“I thought you had let go of this idea,” Zaniba said.

  Eluvie sensed an argument beginning, and she was far too tired to engage in one. “I had not,” she said. “You ordered me to forget it, and I chose to outrank you instead.”

  “Moonbeam, be reasonable.”

  “Can we postpone this? I’m tired and irritable.”

  “You don’t want to postpone it. You want to avoid it altogether.”

  Eluvie spun to face him. “Yes! Because we’ve covered every inch of this ground twice. You won’t stop me, and you really should have given up by now.”

  “How could I give up?! You’ve decided to simply throw your life away. I cannot tell if it is sheer arrogance or just stupidity. Help me understand! If you won’t tell your mentor, you should be willing to tell the person who raised you. What am I supposed to do? Just let you go?!”

  Exhaustion overcame Eluvie. She turned away from him and resumed walking. When he grabbed her arm again, she turned on him and released the lock on her anger.

  “Why are you so foolish?!” she asked. “Why is it so difficult for you to see? You claim to have lived longer than me. Yet, what have you achieved? Waiting here? In this cage? Do you truly believe that if a cage is colorful and beautiful and soft it becomes less of a cage? No! It becomes more! And I cannot believe that someone I respect so much can exemplify everything I disdain!”

  She regretted the words as she spoke them, but something had broken inside her. She did not know when she would return. She did not know if she would ever return. And if she did not say the words now, when would she ever say them? She had spent centuries waiting for the right time, but it would never come.

  Zaniba's response was calmer than it should have been. "So, that is what it is. That theory."

  Eluvie rubbed her face in frustration. "I don't dream of changing your mind," she said. "I just want you to consider. Consider what has happened to you in the centuries since you last passed a trial. Ask yourself: if you had to take that trial again, would you pass it? Have you become better or worse in the time that has passed? When you can answer that question, and when you are wise enough to see that something terrible lies beyond the heights you have reached, maybe then you'll learn the things a child like me cannot teach you. I'm returning to my residence. Please tell the community that I am still exhausted and will address them tomorrow."

  She let her wings form from her back and rose into the air. Zaniba did not follow.

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  Wind rushed around her, its violence matching the turmoil inside her.

  And then, just as the vision had begun, it was gone. She was standing in the doorway of the Great Hall and staring into the dim interior. There was no crowd, no platform, and no light.

  The sudden silence was shocking after the memory's chaos. It took Eluvie several minutes to accept that she was, in fact, alone and that the crowd she had previously been aware of was not nearby. When that fact sunk in, she stumbled into the hall, searching all the while for what she did not know. There was nothing to find. Light-emitting crystals appeared in the walls as she moved around, as if they had sensed her presence. But nothing else changed.

  She tried leaving and re-entering the hall several times, but that triggered no new memories, and finally, she was forced to consider her next steps.

  Amu had been adamant that she return after retrieving this memory. She did not know how to obey that request, but she believed that it would be wise to make an attempt. And since she had no other clues, she returned to Zaniba's residence.

  The flight there felt lonely. In the real world, Illrum had dotted the landscape. Here, there was nothing but empty houses and silence. Her earlier joy at flying remained, but its intensity had diminished as the reality of her situation sank in. She had been so confident in pitching this plan to Amu and Zaniba, but only because she had seen no other opportunities. Now, if she did not deliver the results she hoped for, she could not imagine how long she would be trapped, sleeping until death.

  Back at Zaniba's residence, she landed in front of the open doorway. She did not know if walking in would trigger more memories, but she could think of no way to avoid that anyway. So, she paused at the doorway, took a breath, and stepped in. No memory captured her. No people appeared. And the house remained in the same state in which she had left it.

  She felt both relieved and disappointed.

  She searched the room again, though she expected to find nothing. Several minutes later, there was not an object in the room that she had not lifted, peered under, or prodded. If there was an exit, it was very well hidden. She was tempted to keep searching, but she knew the impulse to be driven by panic. She forcibly calmed herself.

  I am safe for now, she thought, and I will probably be safe for a while longer. If I take too long, the Illrum might be forced to evacuate, but I might find some information that allows them to return home. As long as I am alive here, they will keep me well-cared for there.

  The words stemmed some of her distress and allowed her to look at the situation with fresh eyes. The task was difficult but straightforward. Unlike in Amu's instruction, her mind was not orderly. So, the memories and exits were not ordered. But they still existed. She only needed to find the exit without absorbing too many memories. That meant avoiding doorways when possible and keeping strict track of how many memories she triggered.

  She decided to take a walk. The exertion would help her think and perhaps spark some ideas. She aimed for the nearest building. By her estimation, the walk would take half an hour. There was no risk that she would lose track of time, and therefore no drawback to the endeavor.

  She had been walking for only a few minutes when she realized that she had miscalculated. The walk would take longer - close to an hour. Yet, the scenery was pleasant, if desolate, and all her thinking had yet to produce a solution. She was walking with her eyes focused on the empty horizon rather than on the path, so naturally, she stumbled.