Chapter 364 - Elijah (Part 1)

  Despite having guessed the man beneath the mask, Kai could only stare for a suspended heartbeat. His mouth parted with no words to speak—his mind blank.

  Eleven years old. The age when he’d said goodbye. The day when he’d woken to a deserted shore, Virya’s estate and gardens vanished together with everyone in it, like a dream by morning light. It’s been four years and too many times clawing for survival.

  Across the table, Elijah looked as though time had politely stepped aside, leaving him untouched. The same sharp jawline, the same icy eyes, and features carved in stone, still appearing like a man in his late twenties.

  Young.

  The strange thought struck him. He was no longer the boy looking up at his all-knowing, unfazed master. Time had breached the distance—at least physically, they almost stood eye to eye.

  Kai rubbed his throat, dry and tender where gloved fingers had crushed it just minutes before. Emotions tangled in his chest—disbelief, joy, anger, wariness—too knotted to unravel. How many times had he imagined this meeting? Rehearsed what he’d say and ask after they left him.

  A thousand questions and not one that felt right.

  Elijah hovered a step from his chair, expression unreadable. Kai blinked. When had the man moved? When had he also stood up?

  Up close, the old familiarity stunned his mind; almost, he expected the butler would shout to start running laps. But they weren’t on the shores of the estate, and years had passed, regardless of appearances. A thin line cut across Elijah’s brow, reappearing below to nick his chin—the scar so pale it nearly disappeared against his skin.

  Why didn't he get it healed?

  Straying for safe ground, he listed alchemy recipes and spells to erase scars. Unless—

  Elijah shifted, an almost imperceptible weight switch between his feet. “You’ve grown,” he said gruffly.

  Huh… is he just as awkward as me?

  His lips twitched; Kai found himself smiling. “I have.” Before thoughts could complicate things, he wrapped the man in a hug.

  Beats staring at each other.

  Elijah went stiff as a lamppost and gave an uncertain pat on his back. Once. Twice. Last they’d met, Kai’d barely reached his collarbone; now his face brushed the cold leather on his shoulder.

  A few more years… We’ll see who looks up.

  Kai clapped him on the back. “I can’t believe… you’re here.” The words scraped past the lump in his throat. Hoarse. “I missed you…” He hadn’t meant to say that part aloud, but once he had, the tangled feelings quieted beneath that truth.

  Still stiff as an icicle, Elijah cleared his throat. “I’m also… glad to see you. Alive.”

  Is he embarrassed?

  Kai tilted his head, studying him with spry curiosity. “I really missed you. Like… really, really missed your grumbling face—”

  “Alright, alright! I get it,” Elijah pulled back from the hug, his gaze trained to avoid his own. “I’m happy you’re not dead too.”

  “I’m not that easy to kill,” Kai said, suppressing a smirk. “I did learn from the best. Why were you so sure I’d died anyway? Did you keep tabs on me after leaving the archipelago?”

  “Naturally. Didn’t I also teach you never to leave tasks halfway once begun? How could I not look over my wayward disciple? You breathe trouble like dragons breathe fire.” His tone softened by a fraction. “Did you truly think I wouldn’t?”

  “No, I just…” The words caught in his throat. “It felt like a pretty clear-cut goodbye when you left. I didn’t think we’d…” He trailed off with a newfound fascination for the plates in the sink. Not properly scrubbed. “Did you accomplish whatever you were after?” His tongue knotted to fill the silence. “That was why you hid in the archipelago, wasn’t it?”

  “I… yes. I’ve made some strides.” Elijah worked his jaw. “It’s not a story for now. How did you survive? No body was found, but I saw the report with your fate severed.”

  What’s that?

  Kai gave a rueful chuckle. “That’s a long story. Maybe we should sit…” His gaze drifted off the table, too tense after their rough start, landing on the couch. A little casualness couldn’t hurt. “Make yourself at home. Or… more so, I guess.” He swept aside one of Rob’s shirts and a textbook from the armrest, straightening the pillows in an attempt at order. “Forgive the mess. I wasn’t expecting visitors. Or masked burglars.”

