Chapter Eighteen

The High Witch Meets the Frog

Will's head was spinning.

Her biggest concern a few weeks ago was avoiding Matt while moping aimlessly around the endless castle halls.

Now, it was the fact Prince Phobos used magic during… their time together.

What difference a few weeks made, huh?

Because the Heart was still pouting, laying dark, waves of nervousness flowing from it as Will grew angrier the more she learned. She didn't know who should be the bearer of the brunt of her anger.

Phobos, for not telling her she disappeared for four days. The Heart, for kidnapping her for four days. Caleb, for that low blow during their fight, that cut deep enough that the Heart whisked her away for four days. Elyon, and her poor oversight of Phobos' protection, that led to two people's death four days ago. Or herself, for letting things get so out of hand she could not rein in the Heart for four days.

Four days.

And it felt like nothing.

Hell, she still had sand between her toes. Still expected to hear the crash of waves beyond the walls. Where did the Heart even take her? She didn't feel overly hungry or tired. In every way that she could think of, she was the same.

Other than her encounter with Phobos, that was.

There were so many things to deal with. Her brain just kept jumping back and forth from pressing issue to pressing issue. And the biggest issue, she finally decided, was the fact Phobos used his magic.

How?

While she was just now understanding how deep his bonds ran, she knew he somehow freed himself for a short time. The bonds were back at the end. The timing was too spot on with the conclusion of their encounter for her to think he wasn't aware of it. He somehow could break his bonds and knew how long he had.

That was dangerous, right?

Yet, he just used his temporary freedom to embrace her with the best sex of her life. That left her craving his touch more than any other encounter before. She wanted that feeling again…

No, she needed to figure out what was going on. With both him and the Heart.

Cornelia and Elyon were quiet as they pulled Will along the wide, immaculate castle halls, walls covered with fine tapestries and beautiful paintings. The hall ended, opening to the left and the right, with two adjacent hallways. At the end was a door with two guards, people she remembered from a random raid or two back in the rebellion, but didn't know their names. They looked happy to see her as they gave polite, deep bows.

"High Witch," one greeted with a small smile as they opened the door. "My Queen. Lady Cornelia," they greeted with equal politeness. Yet, Will noticed Cornelia narrow her eyes at the exchange.

Elyon's office was enormous, with plenty of open space. It had an Earth feel to it, with wooden floors, cherry-wood desk and matching shelves. There was a high-quality office chair that looked like it had features with keywords like 'lumbar support', 'ergonomic', and 'reclining functionality'. There were Earth knickknacks everywhere, with even a glass globe of Earth on the right corner of her desk. With a matching one of Metamoor on the other end.

A laptop sat on the large desk, plugged into a small generator in the office's corner, lights on, showing they were both functioning.

Will realized it had been a long time since she had seen Elyon at work, as everything around her was a foreign mix of Earth and Metamoor.

The wall opposite of the door, behind the desk, was made of glass, with a set of glass doors seamlessly built in. Beyond the walls was an expansive private garden, filled with flowers of both planets. And, over the edge, thanks to the castle high position on the lonely hill, was a view of Meridian, flickering under the heat rays of the sun.

Elyon kept it cool in the castle. While Phobos' room was warm, as he had his patios doors open, the office was chilly, making her shiver as she sat on a brown, leather couch along the wall next to the door she entered by.

"Stay here, please," Elyon said, looking worried at Will. "Cornelia, go get the girls. I need to speak with Raythor and Caleb to be on alert."

"Alert?" Will repeated.

Elyon looked away, biting her lip. "Just please, Will, stay here. This could be bad. I can't just wait and see. They need to be informed."

"Bad?" Will questioned, feeling lost.

Cornelia walked over and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Take a minute and get yourself together," she said gently, worried blue eyes glancing at her neck. "But if you leave this room, boss, it ain't gonna be pretty," she jokingly warned, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Will arched a brow, worried at Cornelia's behavior. She was on edge. But her vanishing for four days, only to show up in Prince Phobos' room, had to look odd. That was why she was angry he didn't tell her. She knew checking in with her friends should have come first. None of them had just vanished like that before for days.

