Natasha had not had the most fruitful of mornings. She had found absolutely nothing on Sun Breathing. Nothing at all.

  She had scoured every book she had found that had the potential to be useful, which wasn’t very many in the first place.

  Natasha wasn’t even exactly a ‘reader’, either. It’s not as though she hated books or the thought of reading, she just had better things to do. Things she enjoyed more.

  When she had asked the librarian if they had anything on Sun Breathing, he had simply given her a strange, horrified look. It had made her wonder if it was a taboo topic.

  Ethan had offered to help her look for anything, but she had declined the generous offer. Now she regretted doing such.

  It’s not even like she was exactly interested in Sun Breathing itself, either. She just wanted to help her friends.

  As Natasha paced back and forth in the dark corner of RoCity’s central library, she eyed the restricted area in her peripheral vision as she had done many times that day already. She, obviously, did not have access to that area. She wasn’t an employee. But what if…?

  ***

  ‘You don’t think I could get into legal trouble, do you?’ Natasha asked Ethan and Cecilia after explaining her plan. ‘I don’t wanna get arrested.’

  She knew it was a stupid idea. Obviously, it was stupid. But she had to try, right?

  ‘The library definitely has defences,’ Ethan reasoned, sinking a bit deeper into his sofa. ‘Especially if there’s a restricted area.’

  ‘What sort of defences?’ she asked in response, her voice wobbling slightly. ‘Not anything that could harm me, right?’

  He merely shrugged. ‘No idea.’

  ‘Apercaput’s library had things that alerted teachers,’ Cecilia piped up. ‘This library might have something similar.’

  ‘Yeah, but you can get jail time instead of a detention,’ Ethan scoffed.

  ‘Shut up!’ Natasha spat. ‘I’m trying to help you, you know. I’d appreciate it if-’

  ‘Look, how about this?’ Ethan cut her off and leant forward slightly. ‘I’ll help you get into the library.’

  There was an awkward silence. Natasha and Cecilia glanced at one another.

  ‘Aaand what does she have to do in return?’ Cecilia tried slowly.

  ‘Nothing. That is all.’

  What?

  Natasha appreciated the sentiment, but Ethan’s original wording had made her, and apparently also Cecilia, expect that he wanted something in return.

  ‘When do you suppose we do that, then?’

  ‘Ten tonight. The sun’ll be down by then. And the library will be closed.’

  ‘What if you two get caught?’ Cecilia asked nervously.

  ‘I’ll stay on the outside of the library to stop anybody from getting in,’ Ethan explained as though it were simple. ‘If anything happens, I can get inside quickly and then get me and Natasha outta there. I am a son of Titan, after all.’

  ‘But still…’ Cecilia murmured. ‘I don’t know…I’ll come with you. Magical help will be good for you. I can do things that you can’t.’

  Natasha looked at her strangely. Had Cecilia simply forgotten that she, too, was a witch?

  She cursed herself for being so bratty. Cecilia was a far better witch than she was. Easily. Gods, Cecilia had gone to a school dedicated to magic. Natasha just didn’t compare.

  ‘How do you hope to get in there, first of all?’ Ethan asked, staring at Natasha. ‘Having a plan would be nice.’

  ‘You’re a son of Titan, not Athena,’ Natasha smirked. ‘Didn’t think you’d be so desperate for a plan.’

  Ethan cut her a look.

  ‘My bad, my bad,’ Natasha apologised, but her smirk was still there. ‘I thought I could unlock the door with magic. If it’s got defences I might not be able to do it, but Cecilia could if it requires a bit more complexity.’

  ‘Oh, thank the Gods!’ Ethan cried. ‘I thought you were gonna say something dumb like I should blow up the door.’

  ‘I’m not stupid, Ethan,’ Natasha replied sternly, before turning her attention to Cecilia. ‘Would you be okay with that?’

  ‘More than happy to oblige,’ she said, smirking.

  ‘Apparently more than happy to go along with my jokes,’ Ethan added cockily. ‘Even Cecilia thought-’

  ‘I can do it again on the inside,’ Natasha continued loudly. ‘I can get into the restricted area using magic, I’m sure.’

  ‘So…the plan is for me and Cecilia to stay outside on guard while you try and find what you want on the inside?’ Ethan asked.

  Natasha nodded. ‘Unless I need Cecilia’s help getting in. But yes, that’s the plan.’

