The doors slammed opened.

Golden aura sparkled with red instantly began to flood into the room, its source stalking furiously toward the long table of the council room where seven people sat waiting.

“What… in the absolute hell is happening in Zinfera?!” Katarina Reyes shouted, her eyes glinting as she stared at each waiting face.

There was her husband, Eric Reyes, his assistant, Morgan Linsey, her parents, Fin and Annika Ashowan, the former king, Norman Reyes, the former king’s assistant, Mr. Howard, and the Coven of Wittica leader, Louise Riddel.

“We’re trying to figure that out,” Eric informed his wife grimly. “How’s Antony?”

“He’s still struggling to control his magic– he almost roasted his teacher this morning.”

Louise Riddel leaned forward. “It is confirmed then? His Highness is a mutated witch?”

Kat’s eyes narrowed on the coven leader.

The two were barely on cordial terms on a good day. “Yes. He’s a weather witch according to his teacher. Can call a bloody storm on, or clear skies… He’s going to be wildly popular with the farmers, that’s for damn sure.”

The queen plunked herself down gracelessly in the seat on the right side of her husband, her hand casually resting on her sword hilt. “Now, what is happening with Tam? Captain Taylor said it had something to do with imperial soldiers getting mobilized…?”

Eric’s eyes briefly darted to Fin before responding. “Kat… Do you remember when Tam said he would send his first letter?”

The queen paused as she cast her memory back and her aura started to dwindle. “It should’ve been a fortnight ago.”

“No. Longer. A month,” Fin interjected somberly.

“And the sailors tasked with delivering Lord Tam had… alarming things to report,” Annika added. “They came back terrified of Tam, and kept saying he was the devil. Apparently they were besieged by pirates at one point on their journey, and his eyes filled with blackness, and he had shadows all around him.”

Kat’s eyes rounded in alarm as she leaned forward. “What?”

“What is even more concerning however, is that they said there is a boy with him. A young boy, around the age of seven, that he insisted stay by his side that looks remarkably like him.”

“Holy… shit.” Kat looked at Eric who nodded. “It sounds like the devil found Tam, and is using him by taking over his mind. Is that even possible?”

“You and His Majesty have more experience with the son of the Gods,” Louise Riddel interrupted. “You tell us.”

Kat leaned back in her seat, once again falling into pensive quiet.

Eric responded for the both of them.“I don’t think it is possible. During our encounters with the devil he simply made us all terrified beyond reason. Maybe he’s making people frightened of Tam and forcing Tam to do as he says.”

Kat tilted her head back and forth. “That sounds close to what I would’ve thought.”

“There’s more,” Louise Riddel pressed sternly. “The Coven of Giong has reported a death of one of their witches, along with a number of concubine Soo Hebin’s men at arms when they went to investigate a group of people attempting to leave Zinfera by the cover of night.”

The room fell into a deathly quiet.

“Whoever committed these murders escaped, and Her Highness, Soo Hebin, has men scouring Junya trying to find them.”

“I don’t like this,” Eric said slowly. “We still don’t know where the first witch is, now the devil is allegedly with Tam, and I don’t trust concubine Soo Hebin at all. Something is very, very wrong.”

“Da, what about the guides that were supposed to be with Tam? They should have reported to Lord Ryu, too, has there been any word?” Kat questioned her father, her anxiety rising.

Fin hesitated, then answered with. “Nothing yet.”

Kat’s eyebrows twitched.

That was a lie.

Why had her father just lied?

“What do we do now?” the former king of Daxaria, Norman Reyes, asked calmly.

“Someone needs to go over there and find Tam and figure this out, and it has to be someone with power. So I’ll go,” Kat announced firmly.

“Kat…” Eric started to say, already wincing at the expected reaction.

“Your identity will be too obvious,” Annika informed her daughter softly. “And it will be the same with your father. Red hair in Zinfera? The second you stepped off a ship every eye would be on you.”

“So I shave my head! I’ve always wanted to try it!” Kat announced flippantly and a bit of a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Please no,” Eric jumped in a little too hastily.

“Oh, now we get to have final say on each other’s chosen hair length? Why the bloody hell do you have long hair again? And trim your beard!” Kat snapped irritably before looking to her mother. “Who the hell else can we trust to go?”

“Your Majesty, the coven is able to send assistance to Lord Tamlin,” Louise Riddel informed the queen patiently, while lowering her chin in a dignified manner.

Kat’s eye twitched, and Eric gingerly reached over to brush her hand as a gentle reminder to not curse at the woman too much.

“Oh? You’re absolutely confident the coven can handle the devil? Who are you thinking of sending?” The acid in Kat’s words made the coven leader’s lips purse.

“It would of course need to be discussed amongst the other coven elders to discern–”

“And how long would that take?” Kat interrupted sharply. “The way I hear it, people are dying, my brother is missing, and the children of the Gods are on the loose. How long do you think it’ll be until the first witch hears about the devil being spotted? We don’t have an abundance of time.”

“But we can’t charge in recklessly either,” Annika Ashowan’s eyes rested heavily on her daughter, the duchess’s dark gaze bored into Kat’s profile until the queen looked back at her.

Kat straightened and let out a very loud breath through her nose.

“Your Majesty, we did just receive word this morning that Leader Gregory Faucher has sent Sir Hugo Cas to investigate along with Mr. Kraft officially with the Coven of Giong.”

“Sir Cas has blond hair and he gets to go… Wait. Why can’t I just go and not worry about who the hell recognizes me? I’m going because concerning things are happening with the coven!” Kat perked up.

“Sir Hugo Cas is going as an escort to Mr. Kraft. A member of the Coven of Aguas from Troivack. Given that you are no longer technically a member of the coven of Wittica, Your Majesty, that cannot be the reason for your visit.”

“Rumors of the devil damn well could be though,” Kat growled in warning at the coven leader.

“I agree with Kat.”

Every head snapped over to look at the house witch, Finlay Ashowan. “As much as I want to go and find my son, I think to leave Daxaria unguarded right now when we have no idea where the first witch is would be foolish. My apologies, coven leader, I know this falls under my duties as the diplomat for the coven and given that this is my son involved in the matter it would be ideal if I were the one going to Zinfera.However if I need any kind of power to help him, then that can lead to more tensions and issues with Zinfera as I would have to declare Zinfera part of the home in some manner. I think Kat accompanying whoever the coven of Wittica selects as their representative is the best way of figuring out what is happening, and Kat knows what to expect when it comes to facing the children of the Gods.”

Louise Riddel did not look at all pleased by this suggestion, but the fact that she was unable to find a good reason immediately to refute it made Kat’s lips start to quirk upward in a satisfied smile.

“Who else should go with Her Majesty?” Morgan, the king’s assistant interrupted the quiet in a businesslike tone.

“I’ll go with Kat and make sure she doesn’t accidentally start a war,” Eric declared with a sigh.

“Eric–”

“Your Majesty–”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Both the former king and the coven leader spoke at the same time, though after a brief bow to Norman from the coven leader, he continued.

“Eric, you two were just recently crowned. It is a bad idea for both of you to leave the kingdom at a time like this. Not to mention, as wonderful as their grandparents are (myself included of course), I do worry about your sons being left alone. Particularly now during a dangerous time,” Norman cautioned.

“I don’t–”

“I’ll go,” Annika volunteered, cutting off the king.

Eric cast her a firm glance.

“I think that would make the most sense. Your Grace has a marvelous sense of tact and…” Louise Riddel trailed off when Kat’s glittering stare turned to her.

“Her Grace also knows Lord Tamlin well, and has always contributed a very calming presence whenever she has been included in our meetings,” the coven leader finished awkwardly.

“I want someone else. Someone else we can trust to go with them,” Eric insisted. Everyone could see the king’s mood had blackened when he was prevented from joining his wife.

“I have an idea on who could join them,” Norman started to say carefully. “But I will leave it for everyone here to discuss.”

Looking toward the former king who had agreed to come to weigh in on the concerning turn of events, the group waited to hear who he had in mind, though judging from his hesitancy, they weren’t sure it would be a good idea or not.

***

“Here.”

Tam drank from the cup, then shot his assistant a narrowed-eyed look.

Eli turned her attention back to drying off the breakfast dishes innocently.

Swallowing the contents of his cup, Tam set it down on the table and folded his arms. “You aren’t going to win the argument this way.”

“We have to ration what we have left of supplies, and your lordship has a high standard. We have to make adjustments.”

“Do we now?”

Luca who was sitting beside his father working on writing out the math problem Eli had set for him leaned over to look in his father’s cup.

“What’s wrong, dad?”

“Eli here, thinks she can convert me to a morning tea drinker.”

Jeong, who had just finished piling dirt over the remains of their fire, looked up in alarm. “Gods, Eli. There are some things you do not try to change in a person!”

“I’ve been drinking coffee since I was thirteen years old. You can’t change me now,” Tam challenged while rising to his feet.