It had to be terrifying for them.

Will tried to give her the best, easygoing smile she could manage as she nodded. "Got it," she said with a forced chuckle.

Cornelia's hand squeezed her shoulder before looking away at Elyon and back at her. "I'm sorry," Cornelia said, voice soft. "We should have told you everything from the start."

And then she left, ignoring Will as she called out, "Wait! What? What do you mean?"

Once the door closed, she groaned, leaning back into the soft couch.

"Damn it all. I'm so sick of this," she said to the ceiling, annoyed at more riddles and games. "Can I just get one simple answer? Like how the fuck did Phobos…" she stopped, not able to give voice to the question. As that information was enough to throw him back in his cell, away from the world. Away from her.

The Heart, hanging at her neck, glowed, and Will sat up, grabbing the jewel.

"What do you want?" she demanded, still mad.

It flickered, apologetic, but it wanted to show her something.

"No," she said flatly. "Last time you did something, I lost four freaking days!"

It flickered again, rapidly, wanting her to look outside.

"What?" Will questioned, looking up, and froze.

A pair of large, black eyes were peering at her from a bush along the glass wall.

They blinked.

She blinked back.

And then they were gone.

Cornelia's warning forgotten, Will jumped up and ran outside, throwing the doors open with haste. The bush near the door was empty, so she looked around, worried. Was it a threat? Phobos was attacked four days ago. Maybe Elyon was next?

There, the Heart urged, indicating to a large lattice arch, covered in thick green vines. Between the white crisscrossing wooden slats and full leaves, she spotted the dark eyes.

She tapped into her powers and became lightning, darting around the side of the lattice and reforming before the person could move.

"Oh," she said, looking down at who she had just chased down with the powers of Kandrakar..

It was a halfling child, not quite a preteen, but not so young he was helpless. He was wearing a high neck white cape that fell only to his waist. Underneath were noble looking clothes in the aqua and teal of the kingdom, with a small leather satchel wrapped around him under his cloak. At his neck was a small brooch in the shape of the Meridian crest.

He had long, mid-back length black hair pulled into a long braid. It ended with a gold ring, in the same fashion look Elyon had picked up in her youth on Metamoor. A few strands of dark hair fell into his huge, and she meant huge, wide eyes. His tan, round cheeks made his face full and his soft jaw seamlessly tapered up into his pointed ears. His feet were bare, and she saw they were webbed, like his small hands.

Frog.

Until this moment, Will didn't realize that the animal based half-breeds could look like a frog. It was silly not to think that but-

Frog.

Frog!

She let out a squeal that made the child flinch, and she clamped her hands over her mouth to stop herself. Because he was the cutest damn kid she had seen in her whole life and she was now considering kidnapping- she meant adoption.

The kid swallowed, looking nervous, enormous eyes darting to the side.

Trying to behave like she wasn't now wondering how adoption worked between realms, Will repressed her giddiness and knelt down in front of the kid. He stepped back, pressing into the ivy, and she worried she scared him.

"Hey," she called, reaching a hand out. "Sorry about that! I didn't mean to scare you. Can you tell me your name, little guy?"

She worried about being to condescending, as she wasn't sure of his age, and didn't want to upset him. But he didn't seem bothered by the nickname as he stared at her offered hand.

"You are Wilhelmina," he said, voice small and a little high pitched.

"Will," she corrected, automatically. "You can call me Will." She smiled. "But if you know my name, you know you can trust me, right?" She kept her hand out, waiting.

He shifted, looking around, eyes having a hard time holding hers, before nodding. "Achilles. My name is Achilles." Slowly, like he was debating the action, he took her hand. Tiny, slender, webbed fingers wrapping around hers, cool and smooth, the grip weak and unsure.

