‘When we round that bend’ – I jumped in the saddle at Matthias’s voice, wincing as my backbone slammed down – ‘we’ll be in Asmar.’
‘Yourhome.’
‘And for the time being, it’ll be yours too. You’ll have access to my library and can hire an army of assistants who’ll answer to your every beck and call.’
‘I won’t be requiring help. I work better alone.’
His brow furrowed. ‘If that’s what you want, but the offer is there.’
I faced the road again; a small ember of rage sparked as I wished for solitude once more.
‘And Ifan has gone ahead to arrange your training with Glesni.’
A knot coiled in my gut. Damn, I’d almost forgotten our argument. The thought of a mentor poking around, trying to discover why I hadn’t trained. A shiver ran through me. What if this Glesni found out what was truly lurking under my skin? What if she saw through my lies?
‘I won’t have time for training now. You’ll have to thank her for me, but I think we have more pressing issues.’ I faced him once more, his stare firmly on me as he clenched his jaw. I remembered that look, the one that meant he was about to dig his heels in.
On cue, my temple throbbed and I clutched the reins tightly to stop myself from rubbing the pain. Something must have shown in my face as Matthias sucked in a sharp breath.
‘Keeping you alive is probably a more pressing issue, don’t you think?’
‘No. I’d say researching the archives and locating the Vyrium mines so we can stop an invasion from a bloodthirsty, power-crazed empress who’ll kill us all is more pressing.’
‘And a lot harder to achieve if you’re dead.’
‘You are aware some Anomalies survived before mentors? I don’t need this?—’
A whimper left my lips as the pain spiralled.
‘Hardly a decent argument, Sorrow,’ he said. ‘Any who made it through still died young. Passed on what little knowledge they had to those emerging till they’d built up enough knowledge to finally master their gift. That’s why mentors are so vital.’
My vision blacked over completely and suddenly the horse seemed too far from the trembling ground. Gods, this was getting harder to hide. My eyes screwed tight as pain lanced my temple. Matthias took the reins from my numb hands, pulling our horses up.
His soft hands smoothed down my brow as nausea flooded me, and I gripped the horse’s mane, breathing deeply.
‘The blight is crawling in, Sorrow,’ he said. ‘I still don’t know how you’ve survived till now.’
I pulled my face out of his caress, letting out a low hiss as the last of the pain burrowed into the space between my eyes. If he had no idea how bad this was, perhaps I could still avoid training?
‘Have you forgotten what a stubborn bitch I am? I’ve no intention of letting the blight take hold.’ I exhaled deeply and plastered on a smile that Matthias failed to return. ‘Without my notes we’re already at a disadvantage, and if I’m right – don’t look at me like that, you know I’m always right – then Romero’s searching through my notes as we speak. If he locates a mine, do you honestly think he’s going to share his good fortune with The Alliance?’
Matthias slumped in his saddle. He shook his head.
‘If you want to keep your kingdom safe, then I need to dedicate every moment I have to research. Fog reports, diafol sightings, even the damn histories and prophecies. It isn’t only the empress you need to worry about. Romero wants his own empire and he’s more than willing to watch you fall in order to secure it.’
Matthias said nothing, but kept his steady gaze on me, one dark brow raised.
‘So,’ I continued, nudging my horse on, ‘there won’t be any time for training. You’ll have to cancel.’
His horse fell into step next to mine.
‘With assistants, you’d have time to do both.’
I let out an exasperated sigh. ‘As I said, I don’t work well with others. They never understand my system or my notes and, if anything, they slow me down even further.’
‘Did you teach them? Did you take a bit of time to show them your system?’
I stared ahead as Pablo settled next to me. My horse whickered, still unused to being accompanied by a huge predator.
