Chapter 38 A Well-Rounded Return
Heading Home
Following his father inside, Tam quietly closed the door to the inn room.
His heart raced in his chest. His throat already felt dry, prompting him to swallow. His hands, which were stowed in his pockets, clenched into fists.
Finlay Ashowan was hobbling over to a tall dresser that sat beside the lone window of the room.
The decor was cozy, with warm wooden furniture and dark wood floors, but it was cramped.
The plush bed with its deep-red comforter was already made, its pillows fluffed.
The three cots the princes must have slept on were in a similar state.
A slight creak drew Tam’s gaze up to at last meet his father’s bright-blue eyes, which were studying him. Fin leaned against the dresser, his expression unreadable.
Tam felt anxiety burble in his belly. He expected some kind of talk about responsibility. About thinking things through. About being careful about his actions… Maybe even about how disappointed his father was…
“Tam… What the fuck?”
Tam balked. His father rarely swore so colorfully. The flat note in his father’s voice was so frank that it almost made him laugh. “I know it’s a lot. It all kind of… happened. I kept my promise and didn’t get married without you there, if that makes you feel any better.”
Fin’s eyes went wide as his exasperation visibly got the best of him. “No, it does not!”
Tam cleared his throat again and looked at the floor.
“Do you know that people think this boy you’re traveling with is the devil? Have you even considered that he might be the devil?” Fin asked directly.
“Well, yes… and no.”
“What do you mean, yes and no?”
Tam took his right hand out of his pocket to rub the back of his neck. “I had a… a person. A woman I was seeing years ago.”
“Sweet antlers. Are you serious?” Fin’s volume rose.
Cheeks burning, Tam nodded, but before his father could go on a tirade (that Tam had already received from his mother), he explained to the man the details of Luca’s existence. In the stunned silence that followed, he went on to explain Penelope’s appearance.
To his credit, Fin listened through it all without interrupting or making any comment.
However, when Tam described the conditions in which they had found Penelope—caged aboard a pirate ship—as well as how she’d grown up on the run with the first witch’s minions, Fin’s expression grew thunderous.
Still, he did not stop Tam, who talked about how they’d dealt with the concubine Soo Hebin, the corruption of the covens, meeting Wixim, and the issue of the Zinferan emperor wanting Eli to be the next empress.
At that point, Fin gestured for them to sit at the small round table.
Pausing his stories, Tam joined his father and seated himself.
Once settled, he resumed talking. He mentioned the Lobahlans, learning what the watch was, and Penelope’s visions, and then he concluded the entire narrative with the fact that they now were in possession of texts about the first witch and the Forest of the Afterlife that hopefully could tell them how to defeat the first witch once and for all.
Fin let out a long, long breath.
Tam waited. His palms were alarmingly sweaty, and so he took his time to wipe them on his trousers.
“Alright. So we need to send the first witch back to the Forest of the Afterlife if we are going to keep Luca safe, and most likely we are going to need to annex the coven and send them off somewhere as they wish.” Fin leaned back and folded his arms.
Tam nodded slowly. “I think we should be able to avoid an all-out battle if we can all be calm and reasonable. The only wild card being Aradia. She wants her brother to go with her to the afterlife.”
Fin grimaced.
“I could just keep putting her in the void,” Tam suggested, though he didn’t mask his dubiousness over that being a good option.
“Your mother risked sending a brief letter from Sorlia during her search for the boys. She told me that word has come that Aradia has already gotten out, so at best that is a temporary solution,” Fin replied with equal doubt.
“Is it possible we could trick her into giving up? Or maybe she will accept leaving on her own.”
Tam shrugged. “I don’t know. First, we need to figure out how to send her away by herself. And Aradia might have some kind of trick up her sleeve like she did back in Troivack when you all last fought her.”
Fin tilted his head in acknowledgment. “I suppose we’d better get ready to head to Austice. The sooner we get back, and the sooner everyone is on the same page, the better. Losing communication with everyone has been a massive problem. I’m hoping your mother has returned from Sorlia by now as well”
Tam nodded and rose to a stand.
“Tam?”
He looked down at his father, who stared up at him wearing a half smile.
“I’m proud of you.”
Tam’s jaw dropped. Then he closed his mouth and cleared his throat. “Despite my accidental incident with Luca’s mother?”
Fin’s expression turned grim. “Yes. I’m sorry she had to go through that, and rest assured, we will protect her and her business from afar, but… I think you did your best to make the right decisions. And hey. I have more grandkids! I’m not complaining about that!”
Tam felt a knot he hadn’t realized had been locking his muscles for weeks unravel, and he was suddenly overcome with emotion.
Fin waved his hand, unaware of his son’s state. “Besides. At this point it’s practically family tradition to have surprise pregnancies.”
Tam burst out with a laugh. “Yeah. I’ve already had some kind of talk with Luca…”
Fin’s smile returned as he stood as well. The house witch’s coloring was already improving as the morning sunshine filled the room.
“Ah. By the way…” Fin started, making Tam pause his walk to the door. “In… In the interest of honesty, your mother immediately knew that Eli was a woman when we met her as your assistant. She may have also suspected from that first meeting that something would transpire between you two.”
Tam felt his face fall flat. “Are you serious?”
Fin shrugged apologetically. “You know your mother. And she was desperate for a granddaughter.”
Tam grumbled. Of bloody course his mother had had a plan for his romantic life. “Anything else I should know?” He didn’t bother hiding his irritation.
Fin clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Yeah. The mother of your next child is craving jam cookies. I recommend you see about getting those to her quickly. I’ll stock up the kitchen in Austice for her once we get back.”
Tam gave a groan mixed with a laugh as his father flexed one of the odd little skills his magic bestowed upon him: the ability to tell what food someone was craving, and what food their body needed. This even included the cravings of an unborn child.
