Then, Roake stepped out of the air final. His face was pale, and he was shaking.

“You okay?” Kerrigan asked.

Roake glanced blankly at them. “That woman …”

“Air is the hardest,” Noda agreed, looking at Roake with pity. “Come on, Roake. Let’s grab some food before you do your last magic test.”

“Sure. Food.”

He stepped past Kerrigan and into the dining hall. Kerrigan was too jittery to eat. She had air to do after passing water and earth this morning and fire a few minutes ago. They had to run Alura’s obstacle course this afternoon in the arena and then go straight into Lorian’s sword-fighting test, and they didn’t know what it would be. Kerrigan had never been in the arena as a competitor. She’d flown in as a winner of the tournament, and that was the extent of it. She was both excited and nervous about the prospect. The others had that advantage over her.

Fordham stepped out of the dining hall. He’d had his break for testing this go round. “She still in there?”

Kerrigan nodded. Audria was in the earth test, which was her weakest element. She’d never fully planted herself in the earth to work with it like the rest of them.

“Wonder how it’s going.”

“I don’t know. Roake looked like he’d seen a ghost, coming out of the air test.”

Fordham nodded. “It’s brutal, but you’ll do fine.”

“Thanks. What do you have left?”

“Fire.”

Kerrigan nudged his shoulder. “Lucky.”

She swept a lock of her plaited hair out of her face and stared up at him. They were both in the black training clothes, black robes thrown over top. His hair falling messily forward over his eyes. Those stormy-gray eyes turning to smoke at the sight of her.

He didn’t move toward her. He wasn’t going to change what he’d broken, but the want was still there. Blatant, even.

Luckily, Audria stumbled out of the room at that moment. She dropped to her knees, putting her hands to the floor, and looked near to crying.

Kerrigan rushed toward her. “Are you okay?”

“I hate that element,” she snarled, the lady gone from her voice.

“Did you pass?”

Audria fell onto her back and let her hands hang out from her sides. She stared up at the ceiling. “I passed.”

Kerrigan breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Do you have another?”

“No, that was my last one. Thank the gods.”

She looked like she had no intention of moving from the spot. Kerrigan didn’t blame her. Each one tested them to their limits, and they had all four finals today. And Kerrigan still had the hardest magical test yet—air.

It was fifteen minutes before the doors to the testing rooms opened once more. Kerrigan gulped, nodding at Fordham, and then stepped inside to find Zina absent.

“Zina?” she called.

“Up here, dear,” Zina said.