“Yes, Lirahna. It’s when you put one foot in front of the other and–”
“Gods, you’re insufferable. What exactly will make this worth my while?”
Septimus considered me for a moment, finger tapping playfully against his chin. “Hmm. What does Lirahna Aldhur want most desperately? Perhaps, the answers to some of her burning questions?” Septimus held his hand to his heart. “I solemnly swear that if you are obedient and do your best to follow my training instructions this morning, I will truthfully answer any three questions you have.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re lying.”
“Am not.”
“Fine. Then tell me, what’s the second challenge?”
Septimus tutted. “You didn’t listen to my rules. I said I will answer any three questions if you follow my training instructions. Have you followed them yet?”
“No,” I grumbled.
“Very good. Now.” Septimus rubbed his hands together and golden sparks danced from his fingertips. “Let’s go for that walk, shall we?”
I didn’t have much of a choice but to trust he would hold up his end of the bargain; I had too many questions spinning around my head to pass up the opportunity. Following Septimus, my thoughts churned. When he did not turn left at the stairwell like I had expected him to, I said, “We’re not going to the sparring room?”
Septimus shook his head. “I’m taking you somewhere I’ve only ever taken a few people. My favorite place in the entire world.”
I wondered if he had taken Lana where he was leading me now. “What’s the deal with you and Lana?” The question rose as I trudged behind him, past Valhan House and up a steep slope, the mountains a towering beast above us.
“Is that one of your questions?”
“No. Just curious, I guess. She’s my best friend.” I didn’t know when that had happened, but somehow, Lana had wormed her way in and now she was the closest thing I had to family in this foreign land.
“And you want to know if my intentions are nefarious?”
“Not nefarious, just… I don’t know. It’s not my place. Forget I asked.”
Septimus extended a hand to help me over a particularly jagged rock on the slope. “I like Lana. She reminds me of what it feels like to be young again.”
Septimus hardly looked a day over twenty-five.
“How old are you, anyway?”
“So many questions from sweet little Lirahna.”
I glared at him. “Stop calling me sweet.”
“Of course,” he mocked. “You’re a vicious thing. Darkness scatters when you walk.”
I puffed out a breath, my calves aching from my earlier run and the grueling hike up the slope. “Is climbing a cliff part of my training, or is this just for your own amusement?”
“Amusement,” he sang. “We’re not too far off, though. It’s just a little farther up. And, for being such a great sport, I will answer one of your, hopefully very well thought-out, questions.”
“What’s the second challenge?” I repeated.
“It’s one of wit and quick thinking.”
Wit and quick thinking? “So, it’s a mental challenge? Like a puzzle?”
“Is that your second question?”
I glowered at his back, “No. You’re not playing fair. You said you’d answer truthfully.”
“And I have,” Septimus tossed over his shoulder. “It’s not my fault your questions are vague.”