  “I didn’t steal anything.” Elijah regarded him with an indignant stiff upper lip.

  “Only nearly choked me to death.” Kai winced at his bruised neck. His head throbbed where his skull ricocheted off the wall—likely to swell into a big bump. “Did you have to grab me that hard?”

  “I was speaking and you swung a sword at my head,” Elijah muttered tersely. “You’re lucky your attempt was so futile. If I wasn’t here for answers, you wouldn’t have gotten off so lightly.”

  “Hmm… fair.” Kai picked a velvet pillow to make sure Hobbes was sleeping comfortably before dropping onto the couch with a groan. As the adrenaline and shock waned, new stabs of pain flared. No doubt his back would be painted with shades of blue and yellow. And just when he’d almost recovered from the Trials. “I didn’t mean to actually hit you. The swing was a distraction to run.”

  “Good, a passable plan. If pointless.” Elijah loomed over him, still on his feet and staring. The furrow in his brows emphasized his thin, pale scar, a hand half raised, his eyes not on him but on his neck. “I’m sorry for that. I had your description. When you came in, you looked so much like, well… you if you hadn’t died. Then you attacked with a skill you shouldn’t possess.” He arched an eyebrow in an unasked question.

  “Uhm… I strive to impress,” Kai said, trying not to squirm under the intent inspection. A strange look creased the butler’s stony features—one he’d never seen before. It almost looked like… guilt?

  Guess he cracked my head quite hard.

  “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Kai turned his neck back and forth, ignoring the sharp pain. “More an annoyance, really. You know I’ve had worse. You were there for some.”

  More levels in Nature Healing. Hurrah!

  His reassurances failed to chip Elijah’s steely visage.

  Kai found himself tensing when the gloved fingers reached back for his throat. Sinking deeper into the couch, his back against the backrest. “I’m really fine.” His breath hitched. “What—”

  “Stay still. I don’t want to do it wrong.”

  Unable to further retreat, his nails dug into the leather of the couch, heartbeat hammered in his ears. The barest touch brushed his neck, almost ticklish. Blood thrummed in his veins. Warmth rushed through his throat as if drinking a hot chocolate in winter.

  “What—” Kai gulped as the sensation melted away.

  Elijah settled onto the couch beside him, not far, not close. “Better?”

  “Huh… Actually, yes…” He flexed his neck, tentatively then more firmly. His fingers prodded the spot, finding only a dull soreness. Taking out a silver-rimmed mirror, he cast a flame, too tired to reach for the crystal lights. Aside from a touch of redness, he bore none of the purple bruises he’d expected; even the throb on his head had eased. “How— You can cast healing magic?”

  Elijah stretched his legs, boots crossed on the coffee table as spotless as the wooden surface beneath. “I dabble.”

  “Since when? What spell was that? It felt… odd. Not like a profession skill. And why did you never use it when I bled during training?”

  “Still never lacking questions.” Elijah massaged his closed lids, though he sounded more amused than irritated. “You aren’t the only one who can learn new tricks. Healing was never much of a priority, especially on others. My focus was on more… offensive applications. Besides, you already had Dora fussing over you. What would’ve been the point of hunting lessons if you knew I could stitch you up?”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  His eyes narrowed. “So… you couldn’t do it?”

  “I never had to try. You should be glad for that.”

  Kai scowled, then felt like chuckling. Blame it on the concussion, but he’d even missed Elijah being a smug jerk. Four years passing only made the butler more blunt—or perhaps made him see him more clearly.

  “What kind of magic was it?”

  “What do you think?” Elijah watched him levelly. For an instant, they stood back on the estate’s beach for a lesson—fine sand between his toes, waves churning gently on the shore, the sun beaming overhead. Perhaps they simply fell back into more comfortable roles. “I didn’t shroud my spell. You should be careful and wary of any magic that touches you.”

  Kai shouldered the wave of nostalgia. “Even if it’s you?”

  Elijah briefly averted his gaze, shuffling on the cushions, arms folded. “Yes, even me. See it as extra practice. Carelessness gets you killed. Now tell me your guess. Or has your wit dulled that much?” His fingers drew a lazy wave around them. “Do they teach you nothing at this academy?”

