Chapter 45
Ael
“Preparations are ready for tomorrow night, Sire,” Meir said to him as they walked through the long halls of the Umbrea Castle. “We just need to get you fitted in your suit.”
Birds chirped far above, and Ael looked up at them again, enjoying their playfulness through the vines. His head throbbed. He’d had the same nightmare the night before and was feeling drained.
“I agreed to a ball, I did not agree to wearing a suit,” Ael replied casually.
“But, Sire…” Meir objected.
“His Highness doesn’t want to wear a suit, Meir… drop it,” Luelle said as she came up behind them and squeezed herself in the middle, wrapping her arm around Ael’s side.
“I, on the other hand, can use a seamstress. Meir, can you send them my way, please?”
Meir furrowed his thick, bushy eyebrows at her, but remained silent.
“Fine, I know of a good one anyway,” Luelle answered for herself with a huff.
As they walked through the halls, everyone bowed deeply at Ael.
A little Fae boy ran out from a side door carrying a wooden toy bear and crashed into Ael, falling to the ground and dropping the toy.
As the little boy began to cry, his mother rushed over from the doorway, saw that her son had bumped into the king, and started begging for his forgiveness.
Ael looked down at them in confusion. He was nothing like his father during his rule. When had anyone in his court been this scared of him? He knew he demanded respect, but he tried to rule with care and compassion.
“It’s no problem. Are you okay?” Ael asked as he bent down to look at the boy. He picked up the wooden toy and handed it back to him. “Here you go. Be careful running these halls, child. There are usually people carrying important things around.”
He extended his hand for the little boy to take and helped him to stand.
The mother thanked Ael for his kindness and grabbed her son’s arm, dragging him back through the doors, scolding him on the way out and looking back over her shoulder at Ael.
He sighed. “Is there anything else I am required to attend within the next few hours?” he asked Meir and Luelle.
Meir shook his head.
“Then I’ll head back to my room and get some rest. I’ll see you later when the petitions arrive for review.”
Luelle and Meir bowed, and he walked down the hallway toward his chambers. He closed the large doors and eagerly reached into his pocket, saying Seda’s name and waiting for the stone to light up.
After a few moments of waiting with no image appearing, he tried again. After the stone failed to work on his third attempt, his heart dropped in fear that something had gone wrong.
It took four more tries before the stone finally flickered, and he caught sight of Seda walking through snowy terrain. Then, the image vanished, replaced by the witch’s crazed face. She beckoned him with a finger to come to her, and the stone went blank.
That fucking tricky witch!
He snarled like a beast and turned toward the doors, throwing them open and marching down the hall. He ignored the chirping birds above. At least Seda was alive.
She is getting closer to the Wisps.
As Ael and Praxis made their way to the witch’s cabin through a field of lavender, they watched the magical green essence float around them like fireflies on a warm summer night.
Umbrea was known for its surplus of magic that flitted through the air.
The essence allowed their gardens to grow large and healthy, producing the best fruits and vegetables in Xyberus.
Umbrea traded produce with Tuath for meat, as the Lycanthropes were known for their skilled hunting and ranching.
“What do you plan to say to her?” Praxis asked him.
“I need to know what she wants me to do to fix this damn stone,” Ael said as he stepped over a low log fence separating the forest from Umbrea’s gardens.
The witch had been around for as long as Ael knew. She was the oldest living Fae in the realm and had traveled the world. He’d heard tales of her from her younger days, that she was a gifted oracle with magic that surpassed traditional Fae powers.
It was probably all those nasty potions she liked to brew.
She experimented with crystals, monster parts, herbs, and chemicals. No one dared to ask her about what she knew or how she came to know it. But it was widely known that she kept her spells within her Book of Light, which she kept hidden.
“Last time, she wanted you to find her the eye of a Mungder to give you information. Do you remember how hard that was to get?” Praxis shook his head. “That asshole almost took us both out. I can only imagine what it will be this time.”
“I’ll drag her the entire head of a Mungder if she wants it. I want the stone to work,” he replied.
They strolled through a grove of towering pines and spotted a small plume of smoke rising from the witch’s fireplace in the distance.
As they drew closer, the small cabin came into view, its stone facade, straw roof, and warped windows standing out.
A gravel path lined with herbs and flowers growing from the soft earth led the way to the cabin’s wooden front door.
