For the first few hours, Rae’s sleep was fitful. He was woken by nightmare after nightmare, morphing into each other like layers of clouds. Zott, on that first night, on the roof, eyes gleaming. But instead of tumbling over the edge, Rae was grabbed and held and kissed and fondled.

  And something in Rae knew that Ven was nearby. Surely, he was watching. Hating Rae, blaming Rae.

  He remembered the swelling in his throat induced by poisoned sweets, Nana on the cliff’s edge, himself on the cliff’s edge, Ven on the cliff’s edge. And all of them tumbling over the edge. But before Rae could be smashed to pieces at the bottom, he was looking at Ven.

  Ven lying still, just as he had in that bed in which Rae had last seen him. But paler. That cold whiteness of the skin that Rae knew all too well. Rae was woken from that dream by the coldness of tear tracks down his face.

  In the early morning, long before sunrise, he heard Sebi stir. He was doing something in the courtyard.

  For a moment, Rae tensed up, thinking he might come in and try to take the ribbon from him. But time passed, and nothing happened. Listening to Sebi’s early morning errands — whatever they may be— had a calming effect. Finally, sleep could take Rae peacefully.

  He didn’t emerge from his room until it was past noon.

  Sebi had taken over their courtyard. He’d asked for a table to be carried in, where he was studying, chopping, and mixing his herbs. He’d made a fire and used items borrowed from the kitchens to build contraptions to steam some of the plants and extract their essential oils.

  “You’ve been busy,” Rae said.

  From the moment his eyes met Sebi’s, Rae knew the quarrel of the previous night hadn’t been forgotten.

  “Hmmm,” was all Sebi said.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t sleep well.”

  “You and me both,” Rae said, hoping a touch of mutual complaining would heal the wound between them.

  “You seem to have slept just fine,” Sebi snapped.

  Rae didn’t know what to say to that. Of course, he had spent the morning dozing, but only after several hours of startling awake, crying, feeling disgusted and horrified…

  “I thought conversing with someone so lowly as I would be below your eminent self. Don’t you have something more important to attend to, other than bothering me?”

  At that, Rae had made a decision. If Sebi were in a spiteful mood, he would be too.

  Rae left the courtyard in a hurry. Sebi’s words stung. Despite being the Shak, he didn’t have any important duties to perform. He was utterly pointless compared to someone like Sebi.

  He walked the halls of the Ashem residence until he was at the door of the person he wanted to see most. When he arrived at Ven’s room, he was greeted by a healer with a solemn nod.

  “I’m afraid there have been no changes, your majesty.”

  Rae masked his despair with a smile.

  “That will soon change, I’m sure. Young master Sebi is hard at work on a cure as you speak. But he’s been up all night and must be tired; perhaps you could be of assistance to him?”

  There was a little spiteful glee in sending someone else to go endure Sebi’s terrible mood. But that wasn’t the only reason Rae had said this; there were things he needed to say to Ven, things he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

  To Rae’s great relief, Ven was looking just as perfect and radiant as he always had. Better even! The deep sleep had made his features even softer, his expression more youthful. Someone had let his hair out of his topknot, and Rae was gifted with the rare sight of his burnt umber curls fanned out over the pillows.

  It was a sight more peaceful than Rae had ever seen.

  “You must be having a pleasant dream,” Rae thought aloud.

  Rae resisted the urge to reach under the covers and search for Ven’s hand to hold, but he gave in to the temptation to finger-comb his hair.

  “Ven,” Rae said.

  His hopeful heart expected Ven’s eyes to flutter open and his voice to answer him. But, of course, nothing happened.

  “Ven,” Rae whispered again, “I’m sure you can hear me, even if you can’t respond.”

  If his father’s spirit had lingered near the corpse until it was expelled, then a sleeping person’s spirit must continue listening, too. That was what Rae thought.

  “Yesterday, we went out to the forest. And we lost Zott…”

  Again, Rae dumbly awaited a response. When none came, he continued.

  “I know you’d probably say not to worry. That the beast is well-suited to the forest and will come back when it pleases him. But… He’s not in his right mind, and I worry about him spending nights out in the cold. It seems like there’s a witch nearby, and right now she’s toying with him… But if she gets bored, if she doesn’t want him anymore, who knows what she might do?”

  Originally, Rae hadn’t planned on saying it. Even when he decided to, the words got stuck in his throat and came out shaking. But he would have to tell Ven the truth when he awoke; otherwise, Rae would be guilty forever. Practising his confession on a sleeping Ven would only make the real thing easier.

