Rollan entered the room, the falcon on his shoulder. “Am I late?”

Conor looked up, relief stamped on his face. “Glad you’re here.”

Some quiet understanding passed between them. What had she missed? Had they discussed her in private? With Zhong under attack, she didn’t want to spend any time worrying about such trivial things — but she couldn’t help it, and that annoyed her.

“Nobody else has shown up yet?” Rollan asked.

“Not yet,” Conor said.

Rollan scanned the weapons held in racks against the walls: swords, scimitars, knives, spears, polearms, axes, staves, and clubs. “Are we going to fight to the death?”

“Nothing that exciting,” Tarik said, entering the room with two other men and a woman. All three wore green cloaks and were new to Meilin. They paid rapt attention to Essix and Briggan. “We evaluate all new recruits to gauge their abilities.”

Rollan looked at the other Greencloaks. “Who are your friends?”

“Observers,” Tarik answered calmly. “They’ll assist you as needed. Pay them little mind. I just want to put each of you through a few exercises.”

“Finally,” Rollan grumbled, “somebody to stare at us.”

The two men crossed to Conor and Rollan. The woman approached Meilin. She was thick but not flabby, and had a no-nonsense look about her.

“Meilin, could you produce Jhi?” Tarik asked.

Meilin focused her attention on the simple tattoo on the back of her hand. When her interest was elsewhere, she hardly noticed the mark. But now she could perceive warmth beneath the image, a vague presence. She mentally called to Jhi, imagined a door opening, and then with a flash the tattoo vanished and Jhi appeared.

“Well done,” Tarik complimented. “Some who have newly learned to use the passive state struggle to release their animals. You did that swiftly, which is important. While passive, your spirit animal cannot aid you.”

Meilin gave a nod and a modest smile. Although accustomed to praise, she was not entirely immune to its effects. She noticed the boys, particularly Rollan, watching her enviously. Keeping her eyes on Tarik, she pretended not to care.

“Please allow your escorts to blindfold you,” Tarik instructed. “We’re going to test your awareness of your spirit animals without the aid of sight.”

Meilin held still as the woman placed a blindfold over her eyes.

“Do you guys fight a lot with your eyes closed?” Rollan asked.

Meilin had been thinking the same thing, but she never would have said it.

“This will simulate a situation where your spirit animal is out of view,” Tarik explained patiently, as if the question had not been meant to rattle him. “Relax and follow instructions.”

A hand took Meilin by the elbow and led her several paces. With great care, she retained a sense of where she stood in the room. She waited for perhaps a minute.

“The animals have all changed position,” Tarik announced. “I now challenge each of you to point out the location of your animal. I respectfully ask the animals to keep silent.”

Meilin strained her senses but could neither hear nor smell anything. She thought about the vague presence she could feel beneath the tattoo when Jhi was in her dormant state, and tried to sense a similar presence around her. Nothing.

“Good, Conor. Very close,” Tarik said.

Meilin kept her face composed but felt disappointed. Could Conor have a stronger connection to his spirit animal than she had to hers? He couldn’t even use the passive state! Maybe he had made a lucky guess.

“I’m sorry, Rollan, you’re way off,” Tarik said. “But good job, Conor. Briggan is moving and you’re tracking him well.”

Meilin silently ordered Jhi to make herself known. From the start, Jhi had obeyed her requests, but Meilin still felt nothing.

“Meilin,” Tarik said, “if you’re unsure, rely on your instincts.”

She didn’t want to point randomly, but maybe Tarik was giving her a hint. Maybe her awareness of her creature was something felt only at an instinctive level. That might explain why Conor was good at it — she doubted his problem would be too much thought.

Following a whim, Meilin extended a finger to the right.

“Not even close, Meilin,” Tarik said, with a touch of humor in his tone.

Meilin pointed to the left.

“Better, but still far off,” Tarik reported.

Meilin had to work to keep her expression neutral. What sort of absurd contest was this? She silently demanded for Jhi to reveal herself. Once again, she sensed nothing.

“Not bad, Rollan,” Tarik said. “Not good, but you’re doing too well for it to only be chance. Conor, you’re a natural at this.”

Meilin tried not to feel flustered. She had never attempted to sense Jhi like this. Had the boys practiced? Probably.

“Care to try one more time, Meilin?” Tarik asked.

She pulled off her blindfold. “I feel nothing.” She looked to where Jhi strolled near one wall of the training area, led by an escort.

“It’s not unusual,” Tarik told her.

Meilin watched Conor’s finger follow Briggan, staying on the animal even when the wolf reversed direction. Essix flew around overhead. Rollan seemed to be able to identify which half of the room the bird was in, but not much else.

“How can I improve?” Meilin asked.

“You can already call Jhi to her passive state,” Tarik acknowledged, “so earning the trust of your beast does not seem to be the problem. I imagine it will just take time to strengthen your connection. Part of that includes your receptiveness to her.”

Meilin nodded. Jhi always obeyed her orders, so what had gone wrong? Perhaps Tarik was right. Perhaps the panda was trying. Meilin frowned. Maybe she was the one unable to receive the cues. Aside from Jhi’s obedience, they weren’t very close. What would it take? Deep affection? Mutual understanding? It was hard to respect such a docile, slow animal. But Jhi was her spirit animal. There would be no other. Meilin knew she had to make it work.

“You may remove your blindfolds,” Tarik invited.

Meilin glanced at the weapons on the walls. The wooden swords were obviously practice gear. Many of the arms looked real, though some of them could be blunted. With or without help from Jhi, Meilin expected she could dominate either of the boys in just about any form of combat. Such a demonstration would be satisfying, but would it be wise? Her father had always told her to keep her abilities private so she could surprise adversaries in times of need.