“Coffee stunts your growth,” Luca jumped in helpfully, then instantly second guessed himself as he stared up at the great height his father stood at. “Could I start drinking coffee now?” he asked Jeong who grinned down at him.

“We have been walking through the wilds of Zinfera for two weeks, and we won’t be anywhere near a town for another two days! You have next to no coffee left!”

“We have enough for two days!” Tam argued back as Eli crossed her arms and lifted her chin imperially.

“You enjoy tea the other times of the day, I don’t understand why you struggle to adapt to enjoying it in the morning!”

“It isn’t strong enough to wake me up in the morning. Besides, do I seem like I have an overabundance of energy?”

Eli arched an eyebrow. “Black tea is just as strong.”

“Like hell it is.” Tam scoffed.

“Coffee drinkers are all so aggressive,” Eli informed Tam with a sigh.

“At least we aren’t pretentious about it and try to convert others to the beverage– I said it!” Tam cut himself off to make sure she knew he was not going to back down when he saw Eli’s jaw drop in shock and fury.

“Every coffee drinker tries to convert someone!” Eli started to shout.

“Have I tried to convert you?” Tam ducked his head closer to her, his eyes wild, but a barely restrained smile in the right corner of his mouth hinted that he was rather enjoying this little fight of theirs.

“Just kiss already.” Luca gave a sigh of undisguised disgust.

Jeong let out a booming laugh and finished packing away the last of their things.

During the two week journey hiking through the Zinferan forest known as the Kaphe Forest, the nature of Tam and Eli’s relationship had become increasingly obvious to both Jeong and Luca, and while nothing had explicitly been said, there was a great amount of assumptions made.

Eli didn’t even blush at Luca’s interruption as it had become so commonplace for little comments and moments of teasing to take place. Nor did she look away from her employer in shyness as much as before.

Instead, doubling down on her resolve she peered up at Tam and said, “Coffee makes your breath smell rancid. I couldn’t stand kissing him in the morning after he drinks that stuff anyway.”

While it was the new norm for Luca and Jeong to tease Eli, it was a whole thing altogether for her to acknowledge the relationship.

In a fit of disgruntled surprise, Tam grabbed her and hoisted her up, making her let out a squeak and her arms be forced to go around his neck to steady herself.

“Is that so?” he asked while Luca mimed puking on the ground behind him.

Jeong ushered the boy to stand up so that he could break down the small stools to add to Tam’s pack.

Eli stared down as haughtily as she could at Tam, though she had once again discovered how to blush.

“Put me down, we need to start walking.”

“Mm. Well. I haven’t had any coffee this morning because my helpful assistant,” Tam pretended to drop Eli, making her grip onto him even more firmly, her eyes widened in surprise. “Made me tea. So… how is my breath? Still too gross for you to kiss me?”

“You… are… incorrigible!” Eli ground out around her embarrassment.

Tam—after stealing a quick look around her to make sure neither Luca or Jeong were watching—kissed her very quickly before setting her down on the ground and walking confidently over to where his pack lay.

“Dad that was gross,” Luca informed his father flatly.

Tam grinned down at his son. “One day you’ll understand.”

Luca shuddered then plundered on ahead of all of them, leaving Tam to smile after him while pulling his own pack on his shoulders.

He was enjoying getting to see Luca act more comfortably and confidently around him as they settled into their routine of traveling. Even though it meant his son was starting to develop more attitude, Tam took it as a good sign that he was feeling secure around them.

Looking toward Jeong, Tam’s smile grew as he discovered the man was still giggling to himself.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag,” Tam surmised with a sigh.

“I think there is already a very large cat out of the bag stalking behind us,” Jeong joked. “You two can hang back and hold hands, I’ll quiz Luca on his homework for a league before you two take over.”

Tam nodded appreciatively then loitered until Eli caught up to him, and once the two had fallen into step, he took Jeong’s advice and reached over and grasped her hand.

“It’ll be hard to climb the terrain like this,” Eli pointed out practically.

“Just for a little while, this way you can help support me in case I’m too tired from a lack of coffee.”

Eli scowled at mention of this, but Tam could tell it was a facade in the name of her competitive nature not wanting to back down.

He had to admit, he never thought hiding from a coven and imperial army could be such a lovely time, and in a way, he was wishing that their long journey was in fact a little longer.

Oh well, at least I’ll have another few weeks of traveling with them. That’s still a while yet.

Unfortunately for Tam, he was unaware that his blissful reprieve from stress was coming to an end far sooner than he had originally guessed…

And he would soon be longing for the simple days of hiking and flirting followed by nights of teaching and stories with his son.