  “Like I said, Zott’s not in his right mind… I don’t know what triggered it, but… He kissed me.”

  The sleeping Ven’s breath came just as deep and steady as it always had.

  “I’m sure you’ll understand… It’s not like I wanted it, and I don’t think Zott did either. I didn’t do anything to invite it. And he’s never done such a thing before… But I thought I ought to tell you,”

  Rae was trying to be sincere and solemn in his confession because the guilt had truly been gnawing at him all night. But somehow, the talk of kissing drew Rae’s eyes to Ven’s lips.

  Oh, how I wish I could…

  Rae fought that thought, and satisfied himself by cradling Ven’s cheek. The skin was cool, but not cold.

  “You must wake up soon,” Rae said.

  Surely, if all had continued as it was, Rae would have said more, confessed more, would have spoken every truth in his heart to his sleeping sweetheart. But at that moment, the fast sound of many feet approached the room.

  Rae took back his hand and fell silent, hoping whoever it was would pass by quickly. Just how thin were these walls? Could his voice be heard outside?

  The door was thrown open. The first face that greeted Rae was the little sister he’d gotten to know best, albeit over only one traumatic incident. Komao, round and pink-faced, was trying to climb onto the bed with Ven.

  “Uncle!” she yelled. She wasn’t strong enough to pull herself up. So, she tugged on his arm instead.

  “Don’t shout,” The Shana said. She was standing in the doorway, flanked by the other three of her older daughters. Unlike Komao, who barely seemed to notice Rae’s presence, the other four were regarding Rae cautiously.

  His knowledge of his sisters still lacked automaticity. He looked from one face to the next, trying to recall and categorise various factoids.

  Jiwat, the one whose inclination towards snacking had caused her to be poisoned a year ago. Her health and appetite had seemingly recovered, for she was holding a basket, from which scents of fresh pastries were emitting.

  Viseka, not much younger than Jiwat, and a touch taller. Fair of face and full of smiles. Of all the daughters their father hadn’t wanted, it was said she was the one he had favoured.

  Nuna, almost a teenager, serious-faced and quiet. She was the first of the group to speak.

  “Greetings to my lord brother,”

  This manner of address, along with “your majesty”, was customary for the sisters of a Shak, Duke Bejuk had once told him. While they had inherited a little divinity from their father, as daughters, they could not inherit the position and therefore owed their brother respect.

  Rae thought he would probably be more comfortable with a more personable form of address. But he had never had a conversation with these girls long enough to suggest the idea, so he only nodded.

  “Greetings to you all,” he said, wondering if they wanted him to leave.

  If they weren’t willing to tell him to go, Rae decided he was happy to bear with the awkwardness to stay by Ven’s side.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He was seated in a wooden chair at Ven’s bedside. There was another on the opposite side, which the Shana took. The children all gathered next to the bed, peering at Ven. Jiwat was still holding a wicker basket that Rae couldn’t help but feel curious about.

  “What do you have there?” Rae asked. Having had a few moments to think about it, he was sure he could smell warm mountain berry jam and sweet chestnuts.

  The older girls held their tongues, probably wondering why Rae was still lingering around. It was Komao who answered him.

  “We made sweeties for Uncle! He’ll smell them and wake up!”

  “Oh,” Rae said, torn between cooing at the child’s hopeful innocence and despairing at his own lack thereof, “you better hold them closer then, let him get a big whiff.”

  The children lifted the lid of the basket, and Rae was greeted with a glorious sight. Golden brown, flaky pastries, oozing with dark purple jam. The syrupy sweet smell intensified, and Rae couldn’t help but think, “witch’s curse or not, nothing would stop me from waking up to enjoy those.”

  But Ven didn’t stir. After a minute of waiting, Nuna took a step back, looking at the floor.

  “I knew it wouldn’t work,” she said.

  Viseka and Jiwat looked equally glum. But the worst was Komao, whose face had crumpled, and every inhale seemed to be drawing her closer to tears.

  “Don’t cry,” Rae said. Something about that face made him want to leap up and do anything that would make the little girl smile.

  Of course, those words were the worst thing he could have said. The pressure released, and Komao exploded into great, heaving sobs. Her sisters and mother tried to embrace her, but she thrashed and kicked and cried harder than she had when Nana had taken her captive all those moons ago. To escape their cloying reach, she crawled under the bed, emerging on the other side where Rae was sitting. Just as she had when escaping from Nana, she clung to Rae’s leg, as if for protection.

  The action made Rae startle— the memory and reality briefly overlapped. Then, he realised they were in no danger, and the child only needed comfort.

  “Why didn’t he wake up?” She wailed into Rae’s knee. He patted her lamely on the head.

  “He’s just very sleepy, right now. He’ll wake up soon. Master Sebi is working on a medicine for him, right now.”

  Rae found himself wondering, if he had ever gotten the chance to be a real older brother— in an uncomplicated way— would he have comforted a young Nukaim like this. He’d have had to, he reasoned. In the world in which Nukaim had lived, That little babe would have had no mother, and barely any father. It would have been up to Rae to soothe his fears.

  “I wanted to make the medicine!” Komao cried, “Why didn’t the cakes work? They smell so good…”

  “Sweetie, remember what we said, it’s very hard for uncle to wake up right now. So, we’re just practising our baking, so you can make him something delicious when he’s better.” The Shana said.

  Jiwat picked up one of the pastries, “since the smell didn’t work, we should all do a taste test. Maybe the recipe still isn’t perfect enough, yet.”

  She handed a pastry to Komao. It was so big, she needed both her tiny hands to hold it.

  “One for Rae-rae, too,” Komao said, the nickname sending shock-waves through the room.

  Before the awkwardness could set in, Rae said, “If there’s enough, I’d love to have one.”

  Jiwat, too stunned to speak, handed one over. It was still warm from the oven, weighty and dusted with sugar. Rae didn’t hesitated to take a big bite.

  Heavenly.

  “Mmph… Ven, you need to try this. It’s too delicious for words.”

  Of course, this had no effect on Ven. But the children smiled.

  After that, they passed the basket around until everything was eaten.

  “Can you take this back to the kitchens for me?” The Shana asked the girls. Jiwat, Viseka, and Nuna rushed off to fulfil the errand without arguing, but Komao remained fixed in place.

  “Are you going to cling to your lord brother all day? I’m not sure he wants that,” The Shana said.

  “My lord bubble-blabber! He’s Rae-rae. And he’s my special friend from the forest.

  “Your special friend from the forest?” Rae asked.

  “You saved me from the witch; you were so scared you fainted, but you still saved me.”

  Rae didn’t blame the child for misunderstanding, but he still wasn’t ready to hear that word used so flippantly. Both on account of his grief over losing Nana, and the other “witch in the room”, the one that threatened to take both Zott and Ven from him also.

  “She wasn’t a witch. She was only a woman from the palace.” Rae said.

  A woman who’d lost her mind from grief, Rae didn’t say.

  “That’s not true! Everyone says she was a witch,” Komao said, and the Shana shushed her.

  “I apologise, some of the maids are such gossips, she must have heard it from them.”

  “They gossip about n— about the woman who died?”

  “Well… yes… Many of them knew her. When I first married, I offered all the maids that once served… Her late majesty… I offered to let them all keep their positions. She was the only one who refused. But instead of returning to whatever camp she came from, she still remained at the Shak’s camp, performing the most lowly duties. She refused to set foot in the Shana’s palace, even once. Many of the maids found her odd for that,”

  After the Shana said this, she paused before adding, “of course, I understand what her reasons must have been.”

  Rae sighed.

  “She did what she did to Jiwat and Komao— for my sake, or for my late mother’s sake. Her bitterness led her to violence, and she committed great evils. But there was nothing otherworldly about her. Of course people will gossip, but… for the sake of my mother’s memory, I ask that you set the record straight when you hear such things,”

  The Shana nodded.

  “I still don’t understand,” Komao said. She’d been leaning against Rae, listening to the entire exchange, “she really seemed like a witch to me…”

  Rae smiled, and let out an exhausted sigh. He decided it was time to take his leave.

  Rae didn’t return to his rooms. He was too afraid of the spectral healer who might snap at him, or worse.

  Instead, he went to wander the gardens. The Ashem’s house, as with all the ducal residences, was spartan in comparison to the Shak’s palace. But there were a few things worth exploring: Pavilions for taking tea, rock and flower gardens, herbs tended by the kitchen staff…

  The gardens reached all the way to the wall at the edge of the camp. Even here, there wasn’t the soothing sense of isolation Rae could experience wandering the backwoods of the Shak’s camp. Various noises of people going about their work could still be heard.

  Near the wall was a copse of trees, as if the Ashems had captured a little piece of the forest. Among the leaves and twigs, there were toys scattered about. Wooden blocks painted with delicate flowers, cloth dolls with button eyes, sticks carved with patterns, and little wooden bowls and goblets. Was this the Shali’s secret hideaway?