It wasn't surprising to feel magic at his touch. Half-breeds often had a connection to it. But it was interesting feeling electricity on his fingertips. Shouldn't a frog be water based?

She smiled wider. "Oh, what a nice name," she said, trying to put the kid at ease. "What are you doing here, Achilles? I know for a fact this area is off limits. You can get in big trouble," she said while pulling him a little closer, making sure he wasn't hurt during her chase. Will felt a little guilty chasing down a small child like she would a war criminal.

He looked down, large cheeks pouting wider than average. "I'm exploring," he answered, bare feet digging in the dirt.

"Now that's the best reason for trespassing I've ever heard," she laughed, making a show of looking around as she leaned in. She whispered, like they were now in cahoots, "You can't let the queen catch you. She might give you chores, and those are boring."

He nodded, agreeing. "I am really quiet!" he blurted out. "No one's seen me but you!" he went on urgently, like he was defending himself.

Will took her free hand and poked his small nose, zapping him with a lightest spark possible, "That's because you're electric, like me! I can find you anywhere!" she joked with a giggle.

He looked alarmed. "Anywhere?" he asked, now looking around again, nervously.

Seeing his growing worry, she scooped him up, balancing him on her hip as she stood. "That's a good thing, Achilles!" she assured, smiling. "That means you'll never be lost! But that also means you can't go sneaking around like this. Got it?"

He nodded, one hand grabbing her shoulder to steady himself. He was so small and light in her arms. Like a strong breeze could rip him away.

"Now, where are your parents? I'm sure they're worried," she asked, debating handing him to the guards outside the room.

"I have no parents," he stated, sounding far more unbothered than a child should be at that statement. But it was Metamoor, and he looked old enough that he could have been orphaned during Phobos' reign.

Not liking the reminder they chained Phobos for a very good reason, she pushed the thought away.

"Oh, well, who takes care of you?"

"My master."

Will froze, worried for a whole new reason.

"Master?"

Achilles nodded. "He gave me this," he said, lifting his hand and letting sparks shoot between his fingers.

"Oh," she said, understanding. "Do you mean you are a ward of a mage?"

Achilles frowned, thinking, and nodded. "He saved me. Healed me."

Will was now frowning as well. "Healed you from what?" she asked, wondering if it was okay to press like this. He was a strange child she just found spying on her in the gardens. She really should hand him over to the guards.

Achilles swung his little legs as he answered, "They broke my legs, left me to die. It hurt. But master found me and healed me."

This was not how she expected her day to go.

"Oh," she repeated, not sure what else to say. "I'm… I'm glad he found you then." She swallowed, feeling fury build at the idea of this child being harmed in such a violent way.

"I am too."

Knowing that Elyon was going to be back at any minute, Will offered to take the kid to anywhere with her teleportation powers. He asked to go to the gardens near the back kitchen, as he had yet to explore there.

Once they arrived, she sat him down and ruffled his dark hair, telling him to stay away from areas like Elyon's office, as it was guarded and they wouldn't take well to him lurking around.

He stared up at her, eyes wide as he added, "I am sorry."

Confused, Will asked, "Sorry for what, Achilles?"

"For hurting you," he said, full of remorse, water at the edge of his eyes.

Will forced a laugh as the sight was breaking her heart. "You didn't hurt me! That was just upsetting to hear, earlier," she assured.

"No, I mean," he paused, looking down, hands together. "I am sorry."

Will dropped to her knees and pulled him into a tight hug. "You are just the sweetest, aren't you? I promise I'm fine. Now just be safe and come find me if you are ever in trouble. Promise?"

He nodded, pulling away. "So you forgive me?" he asked, still looking worried.

"Of course! And I'm going to be here all summer! We can even do some exploring together! Have you been to the markets in Meridian? Or the farmlands? Oh, there are these super pretty caves near here. The walls are glass from years of dragon's fire," she offered, just wanting the wipe the sad look off his little face. It just didn't belong there. He was just so young to look so serious. So determined.