  Ethan rose to his feet, sighing. ‘Alright, then. See you at ten, fellow criminals.’

  ***

  It was very safe to say that Natasha had never thought that she would do anything like what she was about to do in her life. She had never been one to cause trouble.

  The sky wasn’t exactly pitch black, but the sun had definitely set. The temperature was steadily falling, and Natasha suddenly wished that she had brought a hoodie.

  ‘Time to find out what in Titan’s name Victor Laniatus was talking about,’ Ethan said determinedly, glancing at Natasha and Cecilia in turn.

  ‘Sun Breathing, right?’ Natasha confirmed. Ethan nodded.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  She turned to the front door of the library. Not thirty seconds ago, Ethan had foolishly tried to open the door by rapidly shaking the handle.

  What if they actually did get into trouble for what they were about to do? Natasha would have liked to believe that Albert would fight their case and defend them if they got into legal trouble. But what if that would get him into trouble?

  Not a fan of her pounding head, Natasha pulled out her wand. She rarely used it outside of school. As she got better with magic, she found that she could use certain spells in everyday life, but, most of the time, her chance to use it was overshadowed by other members of her family doing the same.

  Without even pausing for the other two, Natasha pointed the wand at the pair of glass doors in front of her.

  ‘Aperinno.’

  Natasha was somehow surprised when her spell actually worked. A quiet click was heard before the doors retreated slightly into the blackness of the inside.

  ‘That was easy,’ Ethan remarked. ‘But be quick. We can’t risk being seen.’

  Natasha gritted her teeth and nodded at him. ‘See you in about five minutes.’

  As she stepped inside, Natasha was taken aback by just how dark it was. No matter how hard she focused or squinted, she couldn’t even make out what was a few feet in front of her.

  Jabbing her wand forward, she murmured, ‘Luxon.’

  A small ball of white light appeared at the end of Natasha’s wand, revealing the contents of the library’s main room to her.

  It was exactly as she knew it would be. The small desk in the centre, the shelves laden with books coating each and every wall, whilst even more produced small aisles for each genre.

  She wordlessly made her way towards the back of the library, scanning for the door to the restricted section. She was well aware that she had to be quick, but she still felt as though it would be best for her to make no noise, so she kept to a slightly quicker-than-usual walk.

  It would have been embarrassing if she somehow missed it. A large door with a gleaming brown knob and a huge sign above labelling it as ‘THE RESTRICTED SECTION’.

  Pointing her wand directly at the door, Natasha repeated, ‘Aperinno.’ Nothing happened.

  For a moment, she wondered whether it was because she was already using Luxon. She knew that wasn’t how it worked. She had been taught over and over again that you could still use any ordinary spell with Luxon active.

  The door had more defences.

  Natasha turned on the spot and fired her Luxon spell out of the door leading to the outside. The ball of light shot away from the tip of her wand and zoomed through the wide-open double doors right to where Ethan and Cecilia would be.

  Shit. All this and we can’t even get in.

  Within thirty seconds, Cecilia had rushed into the library and made her way over to Natasha.

  ‘No luck?’ she asked quietly. Natasha shook her head. ‘I think I can get us in, gimme a sec.’

  ***

  Ethan was kinda concerned. He had had complete faith in Natasha’s ability to swiftly get in, grab what they needed, and get out. But something had happened. Presumably, she couldn’t open the door to the restricted area.

  His mind was so alert it almost hurt. His eyes were constantly scanning the area. He wasn’t exactly looking for things that could pose a direct threat, but more so things that would give the game away.

  For all he knew, a police car could come rolling down the street any second and ask why the library door was open and what he was doing standing outside. And Ethan would have no excuses.

  He thought back to when he and Albert had trained with William Johnson in Switzerland. That had only been a year ago. It felt like it had been aeons. So much had happened since.

  For a moment, Ethan wondered where Albert was. Of course, he and Harvey had gone down to Wales to meet Harvey’s carer. But they still hadn’t come back. Had something happened?

  He tried not to trouble himself with that thought as he refocused his mind on his surroundings. Yes, Albert’s safety was vitally important to him, but Ethan had enough faith in his best friend. Albert could defend himself.

  ***

  The door slowly creaked open, revealing an even thicker darkness.

  ‘I’ll wait here,’ Cecilia whispered. ‘You go on ahead.’

