Chapter 3 — The Test

Lena didn’t make it ten steps.

A hand slammed into her shoulder and yanked her backward.

Hard.

She hit the ground.

Dust filled her mouth.

Someone grabbed her arms before she could scramble up.

“Got her!”

The shout echoed across the square.

Lena twisted, kicking wildly, but two guards pinned her down.

Her heart dropped.

So much for running.

She looked up.

Kai stood a few yards away.

Breathing steady.

Face unreadable.

Like he hadn’t just told her to run.

Like he hadn’t shoved her toward freedom seconds ago.

Anger flashed through her chest.

“You set me up,” she snapped.

Kai didn’t answer.

Behind him, the elders pushed through the crowd again.

The square had gone silent.

Everyone was watching.

Waiting.

Elder Marrik stopped in front of Lena.

His sharp eyes moved from her face to the glowing mark on her wrist.

The golden line had flared again during the chase.

It was impossible to hide now.

“Interesting,” the elder murmured.

Lena struggled against the guards again.

“Let me go.”

No one listened.

The elder turned slightly.

“Bring the stone.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

Two attendants hurried forward carrying a flat black slab about the size of a shield.

They placed it in the dirt in front of the elders.

Lena frowned.

“What is that?”

No one answered.

Elder Marrik looked back at her.

“An old test,” he said calmly.

“For dangerous abilities.”

Her stomach tightened.

“I don’t have an ability.”

The elder’s mouth twitched.

“You ran fast enough for someone who claims ignorance.”

The guards hauled Lena to her feet.

Her legs shook slightly.

Not from weakness.

From the burning in her wrist.

The mark pulsed under her skin.

Like it knew something was coming.

“Place her hand on the stone,” Marrik ordered.

Lena pulled back immediately.

“No.”

A guard shoved her forward.

Her boots scraped the dirt.

“I said no.”

Kai moved then.

He stepped forward slowly.

The crowd went quiet again.

He stopped in front of her.

His voice was calm.

“Do it.”

She stared at him.

“You’re serious?”

Kai’s expression didn’t change.

“You don’t have a choice.”

Lena’s chest rose and fell quickly.

He wasn’t wrong.

The guards forced her closer to the slab.

The black stone looked ordinary.

Which made it worse.

“What does it do?” she asked.

No answer.

Kai grabbed her wrist.

His grip was firm.

Not cruel.

Just unmovable.

For a split second his thumb brushed the glowing mark.

Emotion flickered across her mind again.

Tension.

Control.

And something else.

A warning.

For a heartbeat, Lena felt something else beneath his control.

Recognition.

Like the mark on her wrist knew him.

“Stay calm,” he murmured under his breath.

Then he pressed her palm down onto the stone.

The reaction was instant.

The slab lit up.

A deep golden glow spread beneath Lena’s hand.

Gasps exploded from the crowd.

The mark on her wrist flared violently.

Pain shot up her arm.

Lena cried out.

The glow spread across the entire stone.

Lines appeared on the surface.

Strange symbols burning with light.

“What is that?” someone shouted.

Elder Marrik’s eyes narrowed.

“Impossible.”

The power surged again.

Hot.

Wild.

Emotion slammed into Lena’s chest.

Not just one feeling this time.

Hundreds.

Fear.

Anger.

Panic.

All coming from the crowd.

All pouring into her at once.

Her knees buckled.

Kai grabbed her arm to keep her upright.

“Breathe,” he muttered.

“I can’t!” she gasped.

The energy kept building.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

The mark burned brighter.

The symbols on the stone began to crack.

Thin fractures spread across the surface.

The elder stepped back.

“Remove her!”

Too late.

The slab exploded.

Light burst outward like a shockwave.

The guards were thrown backward.

Several people screamed.

Lena collapsed to the dirt.

The burning vanished instantly.

Silence crashed over the square.

Dust drifted through the air.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Lena lifted her head.

The stone slab was shattered.

Broken pieces scattered across the ground.

The elders stared in stunned silence.

Someone whispered.

“She destroyed it.”

Another voice trembled.

“That stone survived the war trials.”

Lena pushed herself up onto her elbows.

“I didn’t mean to…”

A shout cut her off.

“Look!”

Everyone turned.

A guard lay a few yards away.

Blood pooled beneath his head.

He wasn’t moving.

The crowd gasped.