Well. At least the talk had gone a lot better than planned—though Tam would most definitely be addressing his mother’s meddling in the very near future.
★ ★ ★
Aradia stepped over the broken chair and gazed about the room.
“It was probably for the best that you weren’t here for the house witch’s meeting,” Ansar called from behind her.
She nodded while moving along the border of the round table in the center of the coven’s council room, then seated herself in the only chair that wasn’t damaged or turned over.
Aradia eyed the mess around her disapprovingly. “So. The duke got his grandsons back, and we have confirmation that Tamlin Ashowan and Elisara are here once more.”
Ansar pushed some toppled books aside with the toe of his boot before standing across from Aradia. “Yes. And the house witch’s familiar, Kraken, has returned with them.”
Aradia tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Before he let you out of the void, did Death’s Carriage Driver offer you any insight on whether or not Tamlin Ashowan truly is the devil, as he claims to be?”
Aradia gave a dry chuckle. “Death is not fond of direct responses.”
Ansar’s eyes trailed along the wall. “We can always try the ritual with both of them present. They’d both die, but it would guarantee our success.”
“It isn’t a bad idea.” Aradia leaned back in her seat. “Getting them both in the same spot, however, will be more than a little difficult. Especially once they’re home with all their resources and support.”
“Difficult but not impossible,” Ansar corrected. “We can always lay a trap or ambush them while they travel. We know where they are, the house witch will be weak, and their attention will be divided, because they also need to protect the princes.”
Aradia’s eyebrows rose. “Reasonable. But the attack would require a large number of witches, and we are missing a great many of them. Tamlin Ashowan is powerful—luckily, he doesn’t seem to realize just how powerful—and if the eldest prince, Antony, is able to control his magic in any meaningful way, things could get very messy. ”
“They won’t be able to all travel in the same carriage,” Ansar continued.
“We can send scouts ahead of time. Odds are Tamlin and the boy will be traveling in the same carriage. We grab them, set up for the ritual nearby, and finish it all before the house witch or anyone else can do anything. Wixim can keep Kraken occupied should he present a threat. Everything works out.”
Aradia paused. “You do realize once this ritual is performed, I will be gone, correct?”
Ansar gave a laugh and leaned on the table in front of himself. “What you will be is healed. You can go home and heal yourself, and when you’re better, you can come back.”
“To you?”
Ansar’s good-humored expression dwindled. “Yes. To me.”
“And what if it is not my intention to come back to you?” she pressed next.
She watched the pain blend with his confidence and awaited his answer, not at all prepared for the surprising statement that followed.
“Then I guess I’ll have to practice my ability to seduce you. That way I will be prepared to die and see you once more in the Forest of the Afterlife.”
A laugh burst out from Aradia. He had caught her a little off guard. “Is that so?”
Ansar smiled handsomely. “Oh, it is. I’m going to make you fall so head over heels in love with me that you’ll never want to leave my side.”
“You’re being quite forward.” Aradia knew her tone was flirtatious. Normally she wouldn’t indulge Ansar quite so much, but she had to admit, his assuredness was a little charming.
“I’ll beg the Gods for their blessing to dine with you if I have to. I’ll gather the fluffiest animals that roam the Forest of the Afterlife and put them in a single spot just so you can pet them whenever you want.”
Aradia felt her cheeks warm.
It’d been a long while since she’d felt that.
Perhaps the time in the void had changed her a little more than she’d wanted to admit. Getting to rest—truly rest—had left her calmer than she’d felt in years.
“Do you think we might be able to spend a bit of time together if I do those things?” Ansar’s eyes twinkled.
Licking her lips, Aradia leaned forward slowly in her chair. “We can spend time as friends whenever you like.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, and Aradia couldn’t stop her smile from widening.
“I want to court you as more than a friend. As more than an ally. I’ve been perfectly clear about that.”
“You’ve suggested it before, but, Ansar, I will most likely be serving time in the Grove of Sorrows for my own offenses.
After your death, you will have long forgotten about me in the afterlife by the time I am released.
” It was a little disheartening to point out the reality of Aradia’s situation, but she didn’t want Ansar to suffer. Not because of her.
Despite her rebuttal, the mortal man showed no pain over her words. Rather, he pushed back off the table and said, “Then I guess it’ll be up to you to track me down and remind me.”
Aradia was about to open her mouth to discourage him further when Ansar added, “You’re worth waiting for, Aradia. I have no interest in your power. I simply want to spend eternity with you in a garden having tea, and hearing you tell me about the universe.”
Aradia couldn’t think of anything to say; she could feel the heat in her cheeks all the way up to her eyes.
Ansar’s smile deepened as he watched her reaction.
He rounded the table and approached her side. He then knelt and grasped one of her hands before planting a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Come on. Let’s go kill the devil and get you home.”
★ ★ ★
Thomas felt his heart pounding. Could he go as one of the people that would intercept the carriage? Would that seem suspicious? Gods… What if one of the princes got hurt? Or Penelope? What if something happened to one of the Ashowans? Was this the moment? Was it time?
Pushing himself away from the wall where he had leaned to casually eavesdrop on Aradia and Ansar, Thomas started making his way down the hall. He wouldn’t be able to send a message to warn the Daxarian king or the Ashowans with the covens combining their efforts to disrupt communication.
Wracking his mind on what he could possibly do, he realized the only thing that he really could do, was get as close to the events as possible, and wait for the best moment to help.
He let out a long breath.
Hopefully Penelope stayed safe. As smart and brave as she was, he didn’t want her to suffer anymore. With his steps turning purposeful, Thomas Julian descended the next staircase he came to. The end was near, and he would do everything in his power to protect his kingdom. No matter what.