The Ether Witch Volume 2

Penelope stared around at the growing crowd in the castle entryway.

She and Luca were standing side by side, and as news of Tam's return spread, more curious souls drifted in.

She eyed them while doing her best to hide the fact that she was a bundle of nerves.

A slight squeeze of her left hand had her eyes snapping over to Luca who smiled at her encouragingly. Penelope didn't even have the ability to scoff at his reassurance, and she saw the flicker of worry in his eyes as a result.

That was when a man strode forward, parting the crowd just with his presence.

Penelope looked at him and stiffened.

He had dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, and a beard.

There was a look of assessment in his gaze when it landed on her.

He wasn't as tall as Tam, though, and for whatever reason, remembering this reignited Penelope's usual fury. She scowled up at him.

That is until his eyes flit to Luca and his calm albeit distant expression faded instantly. In its place there was a hardness in his eyes, and even a tinge of something that Penelope didn't need Luca's powers to know the name of.

Hate.

Penelope suddenly had the very worrying premonition that they were about to be grabbed by some of the knights that had gathered in the crowd.

She gripped Luca's hand tightly in response.

He surprised her then by turning, and looking at her with an eerie calm. "It'll be okay. My dad's nearby."

"Our dad," Penelope corrected quietly.

Luca blinked, and his eyebrows rose. His stunned expression made him look like himself again, and Penelope couldn't help but smile in relief at seeing it.

He smiled back. "Yeah. Our dad is close."

"Who might you two be?"

The booming voice of the man who had been approaching them echoed out, making both Penelope and Luca turn back to stare up at the man who watched them sharply.

Penelope frowned. "Well who are you?"

The man arched an eyebrow, but he didn't seem angry or offended.

Which both perplexed and relieved Penelope as her heart started to beat so quickly that it felt like it was choking her.

"I am King Eric Reyes of Daxaria."

The whispers that had been hovering in the air over the crowd quieted.

Penelope's steeliness hardened. "Why are you making kids announce themselves to an audience? That isn't nice."

The king balked. It was evidently his turn to be caught off guard.

A bark of laughter sounded from behind the king. "I think she is absolutely right, Your Majesty."

Penelope couldn't see who was approaching from behind, but Luca evidently did, and his face broke into an exuberant smile that had his cheeks flushing pink.

Luca let go of Penelope's hand and bolted around the king to the owner of the voice, who grinned down at the boy who wrapped his arms around his hips. "Harris!"

When the king turned, Penelope then saw the nobleman for herself.

"Holy Antlers, Luca! You've grown at least two, maybe three inches since I last saw you!" the duke exclaimed jubilantly, which in turn made the whispers flare again.

Penelope watched Luca with the duke frozen. A tiny seed of relief settled in her belly. Harris would protect them right? He was a duke! A weird one with terrible fashion sense and the worst flatulence imaginable, but still!

Harris patted Luca's back and with his usual twinkling eyes addressed the king once more."Your Majesty, mind if I suggest we go somewhere more private? These kids have had a wildly unfortunate time as of late, and I don't think myself or Her Majesty has had a chance to tell you about them yet."

Penelope couldn't see the king's face as he regarded Harris, but after a moment he slowly nodded.

"Fine. Harris, show the children to the council room. I'll retrieve my wife and meet you there."

The duke grinned and gave a shallow bow as the king then proceeded past him, and made his way back through the crowd down a corridor to the left.

Penelope let out the breath she had been holding, and allowed her shoulders to sag in relief. That is until the whispers around her began to increase in volume.

Her head snapped round as she glared at the sea of unfamiliar faces, daring them to continue being so outrageously rude.

A gentle hand clasping her shoulder, however, brought her attention upward to see Harris's smiling face.

"Come along. I'll show you the way."

Penelope didn't say anything to him—even though she was thrilled that he was there and more than a little grateful for his interference—and instead looked at Luca who also appeared a little worried but he spared her another smile.

There was something odd about Luca.

He almost seemed like he was a little more mature all of a sudden.

Penelope didn't like it.

So she stuck her tongue out at him right as Harris turned to guide them up the stairs.

Luca grinned in response, which only agitated Penelope further. It was probably for the better that he wasn't crying like a baby, though she did wonder why the Daxarian king already had looked at Luca as though he hated him…

It made her uneasy, and things were bad enough.

*

Once Harris, Penelope, Luca, and the king were all seated in the council room, the conversation resumed, though this time with Harris present, it had less of an interrogative nature. The Daxarian queen hadn't arrived yet.

"Well, Duke Harris?" the king asked, his face a mask of stone.

Harris winked at Penelope and Luca, then looked back at the king, unphased by his apparent displeasure.

"Well, Your Majesty," Harris began breezily. "This is your new niece and nephew. Penelope, and Luca. I trust you can tell which is which."

The king drew up straight in his seat in alarm. "What?"

Harris settled back in his chair comfortably. "Luca is a surprise child Lord Tam discovered he had from a former paramour, and Penelope here was rescued from Zinferan pirates by Lord Tam and my niece who are… What are they now?" Harris turned the question to Penelope and Luca.

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"Betrothed and expecting a baby," Luca supplied happily.

"Right betrothed and—" Harris stopped talking and stared at Luca who merely kept smiling.

The duke opened his mouth to speak again then closed it. On his third attempt he managed to say, "Another baby? Good Gods. Fin will be living his dream life as a grandfather." The duke shook his head in awe. "Anyway. That's who they are. These two children have been through unimaginable hardships, and I think allowing them to go rest, or to see Tam, might be best for the time being."

