The circle pulses again, harder this time.
Like it’s trying to tear me apart piece by piece.
My teeth grind together as I force myself not to scream again.
Not this time.
Sharp pain floods through me but I hold onto it. I don’t let it swallow me whole.
Because now I know what this is.
A test.
And I refuse to fail.
“You will break,” the voice echoes again, colder now.
I lift my head slowly, my vision blurred but burning with defiance.
“No,” I rasp. “I won’t.”
The symbols beneath me flare brighter in response.
Like they heard me.
Like they’re challenging me.
Fine.
Let them.
Another wave crashes into me and this time I feel it, not just the pain but something else
A pull so deep in my chest, faint at first like earlier but it is growing.
Eira.
‘Again,’ she growls weakly. ‘P
