“Well, if it’s all right with you, I’m happy to have you there. It is all right?” she said, slightly anxiously, to the Dragon who’d be administering the test.

“It is. It is always helpful when the applicants are relaxed, and it appears that the corporal is here to offer support. In many cases parents would fill her role; we are accustomed to having observers.”

He continued down the dark hall, his voice echoing off the uneven walls.

The door opened into a familiar cavern—familiar, that is, to Kaylin. Teela, almost expressionless, was nonetheless looking around the cavern with genuine interest; this room was not a room she had ever seen before, and she seemed to be slightly surprised that she was allowed to accompany Kaylin into it.

Kaylin was almost positive the former Arkon would never have allowed it, and wondered if the Emperor knew Teela was here. She didn’t ask.

Sanabalis, however, was—as always—ahead of her. “I am certain,” he said, in High Barrani, “you are wondering why I have admitted you into this room.”

Teela’s nod was respectful. She didn’t have the cohort’s visceral fear of—or hatred for—Dragons, but she was always going to approach them with caution.

“There are two reasons. The first: you serve the Halls of Law. The second, more relevant, is your knowledge of both magic and Corporal Neya. It has not escaped the notice of any of the Dragon Court that the corporal is frequently at the center of highly unusual—and frequently dangerous—magical anomalies.”

Kaylin bit back any words she might have offered in return, because Mrs. Erickson was here and she didn’t want to even imply that all of the anomalies were the old woman’s fault. She watched Sanabalis carefully; he made no move to find the ladders that were used to reach the very large stone altar toward the back center of the room.

That altar was the Ancient’s version of a mirror. To invoke its use, the Dragons had to speak in their native tongue. Kaylin wasn’t certain what polite Draconic language was—but to mortal ears it all sounded like fury and imminent death. Possibly to Barrani ears as well.

To her eyes, that altar seemed to be shedding light. She frowned, but said nothing, turning her attention to Sanabalis and Mrs. Erickson. Sanabalis’s tests for magical potential—at least in Kaylin—were the tests usually administered by the Imperial College of mages. She suspected similar tests were conducted in the Academia, although magical potential there was not a prerequisite to entry.