The Burning Witch 3: A Humorous Romantic Fantasy

CHAPTER 48 READY TO RALLY

She was warm … and relaxed … Her thoughts were muffled, and her tongue was dry … She even felt a bit queasy …

Kat’s eyebrows twitched.

Was someone saying her name? She couldn’t make out the words.

But … she could smell sandalwood and bonfire smoke …

Eric was nearby.

The corners of her mouth quivered, and the voice near her seemed to get louder.

She wanted to open her eyes and see her husband. She wanted to see his hazel eyes staring at her, and then she wanted to say something outrageous that would make them crinkle, maybe even have him hold her while she listened to his heartbeat.

But her eyes weren’t working. They didn’t want to open …

Kat turned her attention to her magic. What was it doing that she felt so strange?

That was when she found that in place of the usual burning chaos within her being, struggling against her control … was a highly manageable flicker. One that reminded her of when she was a child and life was simpler … But … her body wasn’t used to having so little magic.

Gods … What the hell happened?!She struggled against the weight of sleep, struggled to power her mind into functioning. What was the last thing she remembered? Talking to the king in the corridor … But there was more, yes?

Hadn’t she gone to the meeting?

Why couldn’t she remember the meeting?!

Panic started to rise, and that fueled her enough that, with a very grand effort, Kat managed to open her eyes. Though upon doing so, she immediately felt the urge to be sick, and in turn discovered she lacked the strength to roll over.

She stared at the ceiling above feeling absolutely horrible, when suddenly, the muffled murmuring she had been hearing blared loudly in her ear.

“Kat?! Kat are you alright? Can you hear me?!” Eric’s frantic voice behind her sent Kat rolling onto her side and retching on the floor as pain engulfed her skull and a cold sweat broke out all over her body.

Kat felt Eric get off the bed and could hear the sound of him pouring her a cup of water, only even the sound of the water was torture to her and had her getting sick yet again.

Taking slow, shallow breaths, Kat focused on staying conscious, as she then became acutely aware of how the rest of her body ached horribly—it felt like she had slept in a contorted position the entire night.

She couldn’t even speak … All that remained was pain and nausea …

“Kat? Can you say anything?”

She barely fought off getting sick again.

“Godsdamnit,” Eric cursed from somewhere in the room Kat could not see.

Even moving to lie flat on her back again was out of the question.

However, Eric appeared in her vision with a towel and proceeded to cover her sick on the floor.

He studied her pallid face, his eyes desperate.

“Kat, if you can understand me, can you blink twice?”

Blinking! That I can do!

She blinked twice.

Eric let out a loud sigh of relief, his eyes closing. “Do you think you can move again?”

She didn’t blink.

“Shit.” Eric’s momentary relief turned back to stress. “Do you remember what happened?”

Kat didn’t blink.

“Sir Herra drugged you yesterday with powdered Witch’s Brew. Your magic went wild, and you tried to kill anyone who wanted you dead … Your father stopped you.”

“Nrraaw!” was the only sound that was able to make its way out of Kat’s mouth, and it was more of a frog-like croak than a word. Fortunately, Eric understood the meaning.

“Fin, he … he expounded his home … or … or something like it. We don’t know exactly. He’s asleep after using so much of his magic, and because he’s here in Troivack and not in Daxaria, it’s harder for him to recover.”

“Shrri.”

“I know. It’s not good. His Majesty did execute a couple of the people we are certain were behind this attempt. Though now the council is demanding you be sent back home immediately. They may be a bit traumatized …”

“Wh ese?”

“I don’t know; I’ve been here with you.” Eric chuckled while carefully cleaning the mess on the floor to the best of his ability before tossing the soiled towel into the fire.

Kat grumbled and Eric smiled. His eyes crinkled, and she felt her agitation over her inability to move or to figure out what was happening momentarily dim. Though she still was determined to make her tongue work again.

“Trs awr … we … ned … t’feet.”

“You aren’t fighting anyone. Kat, I swear to Gods, I thought you might’ve died.”

The look of intensity and pain on Eric’s face as he stared at her made Kat wish she was capable of making a witty quip or even just a crude comment … She wanted to lessen his worry somehow … to drive away the darkened thoughts …

“I’m invcissble … ’neet klll me.”

“You aren’t invincible. I think today proved that—and I don’t want to test the limits of what is able to kill you anyway,” the prince pointed out firmly.

With a painstaking amount of effort, Kat lurched forward, forced her hand to move to her side, and pressed herself up. As she struggled, Eric’s gentle hands quickly assisted her as she managed to sit upright on the bed.

The movement nearly made her sick again, but by the time she was vertical, she felt her head gradually begin to clear, which encouraged her to battle through the unpleasant sensations going on in the rest of her body.

“Why … arnt … cllllng … fr phiiiiisssshan.”

“I’ve handled the aftereffects of Witch’s Brew more than any of the physicians currently in the castle,” Eric answered wryly. “You feel like you’re going to be sick any time you move, you’re aching all over, and your head feels as though a hundred nails were pounded into it, yes?”

Kat responded with a grumble of annoyance that had Eric smiling again as he reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“What … helps … it?” Kat was gloriously pleased over the fact that she was able to complete a coherent sentence.

“My solution was always a good dose of moonshine, but I think in your case we need to get your magic to absorb something … At least, according to Mr. Kraft. That way you can finish burning through the drug’s effects and regain some stamina,” Eric explained, still crouching in front of his wife.

Taking a long, ragged breath in, Kat nodded while Eric reached to the small table beside the bed where he had placed the cup of water for her and pressed it into her hand.

He watched as she drank the water tenuously, then when she realized just how thirsty she was, finished downing the entire cup.

“Kat, you scared the hell out of me.” Eric’s voice rasped as he stared at her drawn face vulnerably.

Kat shifted uncomfortably under such a look.

“I know you like to try to take on the world, but if anything happens to you? I’m going to lose it.”

“You aren’t …” Kat struggled against her tongue that felt swollen. “You aren’t going to … lose … your mind. And I’m … not going anywhere.”

“I damn well am going to lose my mind. Do you remember our talk in the desert after you’d been stabbed? When I said that you pushing aside other people’s feelings isn’t fair? I really need you to hear me this time, Kat. I’m not a well-rounded individual, and I’m far from healthy. If I lose you … ?” Eric shook his head while holding his wife’s widening gaze. “Kat, I didn’t want to live, and it wasn’t until you started annoying me that that changed. So please … Please can you promise me you’re going to be more careful and sit out the war that is coming?”

Kat stared at Eric, both at a loss for how to respond and having to battle against the remnants of the drug in order to articulate her words.

“I’m going to fight. I’m going to … absorb as much as I can … and I’m going to protect everyone I love, but …” Kat reached her arms out, and Eric dutifully leaned into her embrace, allowing her to hold him and hunch her body around him comfortingly, her fingers tangling in his dirty blond hair. “I’m never going to leave you, and you … aren’t allowed to leave … or give up either. Okay?”

Eric didn’t say anything at first. Really, he was just taking as much joy and reassurance as he could being in her arms, surrounded by her smell, her hair tickling his nose.

“You’re essentially refusing my request and just reiterating that you are hard to kill, and I just need to deal with it.”

“Yes, but I said it nicer than that.”

Eric chuckled softly and pulled free from her. “Will you at least agree to be more cautious about walking into situations you know are dangerous?”

“I’ll think about it for three extra breaths. Deal?”

“If you aren’t going to stay out of the battle then you need to promise that during the fighting you are by my side. Always.”

“I can’t control the things that happen in a fight!”

The prince’s eyes narrowed. “You do realize you’re going to be the one responsible for what I do if anything happens to you, right? This time, three people got their heads cut off. Next time, who knows? I might sign the kingdom over to Kraken and just see what happens.”

Kat grimaced at the mention of three people losing their heads, making Eric hesitate again. “Kat, if you’re determined to fight against the rebel army, you know you’ll have to kill people, right? It’s going to be all around you. It isn’t as heroic as some think … Most of the time it feels wrong no matter which side you’re fighting on.”

Kat fidgeted, and her gaze fell to her hands that were presently held in Eric’s. “I know. I guess I … I just need to remember that they are going to hurt innocent people if I’m not standing there.”

“You also have to try to find any opportunity to end it. To stop the fighting and negotiate something peacefully even after watching them cut down a friend or family member.”

The redhead’s eyes rounded as she considered this new scenario the prince laid before her.

Not enjoying the warning he had to give his wife, Eric was at the very least glad that she was finally listening to him and taking his words to heart.

He knew firsthand how war and brutality changed a person …

“This is going to be hard, and … I do promise that I’ll fight beside you.”

“Thank you … and yes. Yes, it will be hard …” Eric lifted her hands to his mouth and kissed them. “Now, do you think you can walk? We should probably get you to your father to see if maybe another member of his home can help his recovery.”

Kat stilled then, her gaze boring into the floor as an idea flashed in her mind.

“Eric … Where are the council members right now?”

The prince frowned. “A few of them got injured when you chucked a table at them. So some of them are getting treated, and others are writing to their households to summon their knights. Why?”

“I chucked a table at— Never mind. I’ll find out about that later. Can we please summon them? I think I have an idea that might help.”

Eric raised an eyebrow skeptically at his wife’s suggestion but wasn’t in any position to question her request further, as her face split into a dazzling, if a bit worse for wear, grin that left him perfectly helpless to her whims.

Likon stared at the inky night sky through the hole above while lying on his back, his hands cradling his head as he listened to the whistle of the wind through the land outside.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had so much free time to think.

There was nothing to do, no work to be done …

The first witch had said the ransom letter had been passed along, but no one seemed to talk about it … which was odd … Likon wondered if someone had intercepted it, as he refused to believe that the Ashowans would ignore it.

The question then became who had stopped the letter from being delivered, and why?

He closed his eyes briefly with a sigh.

He hoped Kat was alright … He’d noticed a few days prior that the sirins had disappeared, which could be a sign that people searching for him were getting closer to where he was being kept …

Sitting up, Likon peered around the room that was lit with several torches that were also helpful in keeping the space comfortably warm.

He was even given a blanket and pillow at night after the first five days.

All in all, his captors hadn’t been mistreating him other than keeping him locked in a room …

Though the first witch hadn’t come to see him in a while. Most likely with everything going on, she couldn’t afford to leave the castle and risk cluing people in to her true identity.

Coming to his feet, Likon began to stretch in the hopes that maybe he would force his body to relax enough to sleep soon, when lo and behold, the door opened, and in came Ansar.

“You are coming with me,” the man declared in a brisk, business-like tone.

“Why?” Likon scoffed back, his heart rate already picking up speed as he readied himself for the opportunity to fight and free himself.

“The war has started, and given that the Ashowans are still in Troivack, despite them being incapacitated, we aren’t taking any risks.”

“What do you mean they are incapacitated?” A wave of anger and panic flooded Likon’s senses. “You better answer me, or—”

The same imp that had been there when he had been abducted appeared magically behind Likon, covering his face with the same foul-smelling cloth as before. Without being able to finish his threat, Likon fell into darkness, though prior to doing so, all he could think about was how he was going to slaughter anyone who had harmed a hair on any of the Ashowans’ heads, daughter or son of the Gods—or not.