"A concealment spell? That means he has concealment or barrier magic," Tanken said, voice flat and calculating, as if cataloguing possibilities rather than people.
"It's possible... but he's Ken's child; he’s got to have more than that," Jisa replied, clipped and sharp, pride and worry braided into every word.
But the truth was different.
"And it couldn’t have been barrier magic — I would’ve detected it if something was blocking the thread," Jisa added, practical and impatient. "It’s definitely concealment. Or maybe he’s too far, perhaps out of the country."
"But even so," Tanken smirked, voice laced with contempt and a hint of amusement, "considering he’s Ken’s child, he probably has three or fewer types of magic, being a halfbreed."
Once again, far from the truth.
"I don’t think so, Tanken. Unicorns’ powers don’t depend solely on their parents’ strength, especially in royalty. He could be stronger than Ken," Jisa emphasized, steady and quietly defiant. "You might not know this, but there are a lot of halfbreeds in this kingdom, all pretending to be pure unicorns. I’ve met many among the knights. As much as I hate them, I’ve let them slip because they’re crucial to the kingdom’s defense."
"What?!" Tanken barked, incredulous and scornful. "You’re letting halfbreeds roam the kingdom?!"
"No. I’m just minding my own business. Do what you want; it’s not my problem. But you know unicorn birthrates are low right now. Just saying." Jisa replied, tone dry and unbothered, like a woman stating inconvenient facts.
Tanken paced around the large table, tracing a circle with his shoes. Lost in thought, he stopped, looked straight at Jisa, and said:
"Bring the strongest magic knights. Have them perform a constant localization spell." His command was cold, absolute, the kind that expected obedience without question.
"What?!" Jisa exclaimed, exasperation flaring. "We tried that before with Ken. We couldn’t even find him. Are you going to make them work for weeks again without rest?!" Her voice cracked with memory and fatigue.
"It’s not like their magic has limits. They’re paid for a reason. There are many of them — they can take turns." Tanken replied, dismissive and impatient, as if manpower erased sacrifice.
Jisa sighed. As the crown’s magic counselor, she commanded the strongest unit of knights. She knew it was a valid cause — no one wanted a halfbreed king. But sustaining a spell that long, even if it didn’t break their bodies, was mentally exhausting. She knew because she had lived it, searching for Ken for years. When they were finally close to finding him, he extinguished the castle’s brilliance. Many knights still held grudges against Tanken for that, but he didn’t care as long as he got what he wanted.
"Sigh... we aren’t paid enough for this," she muttered, weary and wry. "We’ll need your blood. And the longer it takes, the more blood we’ll need. And also—"
"Yeah, I know. If you find him, I’ll pay you all in human slaves," Tanken said, indifferent and smug, as if bargaining with lives were a trivial matter.
Jisa’s eyes lit up, a flash of something unseemly and eager.
"I can’t wait to torture them!" she said, voice bright with cruel anticipation.
"That is, if you find him." Tanken added, voice like a closing trap.
Jisa left the room first, leaving Tanken behind.
"Your death is looming, fucking halfbreed," he whispered before retiring from the room, venom soft and certain. The torch lights flickered, then died, leaving the chamber in sinister gloom.
~•~
Three days after that, Kai and Sera were outside; in the past days, they had been polishing his light magic. They had also attempted many times to make Kai transform into a unicorn on his own, with very little progress. But today was different; they had to move on to drawing out his sword magic.
“You see, now that you have unlocked it and you can easily use your light magic, you should be able to forge a sword with it,” Sera explained, both eyes focused on the slim, black notebook in her palms, voice patient and encouraging, