The Ether Witch

“But why?”

“Because we have to figure out a way to get home safely to Daxaria.”

“But why?”

“Because we keep getting attacked.”

“Why do we keep getting attacked?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Why is it–”

“Luca,” Lord Kim interrupted the back and forth dialogue between the father and son, while his right hand fingertips pressed into his temple. “Perhaps you should try to get a bit more sleep, hm? Soon you will have to leave the carriage with your father and Her Highness, and it will be some time before you are able to sleep comfortably again.”

“I’m not tired,” Luca returned stiffly, then looked back at Tam who was stifling a yawn of his own before Eli reached over and gently tidied an errant lock of hair back behind Luca’s ear.

The move drew a very sharp look from Lord Kim, but he didn’t comment on it as Tam gave Eli an appreciative smile then settled back into the carriage while folding his arms.

“Again, thank you, Lord Kim. I know you said that you and Eli have a deal already worked out in exchange for your help, but if there is anything I can do, I’m more than happy to.”

Lord Kim raised an eyebrow, his attention sliding to Eli who stared back coolly in response but said nothing otherwise.

“What I have asked for from Her Highness is more than enough. Will you gather any more evidence of the palace trying to control the rumors about the dragon?”

“If we can, but surviving and not being discovered takes priority,” Tam responded wearily.

Lord Kim leaned forward. “I must confess, I did not expect you to plan to go so close to Gondol, Your Highness.”

“Concubine Soo Hebin won’t expect me to take a route that is so wasteful of time.”

“Soo Hebin is a bad person, right?” Luca interjected.

“Yes, she is,” Lord Kim confirmed hastily. “Though she is also powerful and frightening, and she dislikes Her Highness Elisara here very much.”

“Why doesn’t she like you?” Luca turned to Eli with a frown.

“She’s worried I will take away the power she has,” Eli answered calmly.

“Do you want to take away her power?” the child pondered next.

“No, I do not.”

“Then why does she still not like you?” Luca looked around at everyone in the carriage, openly wondering if they were as befuddled as he was.

“Because she doesn’t think I’m telling the truth that I don’t want her power.”

Once he’d considered this answer for a while, Luca’s mouth twisted and he slowly nodded. “That’s annoying.”

Surprised at the response, Eli cracked a smile. “Very much so.”

“Why doesn’t she believe you?” Luca plundered on.

Lord Kim was starting to get a glazed look in his eyes, and Tam forced back a grin at the sight of it. He was willing to bet that the elder Zinferan noble had forgotten the way children could be what with his own daughters fully grown and married off.

“She doesn’t believe me because a lot of people do lie. Especially when they want something.”

“Why would they lie about what they want? Isn’t it easiest to tell people what you want?”

“It is, but there are all kinds of reasons not to tell someone what you want. For instance, you might want something you know a person is not going to give you. Or something that if you point out, will make other people want it as well, which means more competition.”

“I must say, it is both refreshing and concerning that a child of his age has no duplicity in him,” Lord Kim chuckled to himself while giving his head a shake.

“What does duplicity mean?” Luca adjusted his attention to Lord Kim, who looked at Tam, with a silent plea to end the long line of questions.

Tam was already turning toward his son. “Duplicity means to hide something. To be sneaky and clever about it.”

“People said I was sneaky all the time when I lived with my mother…” Luca trailed off, his chin lowering as though shameful memories were replaying in his mind.

“Why did they say that?” Eli pressed gently.

“I don’t know. I never did anything or said anything bad, they just said I was creepy.”

Tam noted the way Luca was starting to fidget, and the way he visibly struggled to swallow.

Resting his hand atop his son’s head he ruffled the black hair that was just like his own and said, “People said that about me all the time. Don’t worry. You aren’t creepy, Luca. You’re just like me.”

Luca turned and stared up at his father, appreciation and happiness welling up in his eyes.

With the promise of peace being restored to the carriage, Lord Kim settled back, his eyes starting to close…

“Dad, are you going to have another baby?”

Lord Kim’s eyes flew open and he looked at Eli in frantic alarm.

“Erm… I don’t… know…?” Tam looked at Eli with a wince, but she gave him a wide eyed glance of panic in response with her eyes hastily darting in Lord Kim’s general direction.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Tam concluded while clearing his throat uncomfortably and trying to not look horrendously awkward down at Luca.

“Oh… Well… I think it’s okay if you do. Because then I’d have a brother or sister that looks like me, and then maybe more people won’t think I’m creepy.”

Tam smiled at his son while giving a nervous laugh. “That is… I don’t… Oh look, trees!” Tam gestured out the window desperately.

Sadly, Luca was already latched onto this idea and so he stared at the carriage roof quite seriously while turning over this new idea.

“I heard some kids don’t like their siblings, but I think it’d be fun… As long as they’re nice. I think girls might be nicer, so a sister could be good. Dad, do you have a sister?”

Lord Kim looked questioningly at Tam, and the future duke could tell it was because he wondered how Luca couldn’t know that Tam’s twin sister just happened to be the queen of Daxaria.

In a way, this look was good as it helped distract Tam from the uncomfortable nature of the conversation.“I do, yes.”

“Do you like having a sister?”

“Most of the time.”

“Is she nice?”

“Sometimes.”

“Did you play together growing up?”

“All the time.”

“Hm.” Luca paused his rapid fire questioning as he processed this information. “Does she look like you?”

Tam chuckled. “Not really. We’re both tall, and she has slanted eyes like I do, but she has red hair and golden eyes.”

