Petra gives a weak smile, adjusting her hands on the hilt of her blade. “And you spoke first to Harper, and now to me. Does this mean he has passed your test?”

“Harper, as you call him, is not the subject of my test. He is, shall we say, beyond the testing. But you, Petra, priestess of battle, are not. Nor are you, Daniel, assassin of the spinning blades.”

I look at Daniel. He looks pale, like the blood in his face all decided it had somewhere much more important to be. ...