Clutching Luca to his chest, Tam hoped the boy wouldn’t feel how hard his heart pounded as the carriage rocked to and fro on the road.

He tried to mentally tally where they were by how long they had been riding, but with the stop and start of the vehicle– most likely thanks to the festival clogging the streets– it was a hopeless task.

“Dad?” Luca whispered.

“Ssh,” Tam murmured.

His son shifted against him as they traveled.

In a way, Tam hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell when they were stopped at the gates of the city, because that would mean he wouldn’t have to disappear into his void and his poor child wouldn’t be forced to come along with him.

Sadly, it was easy for Tam to sense.

The carriage stopped, and he could feel the latch of the carriage lift as it reverberated down the wood into his shoulder.

He could hear the murmur of voices.

One rumbled, one spoke tersely, and one softly.

The soft voice was most definitely Lord Kim.

The carriage bounced.

Someone had gotten off.

It bounced one more time.

Judging by the silence, Tam gathered that everyone save for one person remained in the carriage.

Now it was a waiting game of whether or not the person searching the carriage would check in the seat where Luca and Tam were scrunched up hidden together.

The instant someone touched the bench, Tam knew to disappear with Luca into his void.

He waited… And waited.

And nothing happened.

Until Luca’s heel accidentally tapped the back of the wall.

Tam heard a slight shift in the wood of the carriage and the hair on the back of his neck stood up, his instincts screamed, and so he whisked away both Luca and himself into the void without bothering to wait and find out what had been about to happen.

*

“Is there a particular reason you are leaving the city during the spring blossom festival, Lord Kim?” the imperial soldier asked, his demeanor calm, but his dark eyes appraising.

Behind the lord with his footman and maid, three guards scoured the carriage for any stowaways.

Lord Kim inclined himself respectfully to the guard clad in a long loose red shirt who wore a chest plate and matching helmet, a sword at his hip, and a spear in his hand.

“The noise is unacceptable and the number of drunkards vomiting on our beautiful streets leaves me no choice but to flee for my home in Gondol. Perhaps by the time I arrive there things will have regained some sense of order and propriety!” Lord Kim huffed.

The man’s moralistic reputation served his claims well, and Eli had no doubt that he was actually quite sincere about his thoughts on the festival…

The soldier appeared to have not have heard of Lord Kim’s pure reputation however, as he raised a doubtful eyebrow before sliding his gaze over to his comrades and lifting the torch in his hand higher, further illuminating the north gate of Junya.

One of the other soldiers circled to the back of the carriage and started pulling off trunks from the back of the vehicle.

“I beg your pardon? What do you think you are doing?!” Lord Kim seethed openly while rounding toward the guard.

“Inspecting what you are taking from the city,” the imperial guard who had been questioning the Zinferan lord answered without a hint of emotion.

Lord Kim whirled back around, fury bright in his eyes. “On whose authority do you have to search a noble’s things? Her Highness Soo Hebin? If so, then you have grossly overstepped your bounds, as this is not an order from our emperor himself!”

At the very least, this point did make the soldier pause, and even raise a hand to stop the men from opening the trunks.

“Her Highness’s men were murdered, along with an esteemed member of the Coven of Giong. Her Highness is to be commended for being so proactive in retaining good relations with the coven. Do you not agree?”

“I do not agree with orders issued behind our emperor’s back. It almost sounds like treason.” Lord Kim loomed over the guard, who, while wiry, was at least half a foot shorter than the nobleman. He was particularly small for a soldier… But given that he seemed to be in charge, that only meant he was that much more intelligent.

A soldier within the carriage suddenly held up a hand, drawing every soldier’s attention.

His gaze was fixed on the seat cushion where Lord Kim had been sitting.

The nobleman rounded, as did his footman and maid… who happened to be Eli in disguise…

The soldier then lifted his sword, took aim, and plunged it into the seat.

“Honestly!” Lord Kim threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “I am fining you! You will pay for the upholstery of my carriage!”

Everyone ignored him.

The guard lifted the cushion with the lid to the compartment underneath, his blade at the ready, only everyone could see him relax as he realized he was staring at an empty space.

He continued to kneel down onto the carriage ground and start knocking on the walls of the compartment while frowning.

During that time, the commander who had been dealing with Lord Kim strode over to the vehicle purposefully.

When it was concluded they had found nothing suspicious despite stabbing through the seat with its cushion, the soldier who was investigating the carriage shook his head at his commander.

Lord Kim waited with his arms crossed and unmasked disapproval.

The guards all shared glum expressions.

“Well?” Lord Kim insisted irritably.

“We still have to go through your luggage.”

Lord Kim took a deep breath in, looked to the stars, and then proceeded with his tirade of fury.

Eli waited behind him.

She was certain much of his rage was coming from his impassioned upset pertaining to Soo Hebin, but at the same time, it was also doing a marvelous job of aggravating and distracting the guards from wanting to bother taking a closer look at herself or the footman.