“Golden eyes?!” Luca perked up. “Like they say the queen does?!”

Tam opened his mouth, then closed it again. He guessed Rosaline Evans, Luca’s biological mother, hadn’t explained much about him and his family, and what did a seven year old who lived in a tavern care about the monarchy?

“Er… Luca… My sister is the queen.”

Luca’s eyebrows shot upward—making him look incredibly like his father—before they crashed straight into a frown. “You’re teasing me aren’t you?”

“Not at all. Katarina’s last name before she married His Majesty Eric Reyes, was Ashowan,” Tam assured.

Luca looked at Lord Kim who nodded in confirmation.

Then Luca turned to Eli who did the same, though everyone was smiling at the hilarity of the situation.

After reasoning out whether or not the adults in the carriage were having a bit of fun at his expense, Luca turned with yet another question for Tam. “Do I have to call her Aunt Queen?”

Tam snorted, and then succumbed to complete hysterics, followed shortly by Eli, and eventually even Lord Kim was chuckling along.

“You made it up didn’t you!” Luca accused somewhat irritably. Unfortunately for him, no one could placate him as they continued to laugh at the image of Tam’s illegitimate son strolling up to the Daxarian queen who was known for being outrageous and blunt, and calling her ‘Aunt Queen’.

*

Three days following their escape from Junya, and it was time to say farewell to the prudish Lord Kim. The nobleman would continue on the main road heading toward Gondol, and they would be forced to travel off the roads in an effort to avoid the imperial soldiers who were looking for Eli and Tam.

They had stopped at an inn that should have been far enough away from Junya that they wouldn’t be on the lookout for them, and of course Luca’s presence helped as it wasn’t well known that they were traveling as a family just yet… Or at least they hoped that to be the case.

At present, it wasn’t only the royal concubine who wished her son to be the next emperor that was a threat, there also happened to be an assistant working for Eli’s birth family in Zinfera who was after her as her brother wished to pass the title and wealth of her family to whatever son she bore.

Oh, and the daughter of the Gods, the first witch named Aradia, was interested in them because of the rumors of her brother, the devil, being alive and prowling through Zinfera.

The cause of those rumors being Tamlin himself. Not only did he supposedly bear an uncanny resemblance to the devil, but his magic emitted wisps of black and silver, and the devil was known to wield a fearful darkness that filled everyone around him with terror unlike anything they’d ever felt before.

Though the ones who knew the most doubted a grown man to be the real devil. As the devil was known to reincarnate from a pile of ash upon his death as a newborn babe—and the piles of these ashes were none other than the remains of his previous self that appeared after his death. In his past lives however, the devil had arranged it so that the ancient beasts that remained to serve him would save some of the ash piles and leave them in safe locations. If they did this, when their master died, he could be reborn from any of the ash remains. Making the devil hard to track.

Meaning, because the devil had last been slayed by the Troivackian queen seven years ago…

It was also the reason Tam worried that his surprise illegitimate son could be the devil. As the devil would’ve reincarnated from an ash pile as a newborn.

But Luca hadn’t ever felt like he was hiding something or like he wasn’t exactly what he was.

A child.

Innocent without any guile, and furthermore, a letter from Tam’s former paramor confirming he was his parent also made it difficult to think that he could be the devil.

All of this meant…

Ever since Tam had left Daxaria, he had found himself laying awake at night for more than one reason.

That didn’t even include the problem that Eli was technically a high ranking member of the royal family, and he had fallen in love with her as she worked as his assistant— and surprisingly, she seemed to like him well enough that they had taken up some sort of relationship.

Only now everything had the extra layer of complication, as it turned out her own magical power allowed her to turn into a large cat.

A cat that wound up being Tam’s very own familiar.

“What are you thinking about?” Eli’s voice interrupted Tam’s thoughts as they sifted through the plethora of stressful topics he found himself a part of.

“I’m thinking I should start drinking more seriously.”

His assistant frowned in concern as the footman handed Tam a large gray sack loaded with supplies they had packed.

“Developing a drinking habit now of all times…?” Eli asked quite seriously.

“It sounds like a lovely alternative to having a sort of breakdown.”

“Developing a bad drinking habit is a breakdown.”

“Mm,” Tam murmured thoughtfully while gently ushering Luca toward the inn, and giving a final farewell wave to Lord Kim as the carriage had finished changing over its horses and was set to resume traveling.

“There is such a thing as high functioning alcoholics you know,” Tam pointed out helpfully.

Eli stared up at him flatly.

“Back in Daxaria,” Luca interrupted while tilting his head back to stare at his father in the dim light. “Mum used to say alcoholics with jobs were good for business and bad for lovers.”

“There is some wisdom to that,” Tam agreed thoughtfully.

“I don’t think we should continue educating Luca on the pros and cons of alcoholism,” Eli interjected sharply.

Tam grinned at her. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop. Luca, never become an alcoholic, okay?”

Rolling her eyes, Eli reached for the door handle of the inn. The building was a perfect square that sat between a road that went straight, and one that ran to the right. There was even a third option that veered toward the left.

The inn had three stories, and three windows were already casting an inviting glow out into the night as darkness settled over the land.

Upon opening the door to the inn, the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling marinated beef wafted out. Well aware that they wouldn’t be eating anything so tasty for a long while after that night, Eli, Tam, and Luca exchanged excited looks for the meal ahead. They were going to stuff themselves silly and have absolutely no regrets.