  He and Gaori had once built dens like this in the forest overlooked by their tree houses. He looked around. Maybe this was the best place for it. Perhaps, Ven, too, had once played here. It was easy to imagine a tiny Ven rampaging through the trees with a mock bow or sword, building structures out of sticks, and baking mud pies. Who would he have played with? His sister? Zott?

  Rae still understood so little about the Ashem’s or Zott’s peculiar position among them. If Rae were smarter, he reasoned, he would have asked Ven much earlier, or the Shana, just now. Asking Zott himself would have been no use. It was likely he’d refuse to answer any questions he perceived as prying too deeply into Duke Ashem’s business. Besides that, Rae was starting to doubt just how reliable Zott’s opinion on this matter might be.

  For a long time, Rae had thought that Zott was a servant. Duke Ashem’s personal assassin, or something like that…

  Ven had treated him harshly and ordered him around, but he had never clarified Zott’s status to Rae. Duke Ashem had scolded him. But he scolded everyone, regardless of rank or status.

  As far as Rae had seen, it wasn’t like Zott had formal duties to uphold in camp Ashem. Harassing Rae, protecting and avenging the Shali… They all seemed like responsibilities he took on without needing to be told.

  Just as Rae was pondering this matter, the spectre he had been avoiding appeared before him.

  “What are you doing over here? I’ve been looking for you,” Sebi said.

  After a morning of hard work, Sebi had changed into a fresh robe and brushed his hair until it gleamed. The only parts of his visage that weren’t pristine were the dark circles under his eyes, almost violet against his pale skin.

  Before Rae could answer, Sebi frowned and looked away.

  “Did you come here because you were worried about Zott?” Sebi was looking out, beyond the wall, into the shadows between the trees.

  How to explain it?

  “Zott, and Ven… And I didn’t want to be getting under your feet. So I came looking for somewhere quiet to think,” Rae said.

  Sebi sighed and nodded.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not the best with words. I shouldn’t have snapped at you so much this morning.”

  When Rae looked at Sebi, it was like a wasp-sting to his heart. Those down-turned eyes, the solemn curve of his lips. Even on Sebi’s beautiful face, guilt was a pitiful sight.

  “Don’t be silly! I snapped at you, too, throwing my weight around like a bully. You really have nothing to apologise for!”

  But that did nothing to fix Sebi’s forlorn expression. So, Rae tried a new approach.

  “Did you make any progress this morning?”

  “I don’t know if it will help… I was struck by an idea last night. Maybe giving Master Ven something to boost his energy, something with a stimulating effect. Maybe that would help him wake up…”

  Rae waited, and Sebi continued, “The Ashem healer came to help, and when they heard how little I’d slept, they took over. They wanted me to take a nap, but I wanted to clear the air first,”

  “You should have that nap now, then” Rae said.

  But instead of returning to his room, Sebi planted himself on a felled tree trunk. Bewildered, Rae took the place beside him. They had a view of the trees, cool and quiet. The noises of the camp could still be heard, but from the forest, there wasn’t so much as a rustle.

  “It’s peaceful, isn’t it?” Rae said.

  “The forest? I find it ominous,” Sebi replied.

  “You’re more of a man of the camp, aren’t you. Before I became the Shak, I passed most of my days hunting with my cousin. So, of course, the forest feels like home to me.”

  Just as Rae finished speaking, there was a cracking sound, more like thunder than the snapping of branches.

  “Is that so? Then maybe you won’t mind this forest beast carrying you off.”

  Sebi saw the source of the voice first.

  “You!”

  Rae followed Sebi’s gaze until he saw movement in the shadows.

  “Zott!” He gasped.

  Zott leapt over the stone wall like a cat and would soon be upon them. Rae realised he wasn’t carrying his dagger.

  Meanwhile, Sebi had laced himself between Rae and Zott and reached into his pocket. Rae thought he might pull out a weapon. But in a second, Sebi threw a pale green powder at Zott. As the powder scattered into a cloud, Sebi yelled.

  “Begone, cursed thing!”

  “Are you dense? I’m not a witch,” Zott said. He smiled wolfishly at Rae, “I’m not a witch. Not confined to the deep caves and dark thickets. That’s why I can come and go as I please, and take whatever I covet,”

  Rae had long ago seen what a determined Zott could accomplish, so his hackles were already raised.

  The way Zott knocked Sebi aside had the inevitability of a flood.

  Of course, Rae tried to defend himself. He knew he’d have to hit hard and fast to stop Zott. But his fists were easily caught, easily restrained, and his world turned upside down.