Chapter 28 The Fall and Follow-Through
Aradia's Arrangement
Giving a single nod, King Eric Reyes barely managed to hold on to his temper.
The news that Captain Taylor had just delivered had not been what he’d been hoping for.
The elite knights combing the woods and countryside had not been able to find any trace of his sons or Aster Fuks.
In the beginning, there had been signs the boys had been headed toward Sorlia, but their trail had suddenly gone cold.
Fin was on his way back to the castle after having contacted some of the businesses in which his wife invested in Sorlia to have them watch out for the group of child runaways.
He had also alerted both the small staff that cared for their Sorlia estate and the staff caring for Lord Les Fuks’s keep to send word should the boys appear on their doorsteps.
Eric raked a hand through his hair as the captain of Daxaria’s military stared at him sympathetically.
“Lord Fin says he still hasn’t had any visions to indicate that the princes are afraid,” Captain Taylor reminded him carefully.
“I know,” Eric bit back. He was well aware how brash he sounded. “But if something does go wrong, it can go wrong quickly. With the coven no longer at our disposal—with the coven as an enemy —you know as well as I do it’s only a matter of time.”
The military man pressed his mouth in a thin line, making his salt-and-pepper beard bristle.
Eric cursed and placed a hand in his pocket as he turned away.
“There hasn’t been any update from Kat or her mother.
In fact, even the Zinferan merchant ships haven’t come as they were supposed to, and we have no idea why.
Has the first witch already taken over Zinfera? Is the Coven of Giong running things?”
The captain looked in the same direction as the king, out through the open arches that overlooked the courtyard. Eric stared blindly at the bright, sunny day that did nothing to lift his spirits. An unease permeated every nook and crevice without discrimination.
“Ah! Captain Taylor!”
The king glanced back over his shoulder in time to see Hannah, his head of housekeeping, approaching with a tray ladened with two slices of peach pie, a teapot, two cups, a container of sugar, and a dainty pitcher of milk.
The entire tea set was painted with blueberries.
While it wasn’t what the king’s food would normally be served on, Eric always enjoyed the fun dishes Hannah discreetly added to the castle’s stores.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty.” Hannah gave as much of a curtsy as she could manage with the fare in her hands. “I thought you two would be in the council room a little while longer.”
Eric glanced at Captain Taylor, who visibly tried not to show his thoughts. But Eric already knew the military man was going to sit and enjoy that slice of pie, since he had only just returned from leading the search for the princes in the area north of Xava that morning.
Sighing, Eric put extra effort into gentling his demeanor for Hannah’s sake as he turned and gestured toward the council room door. “You two should enjoy the tea and pie. I need to try contacting Rollom again.”
Captain Taylor was just starting to bow in assent when his eyes abruptly cut to something over Eric’s shoulder.
Eric whirled around, silently blaming his lack of sleep for his dulled senses. Otherwise, he would have noticed sooner that someone was approaching.
Then he registered what he was staring at.
There was a young woman with strawberry-blond hair and round, clear blue eyes flanked by two towering beings…
Imps.
Eric almost reached for his belt, but he hadn’t clipped a sword on that morning.
“Aradia,” he called, squaring himself as the woman, clad entirely in black, approached him.
She arched an eyebrow and quirked her mouth in amusement. “I see my new appearance does not fool you, Your Majesty.”
Eric heard the creak of leather behind him, and he knew that Captain Taylor was reaching for his sword. The king held out his hand, stopping the movement.
“What are you doing here?” His heart thundered and his mind buzzed. What did this mean? How did the first witch get all the way to the castle without him hearing a word? Was Kat safe?
If she hurt Kat, I’ll kill that bitch myself, even if it costs me my life.
“I’m here to have a conversation, Your Majesty.” Aradia smiled coldly, as though sensing his thoughts.
“Where’s Kat?” Eric asked, his head slowly tilting over his right shoulder as he ignored the threatening looks the two imps were giving him.
The first witch gestured toward the door of the council room. “We can discuss Her Majesty’s safety in—”
Faster than Captain Taylor could react, Eric pulled the knife from the man’s belt without a glance back and leveled its tip at Aradia’s eye. “There won’t be a discussion unless you tell me directly if my wife is safe.”
The two imps drifted forward, but Eric didn’t flinch.
Aradia held up her hand, stopping them.
“As I was saying before you interrupted me, once we discuss the more pressing matter of two covens declaring war on Daxaria and Zinfera and their demands, I’d be more than happy to share with you Her Majesty’s whereabouts.”
Gruesome thoughts filled Eric’s head as he continued staring down the first witch. “There will be no discussion of terms if this is a threat to her safety. This will be a war.”
Regardless of the knife leveled at her face, Aradia rolled her eyes. “Forsake the lives of thousands of innocents all for your wife. What a king you are.”
“You might not know this, because it’s been a while.” Eric’s hand wrapped around the neck of Aradia’s black tunic and yanked toward him. The knife drew even closer to her eye…
The two imps hissed like boiling kettles, but again, Aradia raised a hand, keeping them still.
“My wife is the actual hero. I’m the sick fuckup who will burn this world to the ground if anyone hurts her.”
Aradia blinked at his rush of breath but otherwise seemed unfazed. “For how boisterous and devil-may-care your wife is, I would have thought you’d have mellowed a little.”
Eric allowed the tip of his dagger to move closer to the first witch’s eye. “Where is she?”
“Last I saw her she was perfectly fine.” Aradia sighed. “I can’t tell you where exactly she is right now, as I have no idea. Can we get on to more official matters?”
Eric’s grip loosened fractionally as he registered the lack of deceit in Aradia’s face. Though he knew she was an exceptional liar, he trusted his gut, which told him he would have felt something.
“Is the duchess safe?”
Aradia didn’t mask her irritation. “I haven’t a clue. Now, if you do not release me and agree to this conversation that I came to have in peace, I will be forced to make this day a rather bloody one.”
Eric wished he could simply throw her into a dungeon and declare the whole mess sorted and done with. However, it wasn’t just the first witch he had to deal with; there were the imps and the covens, too.
So with no small amount of hatred over his lack of power in the situation, Eric slowly released her and gestured to the council room.
Straightening her tunic and leather corset, which had gone askew, the first witch stalked into the room with the imps following behind her.
Eric watched her go, then turned to the captain. “Wait out here.”
Captain Taylor frowned. “Your Majesty, I should be there for your protection—”
“You can’t protect me against those imps. There is no point in both of us risking our lives,” Eric interrupted, his tone firm.
“There has to be something we can do!” Hannah insisted. The head of housekeeping looked between the king and captain, her brows furrowed and her eyes bright with panic.
Eric set his calmest stare on her. “No, Hannah. There isn’t.
Fin won’t be back for a little while, and we have no witches in the castle.
The stone golem loyal to Pina is out at sea.
The first witch knows this. It’s probably why she’s here.
If she’s being honest about this being a peaceful talk, then maybe this won’t end with bloodshed. ”
Hannah glanced at the captain. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Captain Taylor met her eyes before turning back to Eric. “As do I. Be careful, Your Majesty. I’ll be just outside here.”
Eric nodded, then moved into the council room and closed the door behind himself.
If Aradia found it strange that Eric was having the conversation without anyone else present, she didn’t show it.
Eric seated himself at the head of the table, as he always did for council meetings. His stomach was leaden as he stared at the first witch. A strange foreboding filled the air, despite Aradia’s insistence that this would be a peaceful talk. He didn’t like it one bit.
“Your Majesty, I’ll get to the point. Witches are too different from humans. They should have a government of their own to keep them organized.”
“They already have that. In the covens,” Eric reminded her curtly.
Aradia sighed. “They need their own leader. One who actually understands what it means to be a witch. Even your own council thinks witches are too different to be named a king.”
Eric didn’t bother asking how Aradia knew about the incredibly private matter of succession for Daxaria. He already had guessed that the coven leader Louise Riddel had been fully immersed in this betrayal.
“That’s because we the people have only just started to adjust to the idea of witches being a fixed part of our society. We understand that big changes must be made slowly. Finlay Ashowan has made great strides in this matter.”
“Speaking of the house witch…” Aradia settled back into her chair while crossing her arms and legs. “There is talk of his son, Tamlin, not inheriting the dukedom.”