  Natasha nodded, holding her bright wand in front of her body as she stepped into the forbidden section.

  Not even a week ago she had faced crazed gunmen. She had been mere inches away from death. And yet somehow she still felt more fear entering this section of the library than she had ever felt on that battlefield.

  It smelled like the past. It was as though nobody had stepped foot inside in years, maybe even decades. Natasha could almost feel the dust entering her nostrils with every breath she took.

  As she walked down what she would have assumed to be the main aisle but what could’ve been the only aisle, she frantically scanned the books on either side of her. Some appeared to be titled in Latin or Greek. The Greek titles were instantly translated by her brain, but the Latin ones could’ve been anything. It could’ve been what she was looking for.

  ‘Gods, what even is this stuff?’ she murmured to herself as she swatted away something that brushed against her face.

  She had to remind herself almost every other second that she was safe. If anything went south, she had her sword and shield. If things continued to get worse, there was Cecilia. If things got worse past that point, Ethan was right outside. She was completely fine.

  For a split second, Natasha was certain that she saw the name ‘Santrrer’ out of the corner of her left eye. She dismissed it. Perhaps she had seen it wrong. At the very least, she was not here for a book about Albert’s past.

  She made it two steps away from the book before she turned back for it. Gently picking up the book, Natasha began to scan the cover. The image depicted on the front showed a man who looked a lot like what she could see Albert looking like when he turned about forty. Of course, the image was in black and white, but she could see the resemblance.

  Control

  By Albert Santrrer I

  Albert Santrrer I? Natasha had never been fascinated with History, but she had heard a thing or two about how exactly RoCity came to be. But all she knew was that Albert’s ancestor, obviously with the surname ‘Santrrer’ built the city to protect his people. She had never known that the founder of RoCity’s name had also been Albert. Did that make the Albert she knew Albert Santrrer II?

  Without even thinking, Natasha opened to the front page, and what met her eyes was even more astonishing than the fact that the book existed at all.

  In the middle of the Contents Page lay the words:

  Chapter 10 – Confussée

  If the human jaw could fall off from pure shock, Natasha’s definitely would have in that moment.

  What did that mean? Had the original Albert Santrrer fought a Confussée just like her friend Albert was doing now? Did the Santrrer family and Confussée family have a long-standing negative history with one another?

  She smiled to herself as she realised that this would make Albert and Cecilia pretty much real-life versions of Romeo and Juliet.

  Natasha turned to the page that began Chapter 10, and her confusion only deepened. All of the pages had been ripped out. Not exactly cleanly, but there wasn’t a single page of Chapter 10. Right next to the page titled Chapter 10 was the page titled Chapter 11.

  There must have been a good reason. Nobody would just rip out an entire chapter for nothing. Especially one that was obviously important.

  Natasha placed her wand in her mouth so that she could have an easier time flicking through the book, but this revealed something else to her. With the angle that the light from her wand was now falling onto the bookshelf in front of her, the book that she had come for had been revealed to her.

  The Original Breathing Style

  Laniatus

  Part of the front cover had been torn off, coincidentally hiding the forename of the author from Natasha.

  Grunting in frustration, she put down the book written by Albert’s namesake and quickly grabbed the book by the Laniatus fellow. She was beginning to feel uneasy. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but she needed to get outside, and fast.

  She hurriedly walked back towards the entrance to the restricted section, where Cecilia was still waiting for her.

  ‘You got it?’ Cecilia murmured, already pointing her wand at the door in preparation to lock it again

  Natasha merely nodded. Immediately, she heard Cecilia begin to murmur a spell unknown to her and the door began to lock.

  Silently hoping that Cecilia would hurry up, Natasha began to think about whether or not she should’ve picked up the other book. Maybe it was important. Who was she kidding? It was obviously ridiculously important.

  She told herself not to worry about it. After all, if they really needed it, they could always come back to the library. They had gotten into the restricted section once, they could definitely do it again.

  The second Cecilia finished locking the door, she and Natasha made their way to the front door of the library with ease. And, for what felt like the millionth time that evening, Natasha’s body filled with shock.

  Ethan, too, had an expression of such extreme shock on his face that he was almost unrecognisable. Cecilia stopped locking the door and merely gasped.

  In front of the three of them, with blood dripping from his scalp and arm, stood Harvey.