Mathis eyes me cautiously.

  “How is a fire elemental supposed to help? Don’t they normally just burn things?”

  “You’ll see,” I tell him mysteriously, though a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. I can’t help teasing Mathis a little – he’s done it often enough to me since realising I’m not some stiff nobleman who will clap him in irons at the slightest provocation. Though I don’t doubt my trainers will still beat me mercilessly in the training yard, the last three days of travel have shown me another side to them. “Hold this up, would you?” I ask, lifting the edge of the skirt.

  He grips the skirt without comment, though I see the question burning in his eyes. My grin fades as I focus. Aingeal can handle the buoyancy of the balloon while we’re flying, but right now I want to challenge myself – to dual-wielding two elements.

  I pool fire in my left hand, steady and warm with flames that lick at my fingers. Easy enough. The real challenge is splitting focus: keeping that flame alive while shaping wind with my right. Time and time again, the fire gutters out as I try to transform my other hand’s mana into wind-magic.

  I could just let the natural breeze on this rooftop blow through the fire in my hand; angle the skirt of the balloon to catch it. But I’m stubborn – I know that I could do amazing things if I’m able to combine my elements.

  Finally, my persistence pays off. A victorious smile breaks as I draw air through the flame, heating it before sending it into the envelope Mathis holds. The exercise forces me to concentrate fully – I have to keep a steady stream of mana moving into my left hand while varying the amount that goes into my right hand according to the wind’s demands. But by the time the balloon is full enough to rise in the air and begin tugging at the basket, I feel a little more confident with working with these two elements together. I have a feeling that each elemental pair will have its own characteristics, but having succeeded at all lifts my mood a little from being consumed with worry.

  Alright everyone, wake up. We’ll have breakfast on the way – let’s go, I announce impatiently in our network. No one complains about being woken up, not even Lathani.

  Aingeal is the first to arrive, zipping through the air from wherever he’d been hiding, and I talk him through his task. As expected, he’s thrilled at being able to participate, especially when I promise him some of my fire-mana to compensate for what he’ll lose by acting as our heater. He zooms inside the balloon and I see his glow even through the hide – like a firefly in a paper bag. That could be a problem, I worry.

  Jumping up, I make contact with the material of the balloon and concentrate on activating its camouflage properties. The light spidersilk shimmers and then almost seems to disappear under my fingers. It doesn’t vanish entirely, and when it moves in the breeze, I see a distortion in the air. But I don’t see Aingeal’s glow anymore, so it’s good enough.

  The basket starts creaking and shifting a little on the rooftop.

  “Too much, Aingeal!” I exclaim – the little elemental is capable of controlling how much heat he puts off, which is why I’ve given him this task to begin with. But like his attempts to control his light output at first, he can be a little…enthusiastic.

  Controlling the wind, I pull a bit of the hot air out of the balloon and replace it with cool. The basket settles back down on the rooftop.

  In the meantime the rest of my companions have joined me, either flying up to the rooftop or climbing the stairs which I used to get up here. Kalanthia proves that cats truly are liquid by reaching the rooftop through a door which is far smaller than she is. Fortunate, since I wouldn’t have wanted to descend into a lower space – the sharp yet ornamental spikes that decorate the walls of the building might accidentally puncture the balloon envelope. Why even choose spikes for decoration?!

  Aingeal practises his control by increasing his output to match each of our companions climbing into the basket, keeping the whole thing light enough that even a non-enhanced person would be able to lift the construction, but not light enough that it floats away by itself. Though it does come close a few times when a gust of wind makes a mockery of his increasing control – I had to grab the rope and keep it forcibly grounded. I’m rather glad when Kalanthia comes – she takes over holding the basket down while everyone else climbs in. That even includes Mathis, Laeman, Pelan, and the tracker – Sulir. Regan will be staying with Nicholas to help guard him where his Bonded can’t.

  I know you’re in a hurry, Nicholas’ voice comes, but you need to say farewell to our host. And I have something for you.

  Speak of the devil, I say to myself. I sigh – he’s right. It’s just basic politeness. OK, I’ll be there in a moment, I project to Nicholas.

  “Alright, everyone, get settled – I’ll be with you shortly. I just need to speak to Nicholas.”

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  I head down the stairs to the side of the roof. Lord Pevril and Nicholas are both at its foot. Lord Pevril is staring up at where the balloon is…well, not entirely visible because of its camouflage, but noticeable when one knows where to look. His eyes are wide and fascinated.

  “What is that, my lord?”

  “A hot air balloon,” I say shortly, not wanting to spend more time here than I must. Though I’m a little amused that he’s so fascinated that he didn’t even greet me ‘properly’. Ah well, it’s not like I’m going to complain. “Lord Pevril, I must thank you sincerely for your hospitality. However, I have obligations elsewhere and must part sooner than I would like.” Formalities are always annoying, but at least I know what they are now.

