“A simple test,” Emery emphasized, “which will only take a few moments—and all of you should have no trouble completing it. But I assumed it would hold your focus from the moment I mentioned it, so I’m going to explain the details of the test first, even though it will technically be the second step in this process.”

He led the five of them forward, and Sophie noticed that her legs weren’t the only ones shaking as Emery had her, Dex, Biana, Wylie, and Stina line up in that order. He positioned them several feet apart and had them face the diamond-and-crystal dome with the rest of the Councillors behind them.

“We brought you here to experience the power of the Prime Sources,” Emery said, stationing himself to their left. “Have any of you already detected their presence?”

“Yes,” Wylie breathed, his hands trembling as he wrapped his arms around himself and closed his eyes. “They’re… overwhelming.”

“I’m sure they are for a Flasher,” Emery agreed. “Just as I’m certain they’re more intense for a Vanisher.”

All eyes shifted to Biana, who’d started flickering in and out of sight like a strobe light. “Yeah, they’re… wow,” she whispered.

Emery nodded. “But even those without light talents can still feel each source if they concentrate properly. It’s easiest if you stretch out your arms and hold your palms toward the windows.”

Sophie had assumed he was only talking to her, Dex, and Stina—but when she glanced over her shoulder, all the Councillors had done the same.

“The sunlight is the easiest to identify,” Emery said quietly. “You simply need to seek out the same warm tingle you’re used to feeling on a bright summer day.”

The instruction wasn’t quite as simple as it sounded, given how freezing it was inside the Paragon. But Sophie knew from her skill lessons with Keefe that there was always more warmth around her than she realized. She just had to make her mind concentrate the right way. So she thought of that sweltering yellow glow she’d endured for most of their journey, focusing on the trickle of sweat she’d felt streaming down her back. And sure enough, she could still detect traces of that same heat prickling along her spine. She centered her mind on the feeling, and it was as if someone had turned on one of those human patio heaters, showering her with a dry, swirling warmth that erased her shivers, even though her breath was still clouding with every exhale.

“Sunlight is not a gentle heat,” Emery continued. “It’s an invisible fire that can burn all the way to your core if you let it—and that’s still only the beginning of its power. The sun always has more to give—which means it can easily become too much if we draw upon it too heavily. So we must never let ourselves take more than we have a need for. Harnessing the sun is about respect and restraint.”

“The moonlight is the opposite,” Councillor Terik informed them, limping to stand beside Emery. “It’s always cool and gentle and soothing. And it can sometimes be elusive. To find it, you must search for the soft calm you feel on a clear evening. It tends to linger in the quietest places.”

He paused, giving them time to seek out the right sensation, and it took Sophie several breaths to home in on the feeling—a cold, silky caress down the back of her neck.

“The moonlight will always be there for us in our darkest hours,” Terik continued. “But it’s also ever-changing. Sometimes weak. Sometimes strong. It all depends on the day. So we must learn to embrace the force in all its varying phases—demanding as much as we can, but never pushing for more than it has to offer. Never expecting it to be more than it is. Harnessing the moon is about managing expectations.”

“And starlight is the most varied of all the Sources,” Councillor Oralie whispered as she joined Terik and Emery, placing one slender hand against a clear pane of crystal on the curved wall. “Each star will share only the faintest flicker—unless we ask it to give us more. Then it will pour out all we need in abundance. And even when we ignore its force, or wash it away with other light, it is always there waiting. You’ll feel the starlight patiently thrumming in the background, like a steady, tingly heartbeat.”

The last word helped Sophie center on the right sensation—a pulsing shiver that felt like it was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

“Every star is different,” Oralie added softly. “And calling on too many can muddle their energy. It’s best to be deliberate when we reach for them, selecting the precise star we need and nothing more. Harnessing the stars is about choice, and utilizing them takes both knowledge and wisdom.”

“We realize all of this likely feels a bit abstract,” Emery said as Oralie stepped back from the window. “I’d wager some of you are even thinking, ‘Why does this matter? Don’t we mostly use light for leaping?’ And you’re not wrong. But light is the foundation of our world, and it affects everything. So the more we endeavor to understand and appreciate the unique attributes that each type of light comes with, the better we’re also able to understand the needs of everything that relies on that light for existence. Which is why the test we’ve chosen is the same test we take ourselves every year: We want you to leap back to Eternalia using a beam made from all three Prime Sources. It will be no more challenging than any other leap you’ve made, but it will also feel unlike anything you’ve experienced. And it will help you to better comprehend the power at your disposal—and your position in relation to that power—in a way that nothing else truly can.”

“You’ll each make your leap with two of us at your side,” Bronte added, “and those same Councillors will be your points of contact for as long as they serve and you maintain your title as Regent. You’ll report primarily to Miss Foster, of course—given that she’s your team leader—and she’ll report to all of us, both for general updates and for any larger matters. But should you need further guidance on smaller issues, know that your assigned Councillors will always be available to you. And no—you don’t get to pick who you’ll be paired with.”

Darek and Liora moved to stand beside Biana, while Clarette and Noland joined Dex, and Ramira and Velia stationed themselves by Wylie. Alina and Zarina went to Stina—who looked less than thrilled to be paired with her former principal—and Sophie realized they’d each been paired with the same Councillors who’d helped steady them when the Paragon had stopped moving.

So she wasn’t surprised when Bronte and Oralie moved to stand next to her—but she was surprised that she didn’t mind the idea of working so closely with Bronte.

Definitely a very strange day.

“Emery and I are at your disposal as well,” Terik explained. “Think of us as the team’s general overseers—those less closely involved in the nitty-gritty of it all, in order to maintain a wider perspective.”

“Is everyone ready now?” Emery asked, and when Sophie, Wylie, Dex, Biana, and Stina had nodded, one Councillor from each pairing reached into their cloaks and removed a long silver chain that held a simple crystal pendant.

The crystals were swirled with three different colors—white, silver, and gold—and looked much cloudier than the stones the elves usually used to create leaping paths. But that did nothing to dull the vibrancy of the light that was refracted at everyone’s feet when the Councillors held the pendants up to the windows. In fact, the paths were so bright that Sophie couldn’t look directly at the beams.