The Casting Call (The Ether Witch #1)

Chapter 1

A Coerced Collaboration

F rom his bedroom balcony, Tamlin Ashowan stared out over the Alcide Sea.

The full moon illuminated the inky waters below his family keep, and a magical dusting of stars glittered brightly against the darkness.

Closing his eyes, he took in a deep, slow breath.

Everything was quiet save for the gentle, repetitive rush of water meetin g the cliffside far below, and there was even a delicious smell of spring in the air. Everything was peaceful in the kingdom of Daxaria, with no wars, droughts, or plagues for more than a decade. The monarchy served its people well, and as a result, its citizens flourished.

So why did Tam, a future viscount and duke, twin brother to the soon-to-be queen of Daxaria, feel anxious?

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was almost as though something big and important was about to happen.

That said, this particular evening didn’t seem quite as charged as the day a little more than seven years ago when his sister, Katarina, had battled against a civil rebellion in the foreign kingdom of Troivack. Katarina had helped the Troivackian king and queen win the civil war and stop Aradia, the first witch and daughter of the Gods. Following her uprising, the first witch was imprisoned in a secret location in Troivack. Aradia’s own twin brother, the devil, had been killed during the battle; however, as an immortal with divine blood, he had been reborn elsewhere. In an effort to find him, the Troivackian army partnered with their coven, the Coven of Aguas, and had apprehended several children who possessed mysterious backgrounds. However, it was difficult to discern if any of them were the devil… which meant he could still be at large, albeit in the form of a child.

Tam continued gazing out into the night, idly considering what could be making him feel so restless.

A soft knock sounded behind him, making him turn around.

Standing in the doorway was his mother, Duchess Annika Ashowan.

Once upon a time, she had been praised as the most beautiful woman in all Daxaria, despite being born and raised in Troivack prior to marrying an old Daxarian viscount. Viscount Jenoure had died a year after their marriage, leaving Annika to live as a childless widow for a time before she met a certain royal cook who just so happened to be a witch. And they also just so happened to fall in love. Luckily, due to Finlay Ashowan’s contributions to the kingdom and his impressive magical power, he had risen through the noble ranks and became a beloved hero of Daxaria.

The famous couple were still spoken of often among Daxarians, and while she was no longer heralded as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, Annika Ashowan had aged gracefully throughout the years—despite all the stress her daughter put her through—and still was quite energetic for a woman nearing her sixties.

“Tam? What are you still doing awake?” Annika called out softly to her son.

Tam gave his mother a half smile and faced her. “Couldn’t sleep.”

The duchess smiled back and gestured for her son to return to the warmth of his room. “Love, it’s still technically winter, and firewood isn’t cheap.”

“Since when are we concerned about money?” Tam asked wryly, though he did retreat back into his chamber, closing the glass balcony doors behind him.

“You build wealth by being careful with it. Remember, if you respect money, money respects you.”

Tam nodded along with the phrase his mother had often repeated during their budgeting and finance lessons throughout the years.

“Why are you awake then?” Tam gestured toward the two armchairs in front of the crackling hearth.

Annika lowered herself into a plush navy-blue armchair and touched her temple wearily.

“I’ve been going over the coronation details for your sister. Your birthdays are a month away, and a week after that she is going to be crowned queen.”

“I still can’t believe King Norman is entrusting Daxaria to her,” Tam said with a bemused chuckle.

Katarina had always been the wild child of the Ashowan family. She had an incredible skill for getting herself into trouble, and that hadn’t seemed to change as she grew older. Though she had learned to curb her more outlandish urges, and even channeled her abundant magical energy into studying swordsmanship, she was still too mischievous for her own good. Which meant that when she and the prince of the kingdom had fallen in love and wed, many people had grown concerned for the future of Daxaria.

“Well, King Norman is trusting that the council will help her and Eric a great deal,” Annika replied reasonably.

Prince Eric Reyes. The man with more skeletons in his closet than in a postwar cemetery. He had fallen hopelessly in love with Katarina seven years ago during their time together in the foreign court of Troivack.

Their romance had been beyond shocking, but the pair had barreled forward in ways that kept them true to themselves, and despite all odds? They were managing quite well—even with their three boys, a year apart in age—six, five, and four—who were every bit as troublesome as their mother. The boys worked together as a cohesive disaster to keep the world turning upside down as often as possible.