  The lord in question tears his gaze away from my construction and bows briefly to me.

  “Of course, of course. I am honoured that you found my humble home worthy of your presence. And my deepest thanks in return again for your help last night. You are welcome to return at any time, certainly.” Then he departs a little from the usual forms as a sly grin teases the corner of his mouth. “Especially if you allow me to examine this…hot air balloon of yours.”

  I can’t stop the slight smile from tugging at my own lips. I think I like Lord Pevril.

  “I promise that if it’s still in one piece by the time we return, you can examine it to your heart’s content.”

  He claps his hands together and bounces slightly on his toes.

  “We are indeed grateful for your hospitality,” Nicholas cuts in, his tone smooth. “Now, Lord Pevril, if you will give me a moment, I need to speak to my heir.”

  “Of course, of course,” the man says again, then withdraws, choosing to move back to where he’ll get a better view of the basket as well as the balloon. I consider telling him he can get a closer look, but Nicholas starts speaking and my mind moves onto other matters.

  “Here,” he says, presenting me with a ring. I accept it slowly.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s the Heir ring – I should have given it to you earlier. While your magical seal and identity papers can be used to formally prove your identity, this seal is useful for sealing correspondence – it has an enchantment which renders wax inert to magic once it has been used. Thus, no one can restore the seal once broken. Not without a trace. And it embeds the wax with its own signature which can be checked to ensure that the seal on the letter is still the original wax.” That does sound useful. I take the ring and slide it onto my right index finger, as I see Nicholas wears one that’s similar. As expected, the ring’s face bears the crest of the Titanbends, though I notice a character in the centre of the spider’s web which means ‘heir’.

  “Thanks. I presume it can be used as an informal proof of identity too?” I ask.

  “Indeed – only one of the family can wear it. It will refuse to go on the hand of any other.” Interesting. I wonder how it does that – does it just get too small to fit, or is it more violent? “It doubles as a very small emergency storage space which only its wearer can access. We generally keep a bag of mixed coins in there – for eventualities. Feel free to use it if you somehow are unable to access your bank pouch.”

  “Useful,” I agree. “How do I access it?” I frown as I try and can’t figure it out.

  “It’s a physical code. Clench your hand, open it, run your thumb over the band, clench your hand again, and then it will render the contents into your hand. To put something in it, do the same process in reverse, clenching around the object in question. But it can’t hold anything bigger than the pouch of gold currently in there – trying will cause the deposit to fail.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, but apparently he’s not done. He draws closer and I wonder why he’s not using the Bond to speak to me.

  “I checked the position of your Bonded only a mark ago.”

  “You can do that?” I ask, surprised. “Didn’t you need my blood?”

  “Not for this ritual – I just placed the stones on the map and compared if the resonances are still the same. It is far less intrusive and difficult than the ritual we did before. If the answer had been negative, we would have needed to redo the full ritual.”

  “Then I take it that the answer was positive?”

  Nicholas nods slightly.

  “They are still in Sandend, that is for sure. Whether they are in the exact same location is another question.”

  “Well, since we didn’t know that to begin with, that doesn’t tell us anything,” I remark. Then I look at Nicholas seriously. “Thank you.”

  My companions might have been taken as a result of me becoming Heir Titanbend, and thereby inheriting the Titanbends’ enemies, but at least he’s doing his best to help me get them back.

  “Find your Bonded and punish those who took them,” Nicholas tells me earnestly. “But please consider the House too.”

  I sigh.

  “If I can, I will, but I make no promises, especially if they’re in bad condition,” I warn. Nicholas sighs too.

  “I understand.”

  Actually, that reminds me…

  “What do you want to do about our Bond? Break it or keep it?”

  Nicholas shrugs elegantly with his hand.

  “It is not bothersome and I have become accustomed to its presence. I would choose to keep it – then I can know if you have met some difficulty you are unable to overcome alone.”

  “Alright,” I agree. “And likewise.”

  “Very well. Be careful, Markus,” Nicholas warns.

  “You too.” There’s an arsonist running around, after all.

  With my farewells said, and an unexpected gift around my finger, I climb the stairs and then jump into the balloon. Kalanthia steps in delicately after me – the last left on the rooftop.

  “Alright, Aingeal, Ivor, and Noir. Let's show them how this is done.” Aingeal flares in excitement, and the balloon rises rather rapidly. Ivor and Noir grip the ropes I prepared for them in their claws and start flying forwards. I don’t think that I’m imagining the exclamation of excitement that drifts up from down below, and a smile pulls at the corner of my mouth.

  We’re off. River, Artemis, Trouble…everyone. We’re coming.

  here!

  here!

  here!

  here