He nodded again, this time hugging her around her neck, and left, running into the gardens. Will watched him go, worried for her new little friend, as life was already so cruel to one so young.

She made it back to the office a few minutes before her friends arrived, ready to tell them how she came across an electric frog child, of all things. Only once they entered, she was reminded things were still very serious, as Taranee, Hay-Lin, and Irma all entered, crying and throwing their arms around her like the others before.

Once Elyon and Cornelia entered, it relieved Will to see that no one else came. As she was still angry at Caleb and, with Matt… she needed to talk to him one-on-one. She needed to explain things to him. Not that she could think of what she would say.

Her feeling for Phobos weren't as deep as they were for Matt.

She loved Matt, with every fiber of her being, for so long.

Yet, having to decide between him or her duty, she chose Kandrakar. No, she chose the Heart, as she was now understanding how different to the two were.

With Hay-Lin and Irma clinging to her on the couch, Taranee pulled a wooden chair over to sit near them. Elyon and Cornelia stayed standing, waiting for everyone to calm down.

"Where have you been?" Taranee asked, reaching out to grab her right hand.

"That's a good question," Will admitted, shrugging.

"Well," Cornelia started, voice growing hard. "How did you end up banging Phobos in his room? We can start there."

"Wow, okay, right to the point, I guess," Will said, shocked at Cornelia's blunt anger. Yeah, it was Phobos, but it wasn't the end of the world… right?

"Knew it!" Irma said, pointing around the room at the other four, all with varying levels of shock and discomfort on their faces.

"Knew what?" Will questioned, jumping at her display of excitement.

"That you two were a thing! You've been following him around with your tongue hanging out for like the last two weeks. And then he actually helped us look for you."

"He did?" Will questioned, confused at the idea of Phobos helping them look for her. He clearly was interested in her, but that was a far cry from being concerned over her well-being. "I felt Taranee call me."

Taranee answered, gripping her hand. "I had kept trying to link directly with you through your mind. He helped me realized I had to connect to the Heart itself. Because the Heart… you're right, Will. It's alive." Taranee bit the inside of her cheek. "I think I talked with it. With her."

Will let out a long sigh. "She cause you any trouble? She's like in a weird rebellious phase." Will used her free hand and picked up the Heart. "Apologize for your shit," she lectured.

The Heart glowed, remorseful and embarrassed.

"Oh, okay," Irma said, looking side to side. "So I guess this is a thing now. Cool. Shit just keeps getting weirder with magic."

Taranee pulled away, looking at the glowing Heart. "Its scared," she said, sounding deeply bothered.

Will gave a tight smile. "Yeah, she's not really a fan of me giving up the Heart. And seeing how that's been, you know, a topic lately, she's getting worked up."

They all looked guilty, as they all had broached the subject with her at one point, all of them in favor of her trying to work things out with Matt and giving the Heart, temporary or not, to Cornelia.

"She doesn't want to be forced back to sleep. If she had to remake a connection, she has to start over." Will rubbed the smooth glass. Even if she was mad, she meant it when she said she was going to stay with her. Keep her whole.

"She?" Elyon asked, troubled, eyeing the jewel with concern.

As long as Will tried to ignore it, she knew what Phobos meant when he called the creature 'nymph'.

"Xin Jing," Will answered, and the Heart glowed happily at her name.

"And Phobos," Taranee started speaking, hand on her chin. "He knows she's awake?"

Not really understanding her thought process to ask that, Will nodded. "Yeah, she played a prank on the beach. Even shocked him with some magic."

Elyon urgently stepped forward. "The Heart used magic on him? And my spells didn't divert it?"

Will nodded again.

Elyon hummed, like she was piecing something together. "When?"

"Um, late afternoon, second day on the beach. Why?"

"And were you with Phobos on the first day too, also midday?"

"Yeah," she admitted, face warming at Irma's smirk.