  Not changed at all. Kai rolled his eyes. How did this become an actual lesson?

  “Well… you called it a spell. If it’s not a profession skill or niche ability, it must be a specialized weave or elemental magic.” His eyes closed to recall the rushing warmth. He wouldn’t have missed the touch of unattuned mana. “It felt like—”

  Wait! No, it can’t be… though it’d explain a lot… and why he studied under her.

  “Bloody witch,” Kai muttered.

  Elijah huffed a breath, vaguely amused. “Apt reasoning, though I wouldn’t call her that out loud.”

  “Is she here?” Kai found himself whispering. His eyes darted to the door and windows—only pale moonlight and clawing oak branches.

  “Not even in this kingdom. I journeyed to Meria alone, but she has better ears than mine, and plenty of sycophants eager to gain her favor. I’m relieved to see your head still works. You haven’t forgotten my lessons.”

  Mostly Virya and Dora’s.

  “So it’s really Blood Magic?”

  Elijah snorted at his stare. “You did not complain when I healed you. Blood brings both life and death.”

  I wonder which part you both prefer. Better I didn’t know as a child. Had enough paranoid thoughts without imagining actual blood rituals.

  Many believed in a link between people and affinities, though few agreed on which one shaped the other. “How are they doing?”

  “Uh, Theodora? She is well. Virya is… also well. You can say her name,” Elijah said, the earlier stiffness gone. “She’s likely better off than either of us. You didn’t use to tread so carefully around her. One of the quirks that she found most entertaining about you.” He paused, a grin tugged at his lips. “Though perhaps less so now… if she’s discovered you broke her Fate Fulcrum. You weren’t lying about that, were you?”

  Heat crept up his neck under the butler’s inquisitive gaze. “It wasn’t on purpose. It just… happened.”

  “I’m sure. May I see?”

  Kai sighed and drew the artifact from his ring. A fine crack spidered through the flowing runes circling the silvery disk, the metal catching the moonlight in shifting hues of gold, violet and green.

  “You really did it.” Elijah took it with careful hands, his voice tinged with wonder, murmuring under his breath. “What was she thinking… Even one of the early prototypes…” He squinted at the cracks. “The damage looks internal. How did you manage that?”

  Trade secrets.

  “Long story. Can you fix it?"

  “No. And I wouldn’t even if I could. There is a reason every Fate artificer always meets a tragic end. Fiddling with Fate just brings trouble.”

  “Then why did she give it to me?”

  Elijah handed back the artifact with an even, almost pitying look. “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t know she hid that in your puzzle cube.”

  Hmm… a bit.

  Kai stored the Fate Fulcrum with a shake as Mnemonic Mastery made note Elijah hadn’t outright denied that it could be repaired. “So…” he said, wishing to steer the conversation before the questioning turned on him. “How did you even break into Raelion?”

  Elijah idly glanced at the messy living room. “Easily.”

  Smug.

  “Is the security that bad?”

  “Guess it’s a matter of perspective,” he crossed one leg over the other. “The wards on this building would stop most of your peers here. The ones shielding the academy’s boundaries, most Green tiers. Unless they have specialized professions and skills, that is. Not that you need those, there are easier ways inside if you know the right approach.”

  “Bribery?”

  His shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Negotiating favors and services with the proper people.”

  “Right… entirely different situations. So you what… just strolled into Raelion and broke into my room?”

  “I investigated a lead bearing an uncanny resemblance to my dead disciple,” Elijah said, regarding him with that impenetrable expression. “We have time before your roommates are back, but not all night. Is that what you’re actually interested in? How I crossed this academy’s defenses?”

  Kai chewed the inside of his cheek, studying the pale man. “No…” Familiar and not. Despite his elation at seeing Elijah—at knowing he was more than a forgotten footnote in the man’s life—four years weren’t nothing. Even before that, how much had he known about him? Scraps. If not master and student, what were they? A mysterious scion and a peasant boy?

  Every emotion drowned in the initial shock came surging back.