The king raised an eyebrow in response, but otherwise betrayed no other emotion as he looked at the children once more. He had not softened at all following the explanation.

He didn't get to say anything, however, as the council room door swung open, and in stepped Katarina looking a bit too serious herself.

"Hey, Eric, things are looking bad right now for—Oh! Hey kids!" the Daxarian queen cut herself off as soon as she saw the young audience in the room.

She donned a pained smile and waved to Luca and Penelope who both bolted out of their chairs to hug her.

"Aunt Queen!" Luca called up to her excitedly.

Kat's smile turned genuine as she snorted. "Hey, shortstack. How's it going? I see you've met your uncle."

The sound of a chair scraping against stone made everyone turn to the king.

Penelope watched the queen's brows twitch in confusion at the sight of her husband's face.

"Hm. Okay. Kids I'm going to ask the guards to go take you to your cousins. Your grandfather told me you all met recently, so—"

"No. I don't want them near the boys right now. Please tell the guards to put them in a guest room and to post sentries." The king's voice was firm, with no room for argument.

The queen's questioning look turned fierce, but she didn't say anything to the king before she guided Penelope and Luca out of the room.

Once outside, she knelt down, and leaned close to the pair of them.

"I'm sorry your uncle is being an arsehat right now. I'll talk with him. He's a bit grumpy because I was gone for so long. Harris and I only just got back this morning, and Eric was out at the time waiting to pick up your cousins."

Both Penelope and Luca nodded slowly.

"Don't worry, alright? We'll work this all out in no time."

"Is Eli okay?" Penelope asked as she tightened her hands into fists.

Kat grimaced, and Penelope's heart sunk.

"We're doing everything we can, alright? If she weren't pregnant I'd say she'd recover quickly, but right now… I can't say."

Penelope felt her throat tighten uncomfortably, and her nose began to drip before she could even try to stop it.

"Can we see her?" Luca asked with a croak.

The queen hesitated. "You can, but later. Right now the physician is attending to her. I'm going to ask these nice guards to take you to a guest room for now, and one of them is going to get you some books and toys to play with in the meantime, okay?" The queen's golden eyes shifted upward to the guards as she spoke, and both bowed in acknowledgment.

"We aren't in trouble, right?" Penelope whispered. She didn't want to let on how afraid she was, but she wasn't sure she was succeeding.

The queen instantly dropped her attention back to her and gently touched her head. "Of course not! No, no! You two did nothing wrong. Just go and try and get some rest, hm? We'll talk soon."

With a final squeeze of their shoulders, the queen rose back to standing, and nodded to the guards who stepped forward.

Despite the queen's assurances, Penelope couldn't help but have a bad feeling about the way things were going, and after a quick glance at Luca, she could tell he had a very similar sense.

For now, there was nothing they could do, and so they followed the guards, and occasionally shared silent looks. The wordless communication being:

No matter what, we stick together.

*

Upon closing the council room door, Kat placed her hands on her hips and glared at her husband.

"What the hell was that?"

"That boy is the devil," Eric said darkly.

Kat felt her aura flare to life. "He is Tam's son. He was born from a human woman, and he is an absolute sweetheart."

Eric clamped his mouth shut, but only for a moment. "Kat, I know the devil. I spent a lot more time with him than any of you. He is that child."

"Or is it that you are determined to think that it is him? Gods, Eric! You could try and verify it before scaring two kids!"

"Kat," Eric rounded the table and moved toward his wife. "The devil is a master manipulator. A fantastic liar. We cannot trust that child. He is going nowhere near our boys. And that little girl probably has parents somewhere!"

"She doesn't," Kat informed her husband coldly. "They're dead. She's actually my distant cousin. She's Caroline Levin's daughter."

"The traitors who helped the first witch?" Eric exclaimed.

"Ah yes. The traitors who obviously consulted with their infant daughter about their plots. Of course!" Kat slammed her fist into her other hand. "She was the true mastermind all along!" She dropped her hands back to her sides and stared at the king flatly. "Seriously. What the hell? She's a child who was abducted by pirates and kept in a Godsdamn cage, Eric. Why are you acting like such an insensitive tit?"

"People are dead, Kat! Our boys were abducted! Charlie is a mess, there are two covens revolting, Princess Kezia received a horrible injury, and I have not been able to be in contact with you for months! I'm damn well going to be upset and cautious as hell!"

Kat felt her temper simmer. "That doesn't mean you terrorize children!"

There was a tense silence that filled the space between the couple, but it didn't last long before Kat exploded once more. "Godsdamnit, Eric. Tam is terrified right now for his pregnant partner! He doesn't need you, his family, acting like this!"

Eric's jaw flexed as his gaze bore into his wife's.

A less-than-subtle throat clearing sounded out. "So… I agree with Her Majesty, and I'd like to inquire more about my niece in a moment, but I would also very much so like to hear more about that deal you were mentioning, Your Majesty, having been negotiating with the first witch prior to our arrival."

Kat widened her eyes and her aura became tinged with red as she bore down on her husband. "You started making a deal with the first witch and you're spouting off this bullshit about the devil?"

"I'm trying to stop an all out war to spare hundreds if not thousands of lives!" Eric ground out.

"Oh yeah? And other than an independent land for witches only, what does the first bitch want?" Kat growled.

Eric paused, and let out a breath, but Kat already had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was…

"The devil. I said I wouldn't stand between her and the devil."