And so she waited, and hoped that Tam would be able to find his way out of the void with Luca again, and that he had indeed mastered his magic enough to appear back in the carriage, and even more importantly… That his magic wouldn’t run out.

Tam had explained to her that the reason he had fallen unconscious was he had overexerted his power as of late, and so he didn’t have a great deal to muster…

Eli’s pulse raced to the point of making her dizzy, but there was nothing she could do other than keep her hands clasped in front of her plain gray skirts, and stare down as the imperial soldiers tore through Lord Kim’s belongings.

*

“Keep your eyes closed, Luca,” Tam ordered the moment they appeared in the void– though he did release his son from his firm hold against his chest.

He didn’t want Luca feeling the tremors running through his body that felt akin to the end of a gruesome workout that left his muscles weak.

Tam knew it was a risk letting go of Luca in that moment as he felt his control slipping and his exhaustion growing.

“What’s happening?” Luca asked, fear making his voice come out a croak.

While Luca was able to come up to his knees, his eyes firmly closed, Tam remained laying down as he tried to regain some measure of strength.

In a way he had hoped that returning to the void would help him restore some power, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

It would seem his magic needed to recover the good old fashioned way.

By resting.

“We are just somewhere safe for a little while, but we will be back in the carriage soon, alright?”

“If it’s safe, why can’t I open my eyes?” Luca’s hands started to fidget, and Tam wished he could force himself to sound calm and comforting, but his vision was starting to spin.

He didn’t know how much longer he could keep himself awake.

But if he fell unconscious in the void, would he just reappear somewhere, and Luca would be stuck there?

Would they both reappear in the world where trouble awaited them?

His teeth started to chatter as the trembling worsened.

“You have to keep them closed because it’s a hard place to see. Just… Just… wait,” Tam managed.

“Dad, are you okay?”

“Very tired… It’ll be alright, Luca. I promise.”

“I really want to open my eyes, dad.”

“No, Luca. I’m serious. Do not open your eyes.”

Luca fidgeted even more, and even in his weakened state Tam could see his son’s eyes moving under his eyelids.

Stolen novel; please report.

Summoning some of his remaining strength, Tam managed to roll onto his side and start pushing himself up.

Why was he so drained? He had been perfectly fine before! Was it like an overextended muscle he had accidentally pulled again before it had time to properly heal…?

“Luca, I’m going to hug you again, and really soon, we are going to return to the carriage,” Tam repeated while taking the time to enunciate his words so that he could successfully keep the warble from his voice.

Luca’s fidgeting turned to outright pant gripping. “Dad, I'm scared.”

“I’m sorry, I understand that it is scary, but everything is going to be okay. Do you trust me?”

A peculiar look overtook Luca’s face then.

It was not unlike the time aboard the ship coming to Zinfera that Tam had seen it in his cabin after the attack of the pirates, or the time in the street when he’d been talking about his odd dreams… Though at least Luca still didn’t open his eyes.

“Luca, are you alright?”

There was a moment as though Luca struggled to come back to himself, and Tam gingerly reached forward to rest a hand on his shoulder. Only this had the very bad effect of making Luca’s eyes snap open.

Seeing this, Tam grabbed him, pulling Luca into his chest, blocking his sight in a panic, but the movement made him completely lose grip on his power. Tam felt both himself and Luca be snapped out of the void. Belatedly, Tam attempted to grasp where they were going to reappear by paying attention to the feelings and smells that flooded by him in a rush.

Fresh air…? The cool touch of stones?

But it was all over too soon… And then he was on his back.

Luca was still in his arms as he lay in the grass, his boots stretched over the edge of the road.

Tam opened his eyes and saw the wide expanse of starry skies but also noted the glow of torchlight a short ways to the left.

He could hear voices, and he fought against unconsciousness to sit up, and turn his head toward the sounds.

There was the gate of Junya.

There were the imperial soldiers.

Tam’s heart slammed against his chest, which unfortunately did nothing to help his waning energy.

At least they were far enough away that there was a chance that the guards couldn’t see them in the darkness!

But… Where was the carriage?

Tam’s stomach roiled, and he did his best, regardless of the cold sweat sprouting along his brow, to ease his feet off the road while laying low in the grass.

“Why aren’t we in the carriage?” Luca at the very least had the good sense to speak softly.

“I didn’t do something right. Just a moment… I’m trying to spot the carriage, but we need to be very, very quiet.

Luca, being the smart lad that he was, nodded for his response, then managed to move onto his belly then in the grass, he slowly moved away.

Meanwhile, Tam’s mind raced.

Had Eli and Lord Kim left already? Or had they been apprehended?

Taking long, steadying breaths, Tam mimicked his son’s movements and continued to crawl on his stomach into the grasses. There was the start of a forest just over a nearby slope, and so Tam directed their efforts there.

Though he was hoping he could rest for a little while once they’d slid over the ledge before continuing to move deeper into the darkness away from Junya…

And so he did.

