Page 79 of Brimstone

“They are.”

“They’re not just tattoos?”

“No. Look, is this going somewhere? Because I have a forge to get to.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

I blinked at the unexpected change in questioning. “I’m sorry?”

“Alchemists required a lot of sleep to regulate their power. Their bodies needed rest in order to tap into their magic effectively. You look like you haven’t rested in weeks.”

“Wow.Thanks.” The vampire sure had a way with words. My skin was porcelain these days, pale and flawless. There were no bags under my eyes. My eyes were bright. Personally, I thought I looked pretty good for someone who had just been through hell and back, but according to Foley, I looked like shit. He must have been able to read my annoyance on my face, because he averted his eyes, dipping his chin—the closest I was going to get to an apology, I presumed.

“When I first transitioned, I didn’t sleep, either,” he admitted. I got the feeling this wasn’t something he enjoyed talking about a great deal. “My body didn’t feel tired. I was . . . restless. That’s how it goes for some people. But rest is important even for vampires. I learned the hard way that the consequences can be dire if you don’t rest the body and the mind.”

Restless. That was precisely how I felt. I couldn’t seem to sit still. “And how am I supposed to make myself sleep if my body simply won’t let me?” I asked.

“I don’t know what will work for you,” he replied. “I found I had to enter a trance state to trick my body into it at first. That helped.”

“A trance state? How did you managethat?” My mind was so loud. There were five trains of thought careening through my head at all times. The very idea of trying to quiet them enough to enter a trance was laughable.

“Find a focal point and fix your gaze to it,” Foley said. “Try to hear nothing but what is happening in the room around you. Let your eyes lose focus. Drift.” He spread his fingers, palm up. “It isn’t easy to accomplish. But mastery of the mind is a pursuit worthy of queens and peasants alike. And an especially worthy pastime for an Alchemist. Some magics are reflexive. They come to a person automatically, like breathing. But an Alchemist’s magic can only be harnessed.”

A brightness had come to him. A spark of interest in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. It opened his features. Made him look younger. Less angry.

I was going to ask the question, but Lorreth got there first. Leaning across the table toward his friend, he said, “We hoped you might remember information about the Alchemists. From your grandfather.”

The vampire smiled for the first time since he had tackled me to the ground. When I was human, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see the engraved swirls on the gold that plated his canines, but my senses had improved significantly of late. The pattern was intricate and beautiful. It was hard not to stare at them. “I learned from him, yes. But as I told you a moment ago, I’ve spent the past thousand years with only these books and the stars for company. I know them all like the backs of my hands.”

“Will you help us, then?” Lorreth was a measured male. He kept his emotions in check at the best of times, but now he seemed to be guarding them extra closely. It was almost as if he didn’t want Foley to know how badly we needed guidance. “Can you help us figure out how to seal her runes?”

I resented having to ask the male for anything at all, given the stunt he’d just pulled, but Foley was the first person we had come across in all of Yvelia who knew anything about the Alchemists and their magic. And if I didn’t get help soon, something bad was going to happen. I could feel it in my bones.

“If you do know how to seal these things,” I said, holding up my hands, “providing a little guidance would go a long way toward making up for the fact that you just tried to snap my neck.”

The vampire’s expression implied he didn’t really feel bad about what had transpired and didn’t care about making it up to me, either. But he inclined his head, wearing a stiff smile. “Anything for Kingfisher’s mate.”

“Great. Let’s get to work, then. The sooner I can close off the magic pouring into these—”

“Sleep first,” he said. “Without rest, you won’t be able to accomplish anything at all. And besides, I need time to collate the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years. I must track down numerous titles and crosscheck information—”

“But you saw what I just did to the wall! What if I destroy an entirewingof the palace next?”

“You won’t destroy anything.You’ll be asleep.”

He was firm in his answer, but I tried one last time, just in case. “Foley—”

“You arenotmy queen.” There was no hate in this now. Only resolve. “I will help you, but not now. Your body might not feel it, but your control is clearly weak,” he said, gesturing to the gaping hole in the stonework on the other side of the library. “I’m only half sure of the steps we need to take, and I don’t know about you, but any situation I have entered into tired and uninformed has never gone well. So you should sleep, and I should read. Those are the only conditions under which I will help you in this.”

“Still stubborn as a mule, then,” Lorreth said. He grunted, getting to his feet. “Glad to seethathasn’t changed, at least. Heisright, though, Saeris. If resting will give you a better chance of controlling your magic come evening tomorrow, then I can’t see the hurt in it. It’s just one more day.”

This was worse than when Elroy had refused to teach me how to make weapons until I’d mastered the art of making glass. The old man’s words damn near rang in my ears even now.

“Until you learn how to be gentle, I will not teach you how to be violent.”

There had been sense in his approach; I’d been too eager to construct the method of my revenge against Madra and her guardians. I had been reckless and foolish back then and liable to get myself killed doing something stupid. But learning how to blow and manipulate the glass Elroy was known for had taught me patience. Ish.

“All right. Fine. First thing tomorrow evening, then. I’ll be back here just as dusk is settling,” I conceded.