He glanced back again at the sound of Matthia's voice, dumbfounded and wholly unnerved.

'Do you not have horses?' he asked, staring at their joined hands for a moment before walking out with them. The air, he was relieved to find, felt just as it had at home. He had not considered it might feel differently until seconds before they'd left the confines of the building, but he was still relieved.

There was nothing he had seen, so far, that reminded him of Akielos, or even Vere.