"And you were with him just now…" Elyon looked at the Heart and then her. "All three times my spells around him have either been tampered with or my scrying ability blocked."

"That doesn't sound good," Hay-Lin said, hugging Will's arm tighter.

"It's not," Cornelia finished.

"Hey, now," Irma said, standing up, picking up the meaning of their tone faster than Will. "It's the Heart interfering, not Will."

"I didn't," Will started, ready to point out both she and Xin Jing did nothing during the last time Elyon's spells were disrupted. But she stopped.

Why did she stop?

Why wasn't she telling Elyon about Phobos' access to his power?

"I didn't know," she finished, a heavy weight falling deep in her gut.

"Will," Elyon started, folding her arms, looking serious. "It's dangerous for Phobos to be unbound. I don't like all the bonds I have to use, but they are all necessary."

The weight in her gut flipped, making bile splash up the back of her throat. Will stood, the anger from what felt like only hours ago returning full force.

"Necessary? Are you shitting me?" she said, Hay-Lin standing to grab her arm, able to feel her growing fury. "It's been four days, right? Well, you should have had enough time to investigate the assassination attempt that took place on your watch, right?"

Elyon swallowed, keeping her chin up high as she answered, "I say this as the queen of Metamoor; that is none of your business. You are too close to him to see this rationally."

Will gave a shallow, brief laugh. "I'm too close? He's your brother!"

That struck a cord, as Irma took a step back, looking rapidly between them. Cornelia stepped to Elyon, placing a hand on her shoulder that the queen brushed off. Taranee was standing, hands raised between them.

"My brother? You think that matters to him? You think he cares about me?" Elyon snapped, glaring at the redhead. "You understand that if my spells fail, if he regains his powers, he's going to turn on me, right? That everything I've done to fix what he did over a decade long bloody rule will be undone in minutes because you want to, to," she turned red, both from anger and embarrassment. "Do my brother!" Elyon flamed completely, and she turned away, breathing hard.

"Hey, guys, let's calm down a bit," Taranee said, looking directly at Will, like she was the problem here.

"Why is it," Will started, her temper in full force. "That I get dragged for what I did. With framing Raythor, pardoning Phobos, using Napoleon as bait, because I 'sunk too low'. But it's okay for you to do this? To dehumanized him. To strip him of being able to defend himself, to talk, to do anything that's worth living, all while claiming you're treating him better? Just because he's not in a cell?" She sharply laughed, remembering the pain across his face when she kissed him by the lake. The blank, empty look he had when she first spied him in the courtyard. "Get off your high horse, Elyon. You broke him. Made him a target and left him as a punching bag. How the hell is any of that okay?"

Cornelia clenched her teeth as she snapped, "So what would you do? Huh? Just let him go? After everything? Just because he wanted to get his dick wet a few times with you?"

"Oh, guys, we really should chill," Irma called, sound worried. "Let's not say things we are going to regret, right, Corny?"

Cornelia ignored her and moved closer to Will, staring down at the shorter woman. "Did he tell you, while you guys were fucking, that there is an executive order, from the people, church, mage council, and every other faction on Metamoor, for his execution? And, since Elyon was the only one able to kill him, they tasked her to do it? But she refused? You talk like you know anything that's happening here, but you are so lost, upset about a break up you caused, you can't see anything happening around you!"

Hay-Lin gasped. "They want you to kill him? Like you, yourself?" she asked the queen, voice shaking.

Elyon nodded, hands balled at her side. "I don't know why, but the magic from the Heart of Meridian is the only thing able to stop his heart. I… I couldn't do it. After everything he's done, I just couldn't…" She looked at Will, eyes full of conflicting emotions. "So yes, I think giving him a life, any life, is better than me murdering my brother. If word gets out, he's been free of his bonds, for any reason, the entire planet will demand his execution or my throne. Him, looking like he's not a threat, walking among the halls is a lie that is keeping him alive."

