“I, on the other hand, can use a seamstress. Meir, can you send them my way,please?”
Meir furrowed his thick, bushy eyebrows at her, but remained silent.
“Fine, I know of a good one anyway,” Luelle answered for herself with a huff.
As they walked through the halls, everyone bowed deeply at Ael. A little Fae boy ran out from a side door carrying a wooden toy bear and crashed into Ael, falling to the ground and dropping the toy. As the little boy began to cry, his mother rushed over from the doorway, saw that her son had bumped into the king, and started begging for his forgiveness.
Ael looked down at them in confusion. He was nothing like his father during his rule. When had anyone in his court been this scared of him? He knew he demanded respect, but he tried to rule with care and compassion.
“It’s no problem. Are you okay?” Ael asked as he bent down to look at the boy. He picked up the wooden toy and handed it back to him. “Here you go. Be careful running these halls, child. There are usually people carrying important things around.”
He extended his hand for the little boy to take and helped him to stand.
The mother thanked Ael for his kindness and grabbed her son’s arm, dragging him back through the doors, scolding him on the way out and looking back over her shoulder at Ael.
He sighed. “Is there anything else I am required to attend within the next few hours?” he asked Meir and Luelle.
Meir shook his head.
“Then I’ll head back to my room and get some rest. I’ll see you later when the petitions arrive for review.”
Luelle and Meir bowed, and he walked down the hallway toward his chambers. He closed the large doors and eagerly reached into his pocket, saying Seda’s name and waiting for the stone to light up.
After a few moments of waiting with no image appearing, he triedagain. After the stone failed to work on his third attempt, his heart dropped in fear that something had gone wrong.
It took four more tries before the stone finally flickered, and he caught sight of Seda walking through snowy terrain. Then, the image vanished, replaced by the witch’s crazed face. She beckoned him with a finger to come to her, and the stone went blank.
That fucking tricky witch!
He snarled like a beast and turned toward the doors, throwing them open and marching down the hall. He ignored the chirping birds above. At least Seda was alive.
She is getting closer to the Wisps.
As Aeland Praxis made their way to the witch’s cabin through a field of lavender, they watched the magical green essence float around them like fireflies on a warm summer night. Umbrea was known for its surplus of magic that flitted through the air. The essence allowed their gardens to grow large and healthy, producing the best fruits and vegetables in Xyberus. Umbrea traded produce with Tuath for meat, as the Lycanthropes were known for their skilled hunting and ranching.
“What do you plan to say to her?” Praxis asked him.
“I need to know what she wants me to do to fix this damn stone,” Ael said as he stepped over a low log fence separating the forest from Umbrea’s gardens.
The witch had been around for as long as Ael knew. She was the oldest living Fae in the realm and had traveled the world. He’d heard tales of her from her younger days, that she was a gifted oracle with magic that surpassed traditional Fae powers.
It was probably all those nasty potions she liked to brew.
She experimented with crystals, monster parts, herbs, and chemicals.No one dared to ask her about what she knew or how she came to know it. But it was widely known that she kept her spells within her Book of Light, which she kept hidden.
“Last time, she wanted you to find her the eye of a Mungder to give you information. Do you remember how hard that was to get?” Praxis shook his head. “That asshole almost took us both out. I can only imagine what it will be this time.”
“I’ll drag her the entire head of a Mungder if she wants it. I want the stone to work,” he replied.
They strolled through a grove of towering pines and spotted a small plume of smoke rising from the witch’s fireplace in the distance. As they drew closer, the small cabin came into view, its stone facade, straw roof, and warped windows standing out. A gravel path lined with herbs and flowers growing from the soft earth led the way to the cabin’s wooden front door.
Ael banged on the door, a little too hard. “I have come as you called.”
Shuffling noises and clinking pots echoed from inside the cabin, and then the front door swung open, sending the magical essence swirling around the air.
The witch’s silver, ragged hair hung down to her crooked knees, which bent awkwardly as she walked. Her nose was as crooked as her knees, and her beady, green eyes stared out at Ael with a lifetime of wisdom.
“About time you showed up, letting that miserable girl take your place. Totally unacceptable!” She flashed a wicked smile, revealing a mouthful of sharp, yellow teeth.
