The yellow energy was different to the yellow lighting that occasionally sprung to life on Albert’s body. It was less like lightning than it was pure energy. It seemed to emit a sort of golden glow that encompassed the man’s arms as he used it.

  Bright yellow rope-looking things sprung from his hands and he grasped their ends as though they were physical ropes. A frown formed on Ethan’s face to replace his shock. The energy didn’t look as though it were tangible. And yet the man was very clearly holding it tight as if it were saving his life.

  The ropes, which were about the same width and height as the man’s palms, warped and twisted through the air like divine snakes and darted around with terrific speed. They were so fast that Ethan’s frown had barely even fully formed before they reached their targets.

  They bent around the two men, seemingly avoiding contact with them purposefully, and then thinned before wrapping around the barrels of their guns and wrenching them from their hands.

  The guns were tossed high into the air before the man pulled his hands back and the golden ropes disappeared.

  But he was not done.

  Almost faster than the first time, the man shot his hands out once more. This time, however, the ropes that appeared from his closed fists were a lot thinner and came much quicker than their predecessors.

  They flew through the air and wrapped around the grips of the pistols. Once they were safely grasped within his energy, the man yanked his hands down. The guns slammed into the concrete below and were smashed to pieces.

  All that had happened in about six or seven seconds.

  The two failed assassins snapped their heads around so fast Ethan wondered for a moment how they were still attached.

  ‘Do with them as you please, Prime Minister,’ the man said in a low voice before turning and beginning to walk down the street.

  ***

  Did he really think that I was going to let him just walk away like that? He had just used a power unlike anything I had ever seen before, and he thought I would let him walk away?

  ‘Restrain those two,’ I said calmly to the members of the security team below as I pointed at my two failed assassins. ‘Have them arrested but cause them no harm.’

  The security team immediately began to follow that order. I, on the other hand, went for the strange yellow-energy man.

  Using Godspeed, I blitzed my way through the air and landed a few feet in front of him in a matter of milliseconds. His blue eyes didn’t even seem startled.

  The sun necklace he wore seemed to glisten in my peripheral vision as the two of us stared into each other's eyes.

  ‘Apologies, sir,’ I began calmly. ‘But we cannot have you leaving.’

  Clouds of steam rose between the two of us from my wounds. Even through them, I could see his eyes boring into mine.

  The man merely nodded and bowed his head slightly.

  I frowned. Just what was his deal?

  In truth, his power scared me slightly. Not only did it look strangely powerful, but it also was scarily reminiscent of my Power. The only thing was that my Power was something completely different from golden ropes and glowing energy. It was an untameable beast.

  ‘What’s your name?’ I said slowly.

  ‘Laniatus,’ he returned. ‘Victor Laniatus.’

  Ethan strode up beside me. He, too, was looking at Victor with a strange expression. He seemed to be both intrigued and taken aback.

  ‘Why were you so intent on saving me, Victor?’

  Still not raising his head, Victor responded in the same low and calm voice. ‘It was the right thing to do. You are the Prime Minister.’

  Ethan and I glanced at each other. What?

  I wasn’t the most popular Prime Minister, and yet someone existed who admired me so much that they would go to such lengths to defend me?

  ‘Hm? Are you not the slightest bit curious as to the powers I was using?’

  Obviously, we were. He would’ve known that. He was playing dumb.

  What was his deal? Unless he had some ground-breaking news to share, there was no need to act this way.

  ‘Of course we are,’ I said coolly. ‘But it is hardly the topic that needs to be discussed first.’

  ‘Don’t you think it can be discussed now?’

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  ‘If you are that desperate to talk about it, then yes.’

  ‘You’ve never seen it before, have you?’ Victor continued in that same mysterious yet unbearably cocky tone. ‘The fourteenth Breathing Technique?’

  My eyes, along with Ethan’s, widened.

  The fourteenth Breathing Technique? William had only taught me and Ethan thirteen; four Bare Techniques and the other nine.

  It felt like I’d been punched. There were fourteen? And how was Victor so sure that Ethan and I had never seen this fourteenth Technique before?

  ‘What do you mean ‘the fourteenth’?’ Ethan asked slowly.

  ‘Exactly as I said,’ Victor replied, looking at the two of us and smiling. ‘There are not thirteen Techniques.’

  And as though he had not just completely changed what I thought of my training, Victor turned and began to walk away.

  ‘Hold on!’ I called after him. ‘What’s this Technique called then?’

  Victor tossed a glance over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming.

  ‘Sun Breathing, Prime Minister. But I’m afraid I do have to leave now.’

  I didn’t really feel as though it would be right if we stopped him. Of course, I was dying to know exactly what this Sun Breathing was and why we had never heard of it before, but something told me I shouldn’t stop him.

  ‘We’ve got his name,’ Ethan observed as I took a step forward. ‘You’re Prime Minister. We can find him.’

  I turned to face him. He was right. There really was no point in going after him. If Victor were willing to give us information, he would’ve done so already instead of walking away.

  But still, I was curious. I wanted to know more about this ‘Sun Breathing’.

  That would have to wait, however. I realised with a suppressed grunt that Harvey wanted me to go to Llangollen to meet the woman who took care of him whilst he was at Apercaput.

  It’s not as though I actively did not want to see her. It was more so that I didn’t actively want to. I would much rather learn about Sun Breathing than meet some random woman.

  ‘Albert!’ Cecilia’s voice called. ‘Are you okay?’

  I turned on the spot just in time for Cecilia to barrel into me. I thought she was going for a hug, which was partially correct, but she seemed more interested in checking to see if I was okay. She wrapped her arms around me and began patting my back up and down as though she were checking for bullet holes.

  ‘I tried to check on you over there but the security team wouldn’t let me!’ she practically shrieked at me. ‘There was blood everywhere!’

  ‘I’ve survived worse,’ I joked, glancing sideways at Ethan.

  ‘You’ve survived Righello twice,’ Ethan confirmed. ‘I’d say that’s worse.’

  I ignored the pain that shot through my chest when he gave that subtle reminder about the Paris fight. I couldn’t let the memories of it control me for the rest of my life. I had to move on.

  ‘Yeah…’ I sighed as Cecilia pulled away from me. ‘Way worse…’

  Some of my other friends began to join our little group, and I began to try to decide what steps to take next.

  Surely, this woman that Harvey wanted me to meet couldn’t offer anything so great that it would change the dynamic of the war as much as learning an entire new Breathing Technique. Surely.

  But I didn’t want Harvey to feel as though he wasn’t important. Or, at least, that I didn’t care about what he wanted. Despite the fact that he was bigger than me, I felt a feeling towards him somewhat similar to what I imagined one would feel towards a little brother.

  Learning the entirety of Sun Breathing would take a lot longer than just simply travelling to Wales to speak to someone.

  In that short space of time, I had reached my decision. I would go to Llangollen.

  I glanced at Harvey, who was talking to Ethan excitedly. Every so often, he would glance at me sideways in a manner that suggested he didn’t realise that I could see him looking at me.

  ‘What was all that funny energy that guy had?’ Natasha asked me quietly. I think nobody other than myself and Cecilia heard her.

  ‘He said it was Sun Breathing,’ I replied simply, not looking at her.

  Puzzled expressions appeared both on Natasha’s face and Cecilia’s.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use that one before,’ Nastaha remarked, sounding as though she were trying to recall a distant memory.

  ‘I haven’t.’

  Natasha shrugged. ‘I guess it’s just better to use Fire Breathing, then. But that ‘Sun Breathing’ did look cool.’

  ‘It did, didn’t it?’

  Natasha’s puzzled look deepened as she turned her head slightly to look me directly in the eyes.

  ‘Albert…?’ she said slowly. ‘Do you…even know Sun Breathing…?’

  I locked eyes with her. Before I even spoke, she understood what I meant.

  Her eyes widened.

  ‘Were you taught it?’

  I shook my head.

  ‘So William-’

  ‘Either didn’t know it or didn’t care to teach us,’ I said simply, completing her thought. ‘I’d like to think it’s the former. Not that I don’t want to learn it, but there’s other stuff I’ve gotta do first.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Cecilia said quietly.

  ‘Harvey wants me to go to Llangollen and meet the woman that he lived with while he attended Apercaput. He seems really desperate for me to meet her. I should probably do that before learning an entire new Breathing Technique.’

  ‘Do you reckon it’s even possible to learn one without a mentor like William?’ Ethan said loudly, joining the conversation. It seemed as though both he and Harvey had been listening.

  Harvey seemed rather pleased. I presumed that he had just heard me say that I was going to go and see this mysterious woman before doing anything else.

  ‘With enough dedication, probably,’ I shrugged. ‘Or we find Victor and make him teach us.’

  I saw Cecilia mouth ‘Victor?’, so I quickly explained to her that the man that had just saved me was called Victor Laniatus.

  ‘I need to go to Wales with Harvey, though,’ I said almost sorrowfully to Ethan. ‘You can train while I’m gone.’

  ‘It would be wrong to learn a Breathing Technique without you.’

  ‘I’ll only be like a few hours at most.’

  ‘Don’t care.’

  For the first time in days, the faint trace of a smirk began to work its way onto my face before I composed myself once more.

  ‘With all the libraries in RoCity, surely there’s gotta be something on Sun Breathing,’ Natasha suggested. ‘I could have a look while you’re in Wales.’

  ‘Don’t trouble yourself with that,’ I said quietly. ‘I can do it myself when I’m back. No problem.’

  Cecilia was watching this interaction strangely. At first, I had no idea why. But then I remembered something Emma had said when she had betrayed me.

  My heart went cold.

  I tried to remedy the situation by cautiously placing my arm around her shoulders and speaking quietly enough so that only she could hear my words.

  ‘You okay with me going to Wales with Harvey?’

  She did seem a little bit brighter. Admittedly, that may have been an illusion created by my own mind. But I prayed to the Gods that it wasn’t.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

  I shrugged. ‘Just thought I’d check with you. I should only be like a few hours.’

  The two of us smiled at one another. My heart was pounding.

  The fact that we had just uncovered that there was a fourteenth Breathing Technique was troubling my mind. It can’t have been as big as we were making it out to be. It’s not like it was war-changing. We were still in this and it was still going to be difficult.

  As I shook Cecilia’s shoulders, there was one thing that was clear to me, however.

  I had to go to Wales. I had to see this woman that Harvey was so desperate for me to meet.