The Ritual of Blood and Bone

Chapter Thirty

"Questions."

"Er, what?" Seraphina stammers as Nathanial bursts into the room. She gulps, pressing herself into the wall furthest from the door.

He sighs and slumps into the chair behind the desk, swinging his legs onto the desk and leaning back, closing his eyes. The leather trousers he wears are tight, and Seraphina wonders how they are flexible enough for him to make such a movement.

"What questions?" she asks timidly.

Nathanial closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh.

"By the gods, are you always this dense?" he asks, not opening his eyes.

Seraphina stands there, not sure what do to with herself. There are no student desks in this room – only the teacher's. Even that is small compared to the desks in many of the other teaching classrooms. This room is for training mind magic. Hence why, instead of desks, there is a circle of plush, purple cushions on the floor for the students to sit on. Supposedly that is the best way to train mind magic when there is a room full of people to practice on. Apparently, the room is meant to be calming, with its warm-coloured walls and gentle golden lights illuminating it.

She wonders if she should sit on one of the cushions, but that means getting closer to Nathanial.

"Are you just going to stand there?" he asks.

"Sorry," she squeaks. "Where should I sit?"

He opens one eye and glares at her.

"Anywhere," he replies. "And for goodness sake, speak up will you?"

Seraphina gulps back her nerves and walks over to a cushion, taking a seat.

"Now," he says. "What questions do you have for me?"

Seraphina stares at him blankly, struggling to comprehend what he says as his power begins to leak into her head, making her thoughts stuffy. The air becomes strangely dense and a suffocating cloud surrounds her mind, making it hard to even think clearly.

The weight of Nathanial's power is inescapable and she wonders how anyone could stand to be in the same room as him alone.

"The fact that you are a Roark is frankly embarrassing," he says and swings around on his chair.

He stands quickly and Seraphina flinches. He strides around the desk and sits down on a cushion opposite her, crossing his arms.

Why did her first lesson ever at Amber Cove have to be a private tutorial with Nathanial?

"Is any of your mother's fire in you?" he asks harshly. "Is your default setting just being a cowering, pathetic little mouse?"

Tears sting in her eyes and she bites her lip to stop them from quivering. Nathanial holds her stare, his green eyes piercing into hers with a look of both anger and disgust.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"I do not care for your apologies," he says, disregarding her callously. "Now, you have ten minutes to ask whatever question about either the Roark family or about your mother. After that, I will talk no more about family matters and our lessons will be solely focused on turning you into someone worth having the Roark name."

Seraphina swallows a lump in her throat and tries to straighten her body. Nathanial stares at her expectantly. He runs a hand through his golden hair and clenches his jaw in frustration.

Seraphina clears her throat.

"What was mother like?" she finally asks, her voice still shaking a little.