the decision had been rather easy. Lucian didn’t know whether that was a good or a bad thing.

  There was only one way to find out.

  The three Transcends sat on their stone chairs, not having moved since Emma and Lucian left.

  “Emma Almaty,” Transcend Blue said. “We accept you into our ranks and raise you to the rank of Novice.”

  Emma’s face had gone pale, and the offer didn’t seem to make her feel relieved.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice tremulous in the vast chamber.

  As one, the Transcends’ gazes fell upon Lucian.

  “Lucian Abrantes,” Transcend Blue said. “We have chosen not to accept you for training.”

  Emma looked on in shock, but the expression was gone with a clearing of Khairu’s throat. Vera’s eyes watched and weighed him, seeking a reaction.

  “I understand your reasoning,” he said, after swallowing the lump in his throat. “I somewhat expected it. Only, I don’t have the money to get back to Karendas.”

  The Transcends’ silence was cold. They watched, unwilling or unable to offer more. Lucian had given everything for this opportunity. He could hardly believe it would end like this.

  But the Manifold, it seemed, had spoken. It was his fate to die from his magic.

  Transcends Blue and Gray shared a look before returning their attention to Lucian. The way they were staring made Lucian feel as if they were holding something back.

  “You can stay here for now,” Vera said. “We’ll make . . . arrangements once the storm passes.”

  Arrangements? Arrangements for what?

  “Your Eminences,” Emma said. “I don’t mean to question your judgment, but—”

  “—Then don’t,” Vera said, her voice cracking like a whip.

  Vera’s dark eyes bored into his, seeming to pierce straight to his soul. It took every bit of will he had to question her, and still, it only came out as a single word.

  “Why?”

  “Because you are not ready. You have gone too far down your own path and will not respond well to instruction. That is as clear as day.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Why are you not acknowledging the truth?”

  She frowned in confusion. “What truth? Speak your mind.”

  Transcends Blue and Gray looked at her with mild surprise. Lucian got the sense that someone like him would normally be beneath her notice.

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “Why are you acting as if we’ve never met before? As if . . . you don’t even remember me?”

  Vera stiffened, almost recoiled, at the words. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “You were on the ship!” he said, fumbling. From her hard, dangerous stare, it was almost enough to make him feel as if he were the crazy one. As if he’d imagined the whole thing. “You talked to me about the Manifold. About the fraying. About . . . finding my path, even some things about how magic worked. And now, you’re acting as if you’ve never even seen me. Is it punishment for choosing not to follow you, or something else? I just want to understand why and not feel like some pawn in a game I don’t understand.”

  All three Transcends stared at him, their expressions unreadable. Vera’s eyes smoldered like hot coals. Her face was a neutral mask of suppressed anger. The reaction made no sense. None of it made any sense.

  But at the same time, he couldn’t break his gaze away. She owed him an answer, Transcend or not. She had gone against her word and needed to be held accountable. Even if he had chosen not to follow her, that had been his decision. It wasn’t worthy of this punishment.

  Finally, Vera relented, turning her head aside to speak. “Please, Transcends Blue and Gray. Leave us for a moment. Something extraordinary has happened.”

  There was a brief flash of surprise on their faces. But in the end, they nodded, stood, and withdrew from the chamber, the colored fires extinguishing with their exit. Following their example, Khairu and Emma went after them. When Emma passed, her expression was worried, while Khairu seemed to be appraising him anew.

  Once gone, the stone door slid shut.

  Now, it was only Lucian and Vera.