Passing the last of the prisoners, Kiva kept her eyes downcast, unwilling to risk spotting Tipp or Jaren in the crowd. She needed to remember their confidence, not see their pale, anxious faces. She also sought to avoid the pitying looks from inmates she’d treated over the years, as if they believed this was the last they’d see of her . . . as if they knew she was walking to her death.

“Focus, Kiva,” Naari murmured. “Forget everyone and everything.”

Kiva inhaled deeply and then exhaled again, just as they approached the large doorway. She stole a final glance upward before stepping inside, noting that only one of the chimneys was smoking, while the other—belonging to the second furnace—was still and silent. Waiting, it seemed, for Kiva.

With her heart pounding in her ears, Kiva relied on Naari’s touch to steady her as they entered the stone building, her eyes needing a moment to adjust to the darker space within. Luminium beacons were affixed to the walls, lighting the room enough for Kiva to soon take in the empty antechamber. She’d been in here before, only a handful of times throughout the years, but never with such dread pooling in her stomach.

“For the Trial by Fire, as noted in the Book of the Law, you’re to face an elemental task involving flames,” Warden Rooke said, his hands clasped behind his back.

Bones leaned against the wall near him, looking bored, while the three other guards were more alert, as if waiting for Kiva to snap and attack them all. Grendel and Naari stood like sentinels, the former still holding herself as if she’d rather be anywhere else and the latter continuing to offer silent support.

“The crematorium keeper has been gracious enough to help prepare your task,” Rooke went on, tipping his head toward Grendel. “Perhaps it’s best if she explains what you’re to do.”

Grendel’s neck jerked upward as she turned frightened eyes first to Rooke and then, at his pointed nod, to Kiva. The woman licked her scarred lips, and said in a rasping voice, her throat having been damaged beyond repair when she’d received her wounds, “I’ve cleared out the second furnace for you. It’s— It’s ready to be lit once you’re . . . in there.”

Kiva swayed, and only Naari’s tightening grip kept her from falling.

When Grendel said no more, Rooke made an impatient sound and continued for her. “As you know, Zalindov’s fires are built for mass cremation, turning bodies to ash within two to three hours. But it takes less than five minutes before the flames penetrate through flesh and into organs and bones. We’ve taken all this into account, and have decided to be generous with your Trial. We’ll turn off the furnace after ten minutes, and if you’re still alive, we’ll consider you to have passed this Ordeal.”