Ael banged on the door, a little too hard. “I have come as you called.”
Shuffling noises and clinking pots echoed from inside the cabin, and then the front door swung open, sending the magical essence swirling around the air.
The witch’s silver, ragged hair hung down to her crooked knees, which bent awkwardly as she walked. Her nose was as crooked as her knees, and her beady, green eyes stared out at Ael with a lifetime of wisdom.
“About time you showed up, letting that miserable girl take your place. Totally unacceptable!” She flashed a wicked smile, revealing a mouthful of sharp, yellow teeth.
“But Luelle loves to visit you, Tahti,” he replied.
Tahti peered around Ael, taking in Praxis before fixing her gaze back on Ael.
She growled at Ael, “Only you can enter. He’s not welcome here.” Her rough voice grated like fingernails on a chalkboard, sending a shiver down Ael’s spine.
“I will be out here when you’re done,” Praxis said nonchalantly, as he turned and leaned against the side of the cabin.
Ael watched him for a moment and then turned around and looked at Tahti again. “May I come in, please?”
She turned around and used a cane to hobble inside. “Come in and close the damn door.”
As he walked in, he smelled the pungent aroma of herbs and spices, with a faint hint of chemicals underneath, and saw the organized chaos around him.
Tahti had an assortment of jars containing body parts from creatures submerged in light brown liquid, rows of dried herbs hanging from the rafters, pots and pans stacked against the far wall, buckets of crystals lining the kitchen, and a small, tidy bed tucked in the corner.
In the middle of the room, an iron cauldron filled with bubbling, neon-green liquid created a plume of smoke that rose through a brick vent in the center of the ceiling.
Tahti turned to him, and her green eyes glazed over to solid white.
Great, I love this part.
“Where is the dark stone? Why did you not retrieve it or Seda?” she asked. “You failed.”
“I know who has it.”
“We need them both. All of Xyberus is at risk. The dome will fall soon.” Her white eyes focused on him.
“I’m waiting for her to come to me before going back for it.”
Tahti continued studying him with unblinking eyes. “You have fallen in love with her.” It was not a question.
“I have,” he finally admitted aloud. He truly loved Seda. In all his centuries, he had never met and cared for someone as deeply as he did for her.
“We need her, King Ael. She is the final key, and she needs that stone, amongst others.”
“You don’t think I already know that?” he snapped, losing his temper with the crazy woman. “She is all I can think about. I refuse to use her in any way that can harm her!”
She stared at him without saying a word for long moments. Ael stared back at her, refusing to show any submission to this ludicrous woman.
Her pointed ears twitched, and she lunged to her side, grabbing a squeaking mouse with her sharp teeth and knocking over the pots, causing a loud ruckus.
Praxis banged on the door. “Are you okay in there, Sire?”
“All is fine, Praxis,” he replied. He heard Praxis grumble then lean against the wall, patiently waiting.
Tahti chewed on the mouse, blood dripping down her chin, and slurped up its tail with her lips. She refocused her attention on Ael.
“Seda Arbor is the key, King Ael. There is no way around it. You need to take her with you back to Joro to retrieve the Dark Stone.”
“I refuse!” he shouted. “Seda has suffered enough in her life! She deserves happiness… here. With me.”
“You won’t find happiness unless you do. It’s the only way,” she emphasized.
Ael changed the subject. “I want that stone you gave Luelle to work again, please. Fix it for me.”
“There is no point. You will see her soon. Not worth the magical resources.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he seethed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “When will Seda be here?”
“Soon.”
Ael growled and struggled to ask softly, “Will she arrive okay?”
“She will arrive in a plume of mist and flame. Get prepared, King Ael. This is your warning.”
She blinked, and her eyes changed back to their natural shade.
“I’ve said what I said, now get out!” she shrieked at him, pulling her hair with her wrinkled palms. She screamed as if she were in pain and grabbed her broom, hitting him solidly on the head as she chased him out the door and slammed it shut.
“Sire, that appears to have played out as expected,” Praxis said, his eyes shining with delight.
Ael rubbed his throbbing head, which now stung even more from the broom’s blow. “I should have known she would be of no use. Spit out things I already knew.”
But he didn’t know everything she said before today. She informed him that Seda would be here ‘soon’ and that she would appear in a ‘plume of mist and flame’.
What did that mean?