"If you think you can catch up to their level of study, be my guest." There's just a hint of criticism in the words, sprinkled lightly so as to be mistaken for something else. "Not that my approval matters, I suppose."

He is hardly Trahearne's keeper, nor does he have ownership over the knowledge that he seeks. Devin can pretend, however, just to be annoying about it.

"Whether history is easy reading or not has a lot to do with how it's written down; the best authors make it seem alive. The worst make learning it a chore." He holds the book he has aloft. "This one's tending towards the former, although I think something's a bit lost in translation."