“Do you think Antony, Charles, and Asher will behave for the entire ceremony?” Tam wondered aloud after he and his mother had taken a few moments of silence to ponder the fast-approaching event when the Daxarian king would abdicate the throne.

The duchess smiled but emitted a brief groan at the thought of her three grandsons. “His Majesty assured everyone the ceremony would be kept as short as possible.”

Tam laughed again and closed his eyes while settling back into his seat. “I bet His Majesty King Brendan Devark will have an opinion on the princes.”

Annika shook her head and sighed at the mention of the Troivackian king. “I’m given to understand that King Brendan and Queen Alina’s two boys are remarkably well behaved. Which isn’t a surprise, but I think they will definitely bring to light Antony, Charles, and Asher’s… delayed mastery of etiquette.”

Tam grinned. “Kat’s in for an earful from Alina, I bet.”

Alina Devark, queen of Troivack, was Katarina’s best friend and Eric’s younger sister. As a result, there tended to be unfiltered opinions exchanged quite regularly whenever the couples were able to visit each other.

“Her Majesty Alina is more than welcome to try influencing the boys. Perhaps she has the energy to make a difference. I admit I don’t have quite the same amount of vigor I used to,” the duchess informed her son, followed by an uncharacteristic yawn.

Tam waved off his mother’s words. “You seemed perfectly fine the other night when that man tried to strangle you.”

Annika raised an eyebrow at the mention of their joint espionage work. “Lightly stabbing someone is not the same as teaching children. The latter is significantly harder.”

Stretching his legs out in front of him, Tam eyed his mother’s drawn features sympathetically. “I’ll probably sleep soon. You should go try to do the same.”

The duchess didn’t respond straightaway to her son’s gentle dismissal. Rather, she regarded him thoughtfully. Her brown eyes brightened as they keenly roved his face. Tam’s slanted almond eyes looked like his father’s, save for the coloring, which was the same as her own. His straight nose, his defined jaw… There were bits of both sides of the family there.

“Will you ever get married?”

Tam’s attention had briefly wandered over to the fire as his mind drifted, but hearing the question, it snapped back to Annika Ashowan. After the moment of shock passed, he raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

“A mother is allowed to wonder.”

“Can you wonder in the morning, and maybe only three times a year as opposed to eleven?”

“Tam, your father and I are going to go traveling once you are officially made the duke, and I’d like to know that someone can be here with you. I know you always like being alone, but—”

“I hope you’re aware of your hypocrisy,” Tam interrupted dryly.

It was the duchess’s turn to look unimpressed. “I at least had my assistant Clara, may she rest in peace, to rely on when I had no one. You haven’t even gotten an assistant to replace Likon. It’s been seven years. You need someone to help you if you aren’t going to get married.”

“I managed just fine when you, Da, Kat, and Likon abandoned me to go to Troivack, didn’t I?”

Annika’s tone sharpened. “You mean when you ‘somehow’ lost the wall of your father’s office, part of the floor, and the desk full of paperwork? And all of us almost got arrested because of the number of important documents that vanished?”

Tam’s tongue poked his cheek as he looked away.

Damn. He had really hoped that she had let that go…

He dropped his chin down before responding to his mother. “I can just wait until Likon—”

“Likon isn’t coming home from Troivack. You know it. I know it. If only he knew it… Once he gets around to noticing he’s fallen in love with Lady Dana Faucher, he’s going to marry her. I wagered with her mother, Lady Nathalie, that they’ll be married before the fall.”

“Somehow I doubt that it will be that easy. Leader Gregory Faucher most likely will refuse to let a man who is completing a punishment of servitude for alleged treason marry his daughter.” Likon had read Prince Eric Reyes’s correspondence years ago to keep tabs on the prince when he was traveling with Katarina, and his nephew serving as the prince’s assistant, Thomas Julian, had aided him in doing this. Things became even more serious when Thomas Julian was found to also be feeding information and assisting the first witch when she instigated the civil war.

Annika huffed. “Oh, he will. We just need to be a bit creative with convincing him.”

Tam laughed.

