“I wasn’t alone.Youwere out there. We were just… separated a bit.”
Luc rolled his eyes. “The third rule: don’t feed the horse any fruit,especiallyapples.”
Rolan stared. “What?”
“Apples give the horse the most obscene gas you can imagine,” said Luc gravely. “Toxic fumes to rival a Cryptic’s venom. The stench has been known to blight entirefieldsof crops. There are three duchies from which the horse is banned entirely.”
Rolan looked around, as if someone might leap out of the woodwork and tell him this was all a joke. But the Arcanist looked deadly serious, evenmoreserious than he had about the first two rules.
But then… a quirk of his lips. A twitch of his mustache.
Then all at once, Luc and Rolan burst out laughing.
Their laughter filled the house and disturbed Supper, who’d been sleeping by the hearth. The goatmaaed at them indignantly. Luc’s laugh was rumbly and deep, swelling from his belly and making his chest and beard shake.
Rolan laughed until he was wiping tears from his eyes. He couldn’t sit up straight. He doubled over, laughing and laughing until suddenly, he was crying. Curled into himself, his face buried in his hands, Rolan wept until his entire body ached.
He wascrying. The one thing he never did, at least not in front ofanyone. But he couldn’t help it. All the fear, the horror of the night that he’d kept firmly dammed up now came pouring out of him, leaking through his eyes. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
Luc said nothing the whole time, only waiting quietly for Rolan to collect himself. Eventually Rolan sat up, scrubbing at his nose with his sleeve.
“I’m sorry I went into the woods,” he whispered. “I don’t even know why I did it. I knew it would be awful, and it was. I was just so…”
“Angry,” said Luc softly, and Rolan nodded. “I know. Believe me, I know. And I’m sorry too. I’m sorryIgot angry and left like that. You… needed me, and I was too focused on my own feelings to realize it.”
Silence fell again, but this time, it didn’t feel like a noose around Rolan’s neck. He felt calm. Still ashamed and exhausted and a bit afraid. But those feelings were cushioned in a sense of peace, like maybe, if he just waited a little while, he could feel okay again.
- CHAPTER 14 -READINGFIGHTING LESSONS
The following morning while Rolan was eating porridge at the table, Luc dropped a massive book in front of him. It thudded, rattling Rolan’s dish and spilling porridge onto his lap.
“Watch it!” Rolan exclaimed. “What’s this?”
Luc sat across from him. “This is called a book.”
Rolling his eyes, Rolan scooped porridge from his lap with his spoon and popped it into his mouth. “Iknowwhat a book is. What’s it got to do with breakfast?”
“You’re going to learn how to read.”
Rolan snorted. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’mnot.” Picking up his bowl, Rolan licked it clean. Whenhe set it down again, he jumped. Luc was glaring at him with full Arcanist strength. It was like being whacked in the nose with a board.
“If you want to sleep under this roof,” Luc said gruffly, “you’ll learn how to read.”
Rolan shrugged, not nearly as bothered by that baleful glare as he’d once been. “I’ll sleep in the barn, with Apple.”
Luc waved an exasperated hand. “Who is Apple?”
“The horse. His name is Apple.”
“Oh, he told you that, did he?”
Crossing his arms, Rolan tilted back in his chair, the front legs lifting up. “Yeah, we’re friends now. On account of surviving a traumatic life-or-death experience together.”
“Okay.Fine.” Luc tipped Rolan’s chair with his foot so that he landed on all four legs with a hard plunk. “What does ‘apple’ start with?”
