Chapter 48
A Dalliance with Darkness
T am noted that the rest of the men surrounding them wore plain black. Perhaps they weren’t all witches…
“There seems to be a mistake,” he called back to the Zinferan who had addressed them. “I am not Satan, but I confess, I am not Mr. Joe Voll, either.”
At the creak of a bow being drawn, Tam jerked his head back to look over his shoulder. His blood filled with ice when he saw the arrow directed at Jeong, who balled his thick hands into fists at his sides and glared at the archer.
Turning quickly back to the man who addressed them, Tam felt his magic seep forward. He wasn’t sure where an unfamiliar instinct came from. It would require trusting his magic like never before. But it was welling up inside of him rapidly.
It’d be a blind leap into the darkness, and he’d be risking everyone’s lives.
He fought back against the urge, opting for the less risky option. “My name is Lord Tamlin Ashowan. I am traveling in Zinfera with my assistant here, Eli, and a family friend.”
Barely anyone dared to breathe.
Tam watched the Zinferan who had spoken to him lower his brows. Beside the man, the fire witch’s eyes had grown round. No one was smiling anymore.
“If that is the case”—the man who appeared to be in charge strode forward confidently—“Then you are traveling without issuing proper notice to either the Coven of Giong or the Zinferan emperor.”
“That is because I am not traveling on official business,” Tam explained hastily, every muscle in his body taut. He noticed the way Eli shrank back against the carriage. Her attention was fixed on the fire witch, who had a close-cropped beard and an oval face. He stared imperiously at Tam.
Pretty bold if he genuinely thinks I’m the devil , Tam thought suspiciously.
“And you are able to prove your identity?”
“Of course. I have papers with me, as well as other tokens belonging to my family that should be recognizable.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Might I ask who I’m speaking to?” Tam ventured warily, still well aware of the arrow primed for release behind him.
“You can ask.” The man said nothing more.
Tam continued staring for a breath of silence. “Is there a reason there is still an arrow aimed at us?”
“Is there a reason your knives are still drawn?”
Tam felt aggravated anger start to burn in his being. They were being mocked and toyed with. “Put down the arrow,” he ordered, his voice soft. He felt his magic build from the soles of his feet, up his chest, down his arms, and into his head. He knew that at any moment his eyes would blacken.
“I will, once we are finished asking questions. It is highly suspicious that you travel with your identity hidden, and with a missing princess who belongs here in Zinfera, no less.”
Jeong stiffened and Eli froze. Tam sensed the two reactions while his own heart skipped a beat.
This was bad.
Very bad.
“What do you want?” he asked, forcing the fingers holding the hilt of his blade not to flutter.
The man smiled, and the cold look in his eyes made Tam’s stomach churn.
“Lord Tamlin, we are happy to let you board your ship after you meet with one of our superiors and the princess agrees to return to the palace. Her Highness Soo Hebin has been worried for her.”
“And you are aware that forcing someone working under the protection of my family to do something against her wishes will invoke consequences from Daxaria?”
That at least dimmed the man’s slyness, if only slightly.
“She does not have the emperor’s permission to leave the royal family.”
“She is not property. She is a person. Unless the laws have changed since I last checked. Princess Elisara Taejo left Zinfera nearly a decade ago and is now under the protection of Viscount House Jenoure, Duchy of Ashowan, the Daxarian king, and my father, the Coven of Wittica’s diplomat. And —” Tam’s power pushed against the confines of his control.
“Tam—” Eli tried to physically insert herself between Tam and the representative, who was holding his ground, though he was looking increasingly uncertain despite Tam not moving a muscle. But Tam wouldn’t let her; his forearm coming out just enough to block her.
“— And she is under my protection.” Tam’s words came out a rasping growl thanks to the effort it was taking to fight off his magic.
The fire witch shifted closer, but a single flitting of Tam’s eyes in his direction stopped him in place. “You will be coming with us, Lord Tamlin, or you will be charged with espionage and aggressive acts against the emperor and our coven.”
Tam leaned forward slowly. “Are you going to put down that fucking arrow, or am I going to do it for you?”
The man’s eyebrows twitched, and his right heel slid backward half an inch. “This aggressiveness does not warrant peaceable treatment of—”
Tam let the power consume him, and unlike any time before in his life… he chose to trust his magic.
◆◆◆
In a rush of black-and-silvery smoky aura, Tam disappeared.
“Wh-what is— Where’d he go?” the coven’s representative demanded, turning to Eli.
The archer darted his startled eyes to her out of sheer panic. The rest of the men were exclaiming in surprise and nervousness.
Before Eli could even think of a response, Tam reappeared…
Behind the archer.
He wrapped the man’s head and shoulder in a hold that redirected the arrow to the ground, and with a quick jolt, he pulled the shoulder out of its socket. The archer shouted in pain.
The other assailants instinctively began to retreat as Tam jerked the man’s head, then released the body onto the ground, but that was all they had time to do, because Tam disappeared again.
And just as the fire witch started to square himself to Eli, Tam reappeared behind him and slid a dagger into his back.
Before the fire witch’s body had even hit the ground, Tam disappeared, and reappeared behind another man… and another… and another, until in a rush of smoke and fog, every assailant but one lay lifeless on the ground.
The man who had cockily taunted Tam stumbled back, his voice caught in his throat before his eyes flew desperately toward Eli.
As though sensing the line of his thoughts, Jeong grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him against the carriage to stop him from acting on any unsavory ideas about grabbing Eli and using her as a shield to escape.
Tam reappeared beside Jeong, who jolted.
The future duke bore down on the final adversary, his eyes filled with black, pooling magic. “Who sent you?” he asked, his voice seeming to echo from everywhere.
“T-t-t-the first witch! S-she is who you will answer to! She is—”
“So Soo Hebin wants Eli, and the first witch wants me? Why?”
“S-she wants the devil.”
“And who are you?” Tam persisted, his eyes gradually returning to normal.
“Garam. I serve Her Highness who is an ally of the first witch.”
“So concubine Soo Hebin is aiding the fugitive , the first witch, and the coven knows about it. Does everyone in the coven know?” Tam demanded. His breath came out as vapor in the chilly morning air.
“M-most. Not all.” Garam swallowed. “You can’t leave. The coven will come after you. They’ll sink your ship. You have no choice but to come to the palace and—”
“No. I have a choice. And that is to leave no witnesses and then find a different way home. Though I appreciate the input. And information.”
Tam lifted his blade.
“You cannot possibly be an A-Ashowan! The family represents goodness and—”
“Goodness has a cost, and I happen to be the outlier who pays it.” With a short jab, Tam ended Garam’s life. Jeong let him fall to the ground in a heap.
◆◆◆
Tam turned to look at Eli.
She flinched.
He recoiled at her fearful response, his grip on his dagger tightening before he busied himself wiping his blade clean and sheathing it.
Jeong stared for a long while at Tam, then Eli, his thoughts indiscernible. Tam could tell he was trying to process everything he had just learned about them: Tam could disappear and reappear… and while they had merely talked about the possibility of him killing someone in the past, he had actually gone ahead and done so quickly and efficiently with no hesitation.
Not to mention, Eli was a princess.
“Luca? Close your eyes and crawl out, okay?” Tam called while crouching down.
“What are we going to do now, my lord?” Eli inquired, her neutral tone sounding forced. “Garam was right. They can sink our ship if we try to leave from this port. The coven resides on an island nearby. If we take a ship, we most likely would only have half a day before they come looking for us.”
Tam lifted Luca into his arms before gently setting his son back in the carriage and closing the door. “I killed these men so that they can’t reveal my identity. That will keep my family, Jeong’s family, and Daxaria safe from any accusations of espionage or treason. It was the only way to stop a war breaking out, but we do need to get back… For now, they will just assume it’s the devil who did this,” Tam reasoned as Jeong folded his arms.
“That doesn’t answer the question—what now? They know where to look for Mr. Voll. We can’t go back to the house or use that name.”
Tam nodded wearily and reached up to rub the back of his neck.
“We could go to my brother,” Eli said suddenly.
Tam’s eyes snapped up. “No.”
Eli blinked then stood taller. “Why not? And how did you know about him planning to leave the title to any son I bear?”
“He told me when we had tea yesterday.”
“What?”
Tam watched anger spark in Eli’s face.
“Your brother’s assistant was obviously using him, and I wanted to warn him about it. I was going to tell you about it after I went to Lord Guk’s, but things got—”
“Tam, Eli, we need to leave. It’ll be daylight soon,” Jeong interrupted softly.
For a moment the couple stared at each other, the heavy weight of their unresolved discussion sinking its claws into them, until Tam sighed then held open the carriage door for Eli.
She gave him one last steely look, then climbed in and sat beside Luca.
Tam closed the door and joined Jeong on the driver’s bench.
Once the two men were ready, Jeong slapped the reins gently onto the horses’ backs and set them into motion. Heavy raindrops started to drop from the sky as they navigated their way away from the harbor in silence.
It wasn’t until they had found a suitably quiet side road that conversation started.
“Eli’s a princess?” Jeong ventured quietly.
“Yes.”
Jeong’s eyes lowered thoughtfully, then lifted once more.
“Where are we going?”
Tam leaned his head back against the carriage as he replayed in his mind the way Eli had flinched under his stare.
“I think I know someone whom we can stay with while we reorganize. We’ll go there, and then you’ll go get Bong. We’re going to have to leave from some other port, or find some safe way to send the message.”
Jeong nodded in assent, though he did shoot a look of surprise and uncertainty at Tam when he mentioned their destination.
Tam sighed and closed his eyes to sort through his thoughts.
The way he had used his magic when fighting—it had been…
Exhilarating.
Freeing even.
It had felt so effortless weaving in and out of the void like a needle and thread, reappearing wherever he wanted to be.
He also realized how different this had felt from the times before, when his goal was simply to disappear into the void. His magic had been beckoning him to trust in it—to trust in himself.
“Eli has probably seen worse things than what happened back there,” Jeong started carefully. “And I’m sure she’ll forgive you eventually for having tea with her brother.”
Tam gave a quiet, humorless chuckle. “She has definitely seen worse, but betraying her trust…? She doesn’t take that lightly. And I think while she’s seen more gore, seeing my magic was—”
“That was incredible.” Jeong shook his head, awe in his voice. “Terrifying, absolutely. But as soon as you disappeared, I knew we’d be fine. I had this sense that you became… bigger than the situation, and that you controlled it.”
Tam allowed himself a half smile. “It’s funny. I’ve been afraid of my magic for years, but I never thought it’d frighten other people the same way.”
Jeong didn’t reply.
Instead, they continued through the quiet streets of Junya. The clouds above prevented the light of dawn from reaching them.
Which was probably a blessing as they fled a crime scene.
“What happens if the covens discover what you did?”
“I’ll be on trial,” Tam answered easily, even though his mind was starting to feel like it was turning to stone, and exhaustion weighed down his limbs. “I’ll argue it was in self-defense, but honestly, until things get sorted with the concubine, I don’t think it’ll go over well.”
Jeong winced.
“I’m sorry. I’ve gotten you involved in a lot more than just touring me around Zinfera and drinking with nobles,” Tam said sincerely while addressing the Zinferan he had come to think of so highly.
Jeong smiled. “My father did warn Bong and me that things get messy when the Ashowans are involved. But he also said your bloodline has a way of making everything work out.”
Guiltily, Tam winced and looked ahead of himself. “I’m sorry to say it, Jeong, but I don’t know that I inherited that ability. If I had, I probably wouldn’t be the one in the family who creeps around in the shadows and occasionally kills people.”
Leaning to the side, Jeong bumped his shoulder into Tam. “Time will tell.”
Tam would’ve argued, but he didn’t have the heart to in that moment, and so he simply allowed Jeong’s comforting sentiment to rest between them. The fact that Jeong still seemed to trust that Tam was a decent person and only ended a life in self-defense meant more than he could possibly say.
“I hope Luca didn’t see any of it,” Tam lamented next.
At this Jeong grimaced. “I hope that, too.”
The two men fell into pensive silence as they continued to ride through the streets, though they were becoming increasingly soaked from the rain.
Tam didn’t mind. If anything, it helped him stay grounded and not spiral into a state of pure anxiety as his energy was focused on not shivering… that is until they pulled up to their destination.
Jumping down from the driver’s seat, Jeong and Tam approached the two guards who stood at the doors.
“I’m here to see Lord Kim,” Tam called out. “Please tell him that his scholarly foreign friend is here.”
One of the men bowed and called for a steward. Jeong and Tam stood out in the rain in front of the grand wooden doors.
The world started to spin in Tam’s vision, and his right knee trembled.
“Are you alright?” Jeong asked, noticing that his companion was looking quite pale.
“Fine… Just tired.” Tam gritted his teeth as he battled against the lightness in his head.
Perhaps between spending three days in the void, dragging Lord Kim there, and then fighting using the abilities he had barely touched before was too much.
Despite his efforts, a particularly violent spin in his vision sent Tam down to his left knee on the hard cobblestones. He caught himself with his left hand before he bashed his nose against the ground.
He could distantly hear people’s voices around him as colored spots filled his vision, but he couldn’t tell who they belonged to. The draining of his energy was so thorough that as it happened, Tam couldn’t think of anything other than how he hoped he was right, and that Lord Kim would be willing to host and protect them for a few days, at least until he could formulate a new plan that would keep everyone he cared about as safe as possible.
The colored spots turned to darkness, and then, Tam lost himself to the weighty realm of sleep.