He had no doubt his mother had devised several cunning, manipulative plans to sway the infamously gruff and protective military leader in Troivack to allow his beloved daughter to marry Likon, the Ashowans’ adopted son. However, the handful of times Tam had met Gregory Faucher when he’d come to visit Katarina, Tam had gotten the distinct impression that he was not someone who could be duped easily. He chose not to comment on this opinion for the time being.

“Look, can this maybe wait until after my birthday? I—Wait. You haven’t brought up the assistant thing in almost a year. And suddenly it crops up…” Tam’s eyes narrowed. “Who is it?”

Annika smoothed the cream silk of her skirt. “Do you remember Eli? That boy that was helping Likon serve the Troivackian king…?” Eli had been a young man that Prince Eric had known during his mysterious four year absence from the Daxarian court. They crossed paths again in Troivack when Eli had been tasked with assassinating Eric—unaware he was a prince—while enslaved to the Troivackian traitor Duke Icarus.

“Mm-hm,” Tam responded impatiently.

“Well, the matter of Duke Icarus’s estate has finally been settled, and the young man wants to become a citizen of Daxaria, but because he isn’t revealing his parentage and he doesn’t want to get entangled with the Coven of Wittica, Likon suggested maybe he work for you for a while.”

“Why didn’t Likon bring this up to me himself?” Tam questioned while leaning forward and resting his elbow on the armrest of the chair.

“Because he wanted me to discuss with your da whether or not the coven would permit a witch to live in Daxaria without revealing their magic.”

“So we’re offering to help and protect this Eli person when he starts the process of gaining Daxarian citizenship, and because Likon asked us, you’re suggesting Eli work for me while we do this?”

“Yes.”

“Again, Likon should’ve asked me. He knows I’d listen.”

“You are terrible at responding to letters and you know it. Eli needed to prepare, if your answer was yes, before leaving Troivack for the coronation, so he could pack and say his goodbyes.”

Tam continued staring at his mother warily. “He’s already on the boat, fully packed, isn’t he?”

“Not at all.”

Tam didn’t believe his mother for a second.

“He’s already in Daxaria. They arrived at the castle tonight. The two of you can meet tomorrow,” Annika finally admitted, though she still had the gall to act innocent.

Tam let out a moan and rubbed his face.

“Love, I know you’re terrible with change, but you’re always complaining about the amount of work you have. I have no idea why you insist on making your life harder.” The duchess stood and stared down at her son.

Tam started his oft-cited list of why he preferred to not hire a new assistant. “A new assistant will need me to take time to explain things, and then they’ll want to know about my magic, and—”

“Neither you nor Eli ever want to talk about your magic. There. It’s perfect.”

“That makes him suspicious.”

“Why are you being so difficult?”

“I have a stubborn father and meddling mother; I’ve had to adapt.”

Annika lowered her chin and stared disapprovingly down at Tam, who looked back at her unabashedly.

“Likon vouches for him. You said you would hire him if Likon requested it, and he has. I’m beginning to think complaining is just a habit of yours at this point.”

“I only complain when someone forces something upon me.”

Annika bent down and kissed her son atop his head. “You and your sister are more alike than you realize.”

“Surprise, surprise. We’re both hardheaded, we don’t like being forced into things, and neither of us wanted the responsibility of leading a noble house or, say, a kingdom.”

“You got the easier option, and yet you still complain more than Kat.”

“No, Kat complains more, you just don’t live with her.”

Annika gently cuffed the back of her son’s head. “If Likon says Eli is good, then I think he’s good. Try to be appreciative that you have so many people wanting to help you.”

Tam gave a halfhearted smile and rose from his seat to hug his mother.

“I’ll try. But in exchange, you can’t bring up marriage for another year.”

Annika reached up and returned her son’s embrace—it was a little tricky given that he had also inherited his father’s impressive height and she was on the shorter side—but despite Tam’s seemingly unenthused response to having a little extra help, the duchess seemed pleased and perhaps even a little relieved.

Tam, on the other hand, was already starting to wonder if perhaps the uneasy premonition he had been having moments earlier was a bad omen. He had only ever really seen Eli from a distance, and rumor had it that the young man kept his secrets just as well as, if not better, than the future duke of the Ashowan household.