Will's heart was beating fast, anger and frustration clouding her judgment. Luckily, Hay-Lin was there, who placed a cool hand on her cheek, making her look at her. "Will, please, calm down." Her magic touched her, gentle, asking for permission, and Will let it in. Her mind cleared, her heart slowed, her skin cooled.

Hay-Lin turned to everyone, a gentle wave of her power coursing over everyone, and they all calmed as well. "Please, we can talk this out. It's okay. Everything is okay." Her voice was full of magic, a soothing song to their ears. "We are friends here. We love each other. We can't forget that."

Irma spoke up, hands up in a peaceful gesture. "And, as hard as it is to believe, Phobos cares for Will. He helped us call her back. And even when she was gone, he was nice to me, Taranee, and Hay-Lin. That wasn't for our benefit."

Taranee nodded, now adding, "The Oracle vouched for Will. She's not doing anything bad. Not intentionally. If the Heart, if Xin Jing, is doing it on her own, we can handle that. She's not malicious. She probably thinks she's doing Will a favor if his bonds are that restrictive."

Hay-Lin let her powers linger, and Will, anger in check, nodded. "She's like a kid right now. She's learning and I have to teach her," she said, realizing how big of an influence that her friends had over the nymph. "We all have too."

Hay-Lin nodded. "How about we all take a break? There is a lot we still need to catch Will up on, since she's been gone for a while."

Will, grateful for Hay-Lin, agreed. "Yeah, I need a shower and a nap."

Seeing that the tension in the room was still lingering, Irma grinned. "I can see," she said with a playful wink.

Will tilted her head in confusion.

Irma laughed. "Girl, you know he left like a big ass hickey on your neck, right? And…" She smirked wider as she trailed off, glancing down with a pointed look.

Will, still confused, looked down and pulled at her short dress, able to see light discoloration visible at her inner thigh. Maybe his bites weren't as gentle as she thought, as she was in fighting form, so pain didn't register the same.

Her back snapped straight, both hands on the hem of her dress as she pulled it down as far as possible, and she turned away from Irma, only to see the other four looking away with their own embarrassment.

"Oh, come on!" Irma sighed. "Weren't we just yelling about them fucking and I can't point out the big ass hickey on her? We talk about sex all the time!"

Taranee glared. "Not sex with Phobos! Why would anyone," Taranee stopped, bothered at the thought.

Irma laughed. "Ah, I mean, can you blame her?"

Hay-Lin's eyes grew wide. "You think he's cute?!"

Irma laughed again, voice teasing. "Girl, cute is for bunnies and kittens; that man is sexy. Evil, but sexy."

"Irma this is probably the most vile thing you have ever uttered," Cornelia said, dismayed.

"Aw come one, guys! I'm adult enough to call sexy when I see it! Nerissa; sexy! Sorry Caleb, where ever you are," Irma said, smirking at the look of repulse Caleb would have had. "Phobos; sexy. Its just something about the big baddies from Meridian. They are just… fine as hell."

"Phobos is hella pretty," Irma went on. "Smooth skin, long hair, firm jaw, thin frame you just wanna climb like a tree, right, Will?" Irma ended with a playful nudge.

"Stop! Please stop!" Elyon near yelled, frantically looking for an escape at the talk of her brother's attractiveness.

"Yeah, that's enough." Cornelia sighed. "I have enough sexy Nerrisa and Phobos images in my head to last a lifetime."

Irma laughed. "Fine, Fine. Shit, I forgot what we were even talking about."

"We need to take a break," Will whined, as she buried her face into the water fairy's shoulder, hoping she was done pointing out Phobos' features. While she wasn't wrong, it was still embarrassing.

"Oh, right! Are you hungry? Let's go grab some food," Irma said, hugging her. She always had a way to disarm any tension in a room, and Will was grateful for that charm right now, as her friends were more at ease, now playfully bickering with each other.

Whatever problems were still hanging over them, at least they all had each other.