Chapter 35
A Wickedly Late Witch
U nlike all the other times Tam had reappeared back into the world, he didn’t find himself in the same spot where he had disappeared.
No.
He was in the room he shared with Eli back at the house.
Tam sank to his knees with a shiver.
What the hell had happened…?
He’d been struggling to get out of the blasted void, and trying to convince himself that he was ready to face his problems. That damn red thread suddenly felt like a chain and hauled him out of the void. He had tried to fight it, but in the end he’d had very little strength left to resist.
Rubbing his face as he struggled to adapt to being around colors and light again, Tam could feel that he was slick with sweat. His body involuntarily trembling, he tried to focus on his breaths to settle his nerves after the jarring sensation of leaving the void so abruptly.
Outside he could hear the sounds of the night: the fluttering of bat wings, the hum of bugs.
“D-Dad?”
Tam dropped his hands, and his gaze shot upward to see Luca sitting up sleepily in his and Eli’s bed.
Luca’s eyes went round as he stared at his father, but then as he registered that Tam was actually there and it was not all a dream, he scrambled across the covers.
“DAD!” Luca flung himself at Tam.
His slim arms clutched Tam tightly, his desperation and relief seeping into Tam’s bones, washing away his shock. He returned Luca’s embrace, slowly stroking the boy’s head.
“Luca,” he rasped. “How… How long have I been gone?”
While the child pulled free of the hug, he didn’t release Tam’s shirtsleeves. “Th-three days. Mom—Eli—she’s at the party with… with Jeong and Bong.”
“Dammit,” Tam cursed. “Luca, I need to go see them right away. I’m so sorry, but I’ll be back tonight, and—”
“Eli went out every night looking for you! She’s so tired, Dad!” Luca whispered.
Gods… He really had made a bloody mess of everything.
“I’ll go get her, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t get out of bed for three days. Sound good? I’ll even make her eat in bed.”
Luca nodded seriously.
“Have you…” Tam trailed off for a moment, unsure if it was a bad idea to ask the question. “Have you been sleeping in our room since I’ve been gone?”
Lowering his chin as though he were about to be reprimanded, Luca nodded again. “I… I knew you’d come here when you got back, and I… I wanted to make sure I saw you.”
Tam’s heart swelled. “I’m glad I got to see you right when I got back, Luca.”
The boy smiled nervously.
“But I do have to get to Eli and the others, alright? So go back to sleep, and we’ll have a nice breakfast together.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Tam ruffled Luca’s hair again for good measure, making the boy smile more genuinely, then stood, calm once more. He pulled on the very last reserves of his strength and stamina to keep going.
He wasn’t even sure what it was that Luca had done to restore his sense of self, but at the moment, he couldn’t spend any time working that out. He needed to order a bath and change into appropriate clothes as quickly as possible. He’d make up some story to explain how he got into the house without anyone noticing, and then he’d hire a hackney to get him to the party.
Tonight was important, and he had been making everyone worry for far too long.
And if Eli really had been exhausting herself day in and day out looking for him?
Resolve solidified in Tam’s being.
Whether she loves me or not, I’m going to take damn good care of that woman.
◆◆◆
Eli had thought she would enter Lord Guk’s party and do as she always did: find a place along the wall and stay there. She would position herself not too far from the food table, or the door, and observe the goings-on around her. Usually, she was able to learn a lot about the guests simply by watching the way they interacted and the snippets of conversations she was able to eavesdrop on.
As it turned out, tonight her typical method was shot to hell.
The second the doors opened and her presence was announced alongside Bong and Jeong, she found herself the subject of everyone’s attention.
Lord Guk owned a lavish home, and on a warm night such as this, he had spared no expense in decorating his gardens with lanterns, even hiring musicians to play as the guests intermingled among shrubs and trees that were just starting to flower in delicate white and pink blossoms. Fountains dotted the courtyard space, complemented by nearby golden swan statues—evidently a symbol of the noble house of Guk.
This meant that even Lord Guk’s guests were adorned in expensive fabrics and jewelry.
Eli had assumed that because she had chosen a modest gold hairpin with white flowers, plain gold earrings, rings, and a bracelet, she would be the most unassuming one attending.
She had forgotten, however, that the wealthy were commonly bored, and with the weather only turning warm more recently? That meant there weren’t as many events to preoccupy them. And she was a very mysterious newcomer from a foreign land…
“Tell me, Mrs. Voll, where is your husband these days?”
“You look quite tired! It must be so difficult raising your son when your husband studies so intently.”
“Were you married in Daxaria, or here in Zinfera? Do you think you’ll move here permanently?”
By halfway through the party, Eli hadn’t been able to move more than five feet from where she had first been stopped, and her throat was completely parched.
Bong and Jeong had taken turns remaining by her side. Often, they were not addressed, as many of the guests who wished to speak to Eli were in fact women. Furthermore, in the short time they had been in Junya, Jeong and Bong had already made themselves familiar to the nobility attending the party, and so they were less of a novelty. Particularly as they had painted themselves as party-loving hedonists.
Bong’s falsified identity as Daeba had been taken well, and Jeong’s as Eun wasn’t far behind.
However, Eli was on the final, frayed thread of her patience, thanks to her newfound popularity, whereas Bong and Jeong bore their rise to fame spectacularly.
What was irking Eli in particular was that she, Bong, and Jeong were there to force Lord Guk to make an outrageous scene, which was supposed to spark the first wave of destruction to his reputation. They were still going to try, but Bong was nowhere near as adept at such things as Tam had claimed to be.