Elder Marrik’s face hardened instantly.

“Echo power,” he said coldly.

Lena’s heart dropped.

“No.”

She scrambled to her feet.

“I didn’t touch him!”

The elder pointed at the shattered stone.

“You destroyed a sacred testing relic.”

His gaze shifted to the unmoving guard.

“And now one of our men lies dead.”

“I didn’t do that!” Lena said desperately.

But the crowd was already pulling back.

Fear spreading through them.

“She killed him.”

“She exploded the stone!”

“She’s unstable!”

The accusations came fast.

Lena looked wildly at the guard on the ground.

He hadn’t been near her when the stone shattered.

Something wasn’t right.

Her eyes moved across the square.

And stopped.

Kai was staring at the dead guard.

Not with shock.

With suspicion.

Then Lena noticed something else.

A thin black dart sticking out of the man’s neck.

Kai crouched beside the fallen guard.

His fingers moved quickly to the man’s neck.

Then he froze.

A tiny black dart protruded from the skin.

Almost invisible.

Kai’s eyes darkened.

Poison.

His gaze lifted slowly toward the council platform.

Someone here had planned this.

Long before Lena ever touched the stone.

Long before she ever ran

Her breath caught.

Someone had killed him.

Not her.

But before she could say anything…

Elder Marrik raised his hand.

“Enough.”

The square went quiet.

His voice turned sharp.

“This creature is too dangerous to remain among us.”

Lena’s stomach twisted.

“I’m not a creature.”

“You destroyed our relic.”

“I didn’t know what it would do!”

“And now you kill our guards.”

“I didn’t kill him!”

The elder didn’t even look at the body again.

His judgment had already been decided.

“Commander Kai.”

Kai stepped forward slowly.

The crowd parted for him.

The elder spoke clearly so everyone could hear.

“You brought this threat to light.”

Kai’s eyes flicked briefly to the poison dart.

Then to Lena.

His expression hardened.

“The law is clear,” Marrik continued.

“An Echo cannot live inside the enclave.”

The words hung heavy in the air.

Lena’s pulse thundered.

She already knew what came next.

The elder lifted his staff.

“Execute her.”

The square exploded into whispers.

Lena’s chest tightened painfully.

Her eyes locked onto Kai.

He had warned her.

Told her to run.

But now…

He stepped closer.

Slow and deliberate.

His hand moved to the dagger at his belt.

The blade slid free with a soft metallic sound.

The entire square watched.

No one moved.

Lena’s throat went dry.

Kai stopped right in front of her.

His shadow fell across her face.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

Then he leaned down slightly.

Close enough that only she could hear.

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Someone just framed you.”

Her breath caught.

“I know,” she whispered back.

Kai’s grip tightened on the dagger.

“Good.”

His eyes flicked briefly toward the crowd.

Then back to her.

“Because the person who did it…”

He pressed the blade lightly against the rope binding her wrists.

“…is still standing in this square.”

The rope snapped.

Lena froze.

Kai lifted the dagger.

The crowd leaned forward.

Lena closed her eyes.

The blade flashed downward and struck the dirt beside her.

Gasps rippled through the square.

Kai straightened slowly.

His voice carried across the crowd.

“If she truly holds Echo power,” he said coldly, “then killing her like an animal proves nothing.”

Lena’s head snapped up.

A murmur moved through the crowd.

Elder Marrik lifted a hand slowly.

“An execution without proof breeds doubt,” he said calmly.

“If she truly carries Echo power, the trial will expose it for all to see.”

His gaze swept across the watching villagers.

“And when she fails…”

His voice hardened.

“…no one will question her death.”

The crowd quieted.

Satisfied.

Kai’s gaze moved to the elders.

“Let her earn a warrior’s death.”

A ripple of excitement moved through the square.

A public fight was far better than a quiet execution.

Then Elder Marrik’s lips curled into a thin smile.

“Very well.”

The elder lifted his staff and turned to the crowd.

“She will fight.”

Lena’s heart pounded.

Fight who?

Lena’s gaze moved across the crowd.

Warriors stood everywhere.

Dozens of them.

Elder Marrik’s smile slowly widened.

“But not the commander.”

The crowd leaned forward.

Anticipation thick in the air.

“She will face three.”

Three warriors stepped forward from the crowd.

Steel flashed as their weapons came free.

And every eye in the square turned back to Lena.