  “I just… I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I’d be surprised if you did.” No irritation nor smirk. “You asked for me at the House of Echoes. My full name. I still don’t know how you got that. What did you expect would happen?”

  “To buy information and for them to apply their famed discretion?” Kai harrumphed. “Not wait a month and get ambushed for asking.”

  Spirits know, I’m gonna sue them to the ground.

  Elijah watched his indignation with a trace of mirth. “You tried to buy information about me. Did you not consider I might have an agreement to be informed about those who inquire after me? Especially when they’ve no business knowing my name?”

  That…

  “So they just sell the identities of their customers?”

  “Of course not. Only when a commoner with no backing asks for intel far beyond their means. The information trade lives on reputation. Few organizations are more trustworthy than the House of Echoes, but you must learn how they operate. What do you think would happen if you tried to inquire about the Merian Azure Council? The House wouldn’t have lasted millennia if they allowed nobodies to freely prod those in power. The higher someone stands, the more concessions and privileges the House affords.”

  I hate to say it, but I should have expected that.

  “You are someone important then?”

  Elijah threw him a genuinely baffled look. “Are you truly asking me that?”

  “Yes, I am. I still know basically nothing about you. That’s why I asked.”

  For all the good it’ll do.

  A cool, assessing stare replaced his faint smile. He seemed to consider the question for several seconds before speaking. “The fewer details you know, the safer you’ll be. One day I’ll share more, but not yet. Why don’t we talk about you instead? You must have been through plenty. How did you bond with an Astralynx? Or learn that blink skill with an Orange profession? I didn’t recognize its path.”

  “You expect me to settle with crumbs and still tell you everything?”

  The smirk shone back on his face. “Your sharpness does you merit.”

  “You’re a cheat.”

  “Spoken like a true loser. I’ve entertained enough questions and have yet to see you pay respects to your master. Generosity has always been my bane. If you satisfy my curiosity, later I’ll answer anything that doesn’t endanger you.”

  Kai scowled. Should he tell him to get lost? He briefly played with the idea before deciding to be the bigger man. How much should he say, if anything at all? Four years, and nothing had changed. How far could trust go with someone he knew so little about? An imbalanced relationship from the start, in both benefits and decisions. Without Elijah, Virya, and Dora, he’d still be a random kid on the archipelago. They had made him who he was today. And despite the secrecy, Elijah had never given him a reason to distrust him.

  Running his thumb over his ring reminded who had gifted him his precious artifact—no string attached. “What do you want to know?”

  “Let’s start with how you did not die. I saw the reports before you were declared dead. Why did you get embroiled in a military operation?”

  “It’s complicated…” Kai began recounting what went wrong, like he used to do after a hunt. The butler seemed already aware of most details until he got to the parts no one else knew.

  “That realm had been sealed from the inside for millennia,” Elijah interrupted. His frown deepened. “There was no way to access it without a Sixth Circle Space Warper. Even if destroying the Vastaire ruins weakened the seals, it wasn’t something you could enter.”

  Wait… you knew?

  The gaping shock quickly faded as he reflected on the facts. How could Virya have missed the realm buried in her backyard? They hadn’t known how to get in, though…

  “Regardless of those technicalities, I unsealed it,” Kai said with a dismissive wave. “I had some assistance. The deity of the Hidden Sanctuary needed help breaking the shackles. The Guide brokered a deal in exchange for his blessing.”

  Elijah offered a flat stare. “Of course you did.”

  “It enhanced my Space affinity.”

  “Naturally.”

  “Zervathi also helped me get a custom profession to escape the realm.”

  Elijah watched silently—not a twitch nor blink—as Kai narrated the highlights of his past exploits.

  “I found your name in a journal when I broke the Fulcrum. Elijah Valoren Lochwyn… quite the mouthful. Anyway, that was after the cultists boarded—”

  His words broke off as Elijah’s hand clamped around his forearm, his gaze somehow turning even colder. “Cultists?”

  “Yeah… the Stygian Cult?”

  “You must stay away—” His head snapped toward the door. “Someone’s coming.”

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