Thankfully, it seems the soldiers stationed at the gate were too busy keeping an eye on things in the city to give any special thought to what was happening farther away from the gate, and as the lights from Junya faded in the distance behind them as they carefully climbed down the hill through the trees and reached the bottom, Tam felt comfortable enough to rest.

“Wake me if I’m not already up by dawn, alright?” Tam ordered softly while still holding onto his son to keep the poor child warm in the chill of the night.

“Okay… What are we going to do if mom and Lord Kim are gone ahead of us though? How did we get out of the carriage? Where did we go? Was it magic?” Luca’s questions grew brighter in tone with excitement, but Tam had to gently stroke his head in response.

“Sorry, but… I will have to answer… your questions… In the morning… Alright?”

Luca obediently fell silent, and Tam started to relax enough that he felt his body start to turn unbearably heavy, even though he wished he could’ve continued walking well into the night until they caught up with the carriage…

“Dad?”

“Hm?”

“I know things are kind of scary right now… But I know you’re going to make everything okay.”

Tam smiled sleepily and resumed gently rubbing Luca’s head.

“Wake me before dawn if you can, alright?”

Tam felt Luca nod under his palm, and so he broadened his tightlipped smile, though he was already half asleep

Everything else had been going according to plan aside from Tam’s inability to wield his magic properly during their escape, and being the perfectionist he was with his work, that should have troubled him a lot more, but at the very least, Luca was safe.

I’ll find Eli and Lord Kim tomorrow, and we’ll continue traveling until the next town to meet up with Jeong… Today is just a slight hiccup. It isn’t that bad. I can still fix this. Eli… Wherever you are… Please… if you can… Come find us.

And so Tam at last succumbed to sleep, his body twitching and his forehead perspiring, but he hoped that a simple good night’s rest would be all he needed to rally again for the next day. They still weren’t out of danger yet… but with any luck, Eli and Lord Kim had escaped without a problem.

*

Tam awoke with a jolt the next day, and found that despite his fervent wishes that things would start on a smoother note, learned that he may as well have hoped for the rumored dragon of Zinfera to walk up and introduce itself.

As upon feeling Luca’s hands tug at his arm, jolting him awake, Tam discovered himself surrounded by guards with lowered spears and another bunch with four torches raised above their heads.

Tam bit back a curse word as Luca was shrinking to the size of a ball at his side.

Sitting up and clearing his throat, Tam plastered an easy going smile on his face.

“Good morning!” he greeted brightly while also wrapping an arm around Luca. “How are you fine… armed… gentlemen doing today?”

“Sir you will be coming with us to Junya for questioning,” one of the soldier’s informed Tam calmly.

“Oh?” Tam didn’t bother reaching for his knives. He could tell a single wrong move and everything would go horribly wrong.

“There have been several murders in Junya and we are going to investigate anyone suspicious who–”

“But I’ve never been to Junya. I was with a traveling troupe until–”

“On your feet,” the soldier ordered again.

Tam held his hands up in the air to show he was unarmed. “I will be glad to, but my boy here is a bit afraid, mind lowering your weapons?” He tried relaxing his formal pronunciation to make himself seem less threatening and peculiar.

The group stared at him and didn’t budge.

Tam felt stress grip his chest as his mind raced.

He couldn’t risk using his magic. He might pass out and instantly condemn himself. And without anyone to look out for Luca it was out of the question.

Slowly rising to his feet with his hands in the air, Luca slipped behind him, burying his head into Tam’s lower back.

“Now, sirs, there really isn’t a need for–”

A flash of black fur and a loud, snarling growl was all that proceeded before a massive animal tackled two of the soldiers to the ground.

Tam flinched back, his right arm reaching back protectively for Luca, and yet… He felt oddly calm after the initial startle.

The beast continued swiping with massive paws at the men that had them scatter, forcing them to defend as individuals rather than a cohesive group.

Which was perfectly fine for the beast what with each of its claws being the length of a man’s finger and its fangs being almost the same size if not longer.

It systematically darted and leapt between the men, powerful muscles rippling with each attack.

Tam watched the long, ropey black tail swish right before it pounced on the remaining two men that had started to run away, completely transfixed.

The soldiers littering the ground were either unconscious or dead, and yet Tam waited with a thudding heart as the beast turned and stalked back over to him, a low rumble in its great chest.

It looked like a giant cat… A panther of some sort? Or something even bigger. Then again Tam had never seen a panther himself in real life.

He knew he should’ve been frightened. Especially without his magic. Luca was letting out shivering sobs behind him, and yet when the animal lifted his face, and its large, glittering yellow eyes met with his, a rush surged through Tam.

Knowingness filled him, electricity hummed throughout his being…

My familiar. He thought dumbly to himself as he beheld the creature that stared back at him as though in equal awe.

Tam had no idea how long they stared at each other, but he relished in the potent happiness of at last finding his familiar, already sensing what a powerful connection it was…

But then the back of the beast twitched, and it’s legs shook…

Tam frowned, what was wrong with–

It transformed.

And in front of him, kneeling on the grass staring up at him in open shock, remarkably fully clothed once more…

Was Eli.