Furthermore, Bong hadn’t been able to get close enough to Lord Guk to tamper with his food or drink. And given that the night had already progressed a good deal, people were inebriated. They wouldn’t think much about Lord Guk acting outlandishly.
As Eli basked in the brief moment of silence granted when her latest inquisitor was pulled away by a heaped food platter, Bong pressed a glass of cool water into her hand. She couldn’t help but feel like an utter failure. She sighed and took a sip.
“Elisara?”
Turning in alarm at the use of her real name, she found herself staring at a young man she did not know.
Frowning, Eli saw Jeong pull his shoulders back, making himself appear all the larger, and subtly more threatening.
“I beg your pardon, but my name is Ellie. Mrs. Ellie Voll, sir…?” Eli gave a polite but frosty smile as she waited for the person to speak.
But she very suddenly recalled the men who had been following her the day Tam had disappeared. She hadn’t had time to really think about it since then, but now she could feel panic welling up in her.
The young man looked to be in his early twenties, was clean-shaven, and had his black hair slicked back, even though it was long enough to touch the tops of his ears. He had high cheekbones, pale skin, and…. Eli kept staring with growing suspicion. He was wearing a bright-red coat with gold trim and pants to match. A snowy silk shirt was buttoned to his throat, and his fingers were adorned in gold rings… The straight lines of his coat were more Daxarian than Zinferan.
He was starting to seem familiar.
The young man looked around nervously as he shuffled forward.
“That’s close enough,” Jeong called out softly, but the glint in his eyes had the young man freezing in place.
“Elisara, it’s me. I… I’m Chul?”
Eli’s eyes went wide, and she felt like she was going to be sick.
“Is this your… Is this your husband?” Chul cleared his throat and looked up at Jeong, who had an eyebrow raised.
“No. No…” Eli cleared her throat before turning and gulping down the rest of her drink. “I think you are mistak—”
“AH! There she is!” A loud, bawdy voice from her right side interrupted Eli right as she was about to insist to her younger brother, the boy she hadn’t seen since she was eight years old, that she was not his big sister.
Torn between gratitude and annoyance, Eli looked over in time to see none other than the party’s host, Lord Guk, approaching her.
He was a wide man and not particularly tall, but his eyes were keen and intelligent. His hair and beard were long, and he was dressed almost as flashily as Chul in a lime-green silk coat and matching pants, both embroidered with gold.
“I have not had the pleasure of meeting my most interesting guest of the evening!” Lord Guk seized Eli’s hand without waiting to see if she would accept the gesture, planting a wet kiss on her knuckles. “Pity your husband couldn’t join us this evening, but his loss is my gain!”
Eli forced a smile and hoped it didn’t look as pained as it felt. “Lord Guk, thank you for inviting me to your wonderful home.”
She curtsied as much as her dress would allow her.
“Of course! Your cousins said you could use a night away from the house. I must say, I can’t believe your husband would leave as remarkable a woman as yourself alone on such an occasion!”
Eli felt her right cheek start to twitch from the strain of forcing her smile to remain in place. “My husband is very diligent with his work.”
“Of course, of course! I’d love to hear more about his studies when I get the privilege of meeting him.” Lord Guk smiled, and despite his being older and not in the finest shape, the smile was charming. Still, when his gaze roved over Eli’s face, there was a gleam of knowingness in his eyes. As though he could tell she was forcing herself to be pleasant…
Eli wanted to cringe away. She hated it when people could smile so fondly yet be so awful underneath.
“Your cousins here were telling me that your husband is interested in studying the constellations to learn about dragons, or something to that effect, hm?” Lord Guk persisted, not seeming to care that Eli was hardly a participant in the conversation. “I happen to have a very good friend here who would love to pick his mind about it. He has great interest in the alleged dragon sightings by Gondol… Lord Yangban! Ah! There he is!”
Eli’s knees buckled.
Her magic just about tore out of her in a way it hadn’t ever before as blind terror filled her.
She needed to run away. She could not see Lord Yangban, or he’d recognize her instantly. He was the one who had orchestrated her abduction from the palace all those years ago!
“No need to trouble yourself on our behalf, Lord Guk,” Jeong said, jumping in. “Say, I haven’t had a rematch with you at cards since the first night we met!”
Jeong’s words fell on deaf ears. He seemed to sense something was very wrong with Eli, and when he noticed that Lord Guk wasn’t going to surrender her company easily, he began looking around for Bong, only to realize that things were even more complicated than they’d thought.
“Ah, Lord Yangban is speaking with your other cousin, it seems. I’m sure he’ll come over soon. Now, I hope you don’t mind my asking, but your hair is quite short. Is there a particular reason for that?” Lord Guk leaned closer, either unaware or unbothered that his guest had become a new statue in his garden.
“Excuse me, I need to refresh myself…” Eli started backing away, only belatedly remembering that her brother was still standing behind her, waiting to talk to her.
She was trapped. If she went inside claiming she needed to relieve herself, her brother would wait until she was on her way back to talk to her again, and if she rejoined the conversation with Lord Guk, Lord Yangban would be upon them in an instant. If she tried to leave the party, they wouldn’t have accomplished anything!
Her heart raced. On trembling legs, she tried to move back again.
What the hell could she do?
And that was when she bumped into something very firm. Or rather… someone.
Warm hands clasped her upper arms, and the smell of frankincense and peppermint filled her nose…
Her entire body flushed with relief.
“Sorry I’m late—Lord Guk? My name is Mr. Joe Voll. I’m this beautiful woman’s husband.”
Tamlin Ashowan was back.