Take Me Away, Dark Lord!

Despite his shattered ribs, the Fire Archduke was in excellent spirits, booming with laughter as he regaled his wife, Duchess Lysandra, with an incredibly exaggerated, fictionalized account of the battle in the Ashen Forest.

”And then, my fierce lioness, I summoned a blade of magma the size of a watchtower!” Leonidas boasted, waving a sausage in the air. ”I stared the behemoth in its glowing magenta eyes, and I said—”

”You said ’Kaelus, help me’, and then you were swatted into a rock like a blind mosquito,” Kaelus von Nacht interrupted smoothly, not looking up from his teacup.

Leonidas choked on his sausage, turning a faint shade of red. ”I was tactically repositioning! I was drawing its aggro so you could strike the flank, you ungrateful icicle!”

”Of course you were, darling,” Lysandra smiled fondly, patting Leonidas’s uninjured arm, her amber eyes sparkling with amusement.

She looked radiant this morning, the faint, sickly pallor that had plagued her for six years noticeably absent, her aura feeling lighter, freer, though she did not yet understand why.

Kaelus sat on the right side of the table, looking like a man who had conquered the world.

He had bathed, his raven hair was flawlessly styled, and he wore an immaculate, sharp black tunic with silver embroidery. He felt rested, victorious, and completely secure in his position as the ultimate, protective father.

The heavy double doors of the dining hall clicked open.

”Announcing the Lady Seraphina!” a servant called out cheerfully.

Kaelus immediately set his teacup down, his posture straightening, his violet eyes softening into a puddle of warm affection. He turned toward the door, a faint, incredibly rare, genuine smile touching his lips, fully preparing to greet the center of his universe.

Seraphina walked into the dining hall.

She looked absolutely devastatingly adorable.

She was wearing a fresh, pristine white dress embroidered with tiny, golden suns, a vibrant crimson ribbon tying her dark hair back into a neat, high ponytail. She walked with a light, bouncy step, the pink ember-puppy, Ignis, trotting happily at her heels, occasionally letting out a tiny, high-pitched yip.

”Good morning!” Seraphina chirped brightly, her voice echoing clearly across the hall.

”Good morning, Mushroom,” Kaelus murmured warmly, shifting his chair slightly to make room for her to sit beside him, his hand already reaching out to pull out her chair.

Seraphina didn’t stop at his chair.

She walked past him.

She didn’t slow down or turn her head, she didn’t even blink in his general direction.

She walked with a smooth, unbroken, completely apathetic stride, passing Kaelus’s outstretched hand as if he were nothing more than an invisible, uninteresting piece of furniture.

Kaelus froze.

His hand hung suspended in the air. His smile faltered, confusion rippling across his features.

Seraphina continued her march, walking directly around the massive mahogany table, until she reached the side occupied by the hosts.

She stopped between Leonidas and Lysandra.

”Good morning, Auntie Lysa!” Seraphina beamed, throwing her arms open.

”Good morning, my sweet little bird!” Lysandra gasped in delight, immediately abandoning her breakfast to lean down and scoop Seraphina into a massive, warm, silk-scented hug. ”Did you sleep well? The bed wasn’t too soft?”

”I slept wonderfully,” Seraphina smiled, pulling back and looking up at the massive Fire Archduke. ”Good morning, Uncle Leo! Did you hurt your chest? You have lots of bandages.”

Leonidas puffed his chest out, ignoring the twinge of pain in his ribs, incredibly flattered by her attention. ”Ah! It’s nothing, just some minor scratch, little spark! A mere scrape against the rugged terrain! I fought a mountain last night, and the mountain won the first round, but your Uncle Leo never stays down!”

”You’re very brave,” Seraphina nodded sagely, her dark eyes shining with admiration.

She then turned, pulled out the chair directly next to Lysandra, on the complete, exact opposite side of the table from Kaelus, and hopped up onto the plush velvet cushion. The pink puppy instantly jumped onto the chair beside her, curling up into a warm ball.

”Auntie Lysa, can I have some of the yellow juice?” Seraphina asked politely, folding her hands in her lap.

”Of course, darling,” Lysandra smiled, pouring a crystal goblet of fresh, pulpy mango juice and setting it before her.

Across the table, Duke Kaelus von Nacht was sitting perfectly and terrifyingly still.

His hand was still hovering in the empty air near his own chair. His violet eyes were locked onto Seraphina, tracking her movements across the room, watching her engage in a bright, cheerful, incredibly animated conversation with his political rivals.

’She... she walked past me,’ Kaelus’s brain stuttered, the gears of his tactical engine violently grinding together, sparks flying as logic failed to compute. ’She did not say good morning. She did not look at me. She sat on the other side of the table.’

Panic, cold and sharp, pierced through his smug confidence.

’Did she not hear me?’ Kaelus rationalized desperately, dropping his hand, clearing his throat loudly. ’Yes. The dining hall is acoustically challenging. Leonidas is very loud. She simply missed my greeting. I must re-establish contact.’

Kaelus reached across the table, picking up a small, crystal bowl filled with perfectly sliced, incredibly expensive imported Star-peaches, her favorite morning fruit.

He extended his long arm, sliding the crystal bowl across the mahogany surface until it rested directly in front of Seraphina’s plate.

”I had the kitchen prepare these specifically for you, Seraphina,” Kaelus said. His voice was slightly louder than usual, forced into a tone of casual, warm authority. ”They are chilled to the exact optimal temperature.”

Seraphina did not look at the bowl. She did not look at Kaelus.

She turned her head entirely toward Leonidas.

”Uncle Leo,” Seraphina said, her voice bright and conversational, completely talking over Kaelus as if his baritone rumble was nothing but static noise. ”Did you know that Uncle Boris broke a giant piece of wood over his knee yesterday? It was really loud. I bet you could break two pieces of wood like this!”