The Devil’s Cursed Witch

Ember’s green eyes seemingly lit up like gemstones under the sunlight. “You agree?”

“Yes, I will call you Ember.” The human made a small cheering motion with her fist, causing the golden eagle to grin. “Since I will call you by your name from now on, you must also  call me Aureus. Give and take. Is it fine?”

She smiled brightly. “It’s absolutely fine…umm…Aureus!”

“That seems nice. Just drop the formalities and titles and call each other your names,” Erlos said with a nod, only to hear Ember chime in.

“Then you should also call me by my name, Erlos.”

“Umm, Miss, it’s different for me. I am a servant working in the palace…”

“See, this is what I am talking about. Even Aureus agreed to say my name.” She gave him a displeased look.

“But Sire is my master, that means you are also my master!”

“Oh, then, I order you to call me Ember from now on.”

“Ugh, Miss, how could you do this? This isn’t fair!” But in the end, the elf too was beaten down by the look on Ember’s face. “Fine, fine, I will call you by your name, but only when we are by ourselves. When there are others with us, I must  address you respectfully. It’s not that I don’t want to follow your orders. You will be crowned Queen and we must separate kingdom affairs from private matters.”

“I agree.”

“I will have to follow the same rule, Ember,” Aureus chimed in.

“Alright. I agree, I am not unreasonable,” she said cheerfully. She felt especially happy that she gained more friends!

Speaking of friends…

Only then did Ember realize someone from the group was missing. “Where is Morph?”

Aureus didn’t have to search for him, and this was the same with Erlos. Their senses were sharp enough to realize when the gray eagle took off while Ember was engrossed in conversation. The young eagle gestured for the human to look in the direction of the river.

“Whoa! When did he get there?” Ember exclaimed. Morpheus’ figure was steadily flying above the glittering surface of water, his majestic gray wings flapping with strong strokes that caused ripples to appear on the river. “But what is he doing there? Don’t tell me–“

The next moment, she got her answer as Morpheus dipped his hand in the water, and by the time he raised it, there was a big fat silvery fish in his grasp. He didn’t even have to step in water and get wet himself.

Erlos frowned as he mumbled, “It’s not that impressive. The real fun of catching fish is when you step in the water.”

Seconds later, Morpheus landed back on the riverbank with two large fishes in his hands.

“You are amazing, Morph!” Ember commented.

“You and Erlos must be hungry after that big fight,” Morpheus said.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Erlos frowned, “and I can take care of Miss Ember’s needs as she is under my responsibility.

Morpheus was not in a mood for argument as he simply said, “Alright, alright. I know you are a big guy. For now, be good and learn to accept someone’s goodwill.”

Erlos, who was about to say something more, shut his mouth, seeing Morpheus was acting like an adult for once. Was it because he was showing off to his nephew?

Morpheus looked around and found a suitable dry spot to start a fire pit. He walked away from the group and put down the fishes on the grass before he used his wind magic. Several twigs and branches flew towards him, neatly  arranging themselves in a bunch on the ground.

Just as Morpheus was about to ignite fire using his powers, he heard Ember call out, “Morph, wait, let me do it.”

He looked at her, who already stood up from her place and approached with an excited skip to her step. She then kneeled next to him. “I can do it. I want to show you as well how much I improved in controlling my power. I promise I won’t burn this like those butterflies last time.”

“Even if you burn these sticks, it’s fine. You can always try again.”

Ember happily ignited a small flame in the center of the stacked branches and exclaimed as she held onto the winged man’s arm. “Morph, look, look! I can control my flames now! I did well, didn’t I?

In her happiness, she didn’t realize she was squeezing his arm with all her strength.

Though it didn’t hurt him, the fact that she was touching him was affecting his willpower. He frowned inside but controlled himself. “Ember go sit with them under the tree. I will bring the fish for you once it’s cooked.”

“No, I want to help out too,” she insisted. She was so close to him, her scent was clinging on him strongly. “Since the firewood is lit, we need to clean the fish next and then put them on a stick–“

‘She loves to check my limits. This human…’ He closed his eyes briefly to get back to his senses. ‘I can bear it for a while.’

Meanwhile, Erlos noticed something. “Where is Albina?”

“Who?” Aureus asked.

“Ember’s horse, a white mare,” he answered and looked around. His chestnut-colored horse was frolicking at a distance, probably spooked by the orcs earlier, but the white one was nowhere in sight. “Don’t tell me!” He was alarmed. “Argh. I knew it. Those no-good orcs! No wonder they easily backed off. They must have taken her away!”

“They stole it?” Aureus asked.

“Best quality horse meat! With such mouthwatering food in front of them, why would they not steal it?” Erlos stood up immediately. “I need to get her back. If something happens to Albina, Ember will be really sad.”

“I will come with you,” Aureus said. “If they forcefully brought the horse, as long as it’s still alive, they couldn’t have gone far.”

The elf wanted to curse. “Come on. Let’s hurry! We can’t let her find out her horse is in danger.”

The two youths then swiftly entered the forest without letting Morpheus and Ember know.