Kira had to wonder why he wasn't resorting to that tactic now.
"This won't lead where you think," he said, not taking his eyes off the carvings.
Kira shook her head. "It continuously astounds me how arrogant some Tuann are. What do you know about anything concerning me?"
"More than you think," he said.
She seriously doubted that.
He flicked the inhibiter around her wrist. "It takes more than a few weeks to recover from ki poisoning. You're risking your life on something that you could conquer easily if you wait."
Frustration was an unexpected sight on his face. He was normally so controlled—almost scarily so.
"Quillon," Kira growled. The healer had broken his promise. "He wasn't supposed to reveal my progress."
"He didn't have to."
Kira paused, taking in his stiff expression.
"You're the other patient he treated for ki poisoning," she said in realization.
Wren held still for several seconds, before finally unbending enough to nod. "Indeed. That's how I know you're making a mistake. You're talented, probably one of the best I've ever seen. With time and training, you could be a force to be reckoned with—but only if you resist the urge to take shortcuts."
Not an option. Her mission had already been delayed enough.
Kira faced forward, her back and shoulders straight. "No."
Wren's advice held merit. Regardless of that fact, Kira was still going to ignore it.
He opened his mouth to argue, but a steady glow along the carving's lines interrupted him. Identical looks of surprise filled their faces as the blue filled more and more of the lines, the hard surface of the wall beginning to fade.
"That was quick," Kira said. She'd expected to be waiting hours. Everything she'd been able to gather about the test said it took time to complete. Devon had likely only stepped through the wall a few minutes before Kira appeared.
"Too quick," Wren agreed.
The same oppressive feeling from earlier spilled out as the wall disappeared, revealing the darkness beyond. Fingers of dread and self-doubt wrapped around Kira's heart and squeezed.
"Where's Devon?" she asked, not seeing him appear from the darkness.
Wren shook his head, his body tense as he stared into the abyss.
Kira took a step, only to find her way blocked by Wren's arm.
"Something is wrong," he said, not looking at her. His forehead furrowed as he frowned at the spot where the wall had been. "The uhva na doesn't open like this."
She paused as she gazed uncertainly into the room beyond. "All the more reason to investigate, isn't it?"
His expression was grave as he shook his head. "Interfering with another's trial might result in the Mea'Ave refusing you entry when it comes time for your own."
Meaning if she did this, she might not get a second chance until the next time the House trial was administered, which could be years.
Choices. Choices.
Kira stepped past the line marking the wall's previous existence. "If I turned back now, wouldn't it mean I didn't deserve to ascend anyway?"
Faint approval lingered on Wren's features as he joined her. "As long as you understand the risks."
"Don't worry. I won't blame you if anything goes wrong," she said dryly.
"No, because the only one who would be to blame is you and your damnable curiosity," Jin whispered in her comms.
Kira grimaced. He had a point.
There was a low hum as the wall coalesced into existence.
Wren touched it, seeming disturbed.
"I guess that settles the question of what we should do. Our only option now is forward," Kira said, somehow unsurprised to be cut off from their path of retreat.
It seemed fitting somehow—though she was hard-pressed to say why.
Kira started moving; Wren slow to follow. Their footsteps echoed in the cavernous space. The chamber was Tuann made, the same stone that formed the rest of the fortress had been used to create this place as well.
That was where the resemblance ended.
This place, like the Hall of the Ancestors, felt ancient. The mammoth corridor they were in was long and seemingly never-ending.
Kira paused next to a tall, narrow window no wider than her torso. It looked out onto stone and more walls. No view of the ocean or land was forthcoming.
Strange.
Kira touched the windowpane, an interested hum escaping her as her hand passed right through, a tingling sensation warning her she'd interrupted an energy field.
Instead of withdrawing, she stuck her body as far as she could through the field, leaning out. She didn't make it far. The window ledge was at least two feet deep, and the opening was so narrow it was impossible to fit through.
She dropped onto her heels, watching as the illusion of the window snapped into place. A window looking into what amounted to a cave. How strange.
Kira stepped away from it, studying the rest of the hallway as she slowly followed Wren.
Banners at even intervals marked their path, evidence the place had a caretaker. Architecturally, the place was as beautiful and serene as the rest of Roake. It was cold and lonely, somehow—as if the people who had made it a home were long dead.
"Is there another way out of here?" Kira asked.
"Only the Overlord or Loudon can open a passage to this place," Wren said.
Convenient.
"Perfect place for an ambush," Jin muttered.
Kira thought so too.
Maybe she should have let the real Jin come with her after all.
"Be careful. The trial preys on your fears and doubts," Wren said. "Remember who you are at all times. Don't be led astray."
Not going to be a problem.
Every sense she had was on high alert. This place felt ominous. The atmosphere heavy, as if it was waiting for something.
Yeah, dropping her guard wasn't happening.
They moved on, past columns and doors that Kira didn't have to open to know she wanted no part of.
Time felt different here, moving too slow and too fast at the same time. Almost as if they existed outside its constraints.
Their path led them to a circular room where the floor was etched with a complicated repeating pattern. It was a rotunda, the roof high above, impossibly complicated, reminding her of some of the holy places of old Europe.
Their footsteps echoed in the room as they ventured further inside.
The pattern laid into the floor ended in fifteen points along the edge, each one leading to a door that opened to incredible scenes. Some led to landscapes. Snowcapped mountains next to sand-swept deserts. Endless forests followed by oceans as far as the eye could see.
That wasn't all, Kira realized catching a glimpse of a gas cloud billowing across thousands of lightyears’ worth of stars. Some doors led to places she had no frame of reference for.
"What is this place?" Kira asked, drawn to the doors.
Wren shook his head. "Something I've only heard about in stories."
"Didn't you take this trial?"
"Every trial is different, customized to the individual."
Kira paused in front of one door. "For what purpose?"
He hesitated, his gaze moving over the different scenes. "We're descended from monsters. This place weeds out those who might waver from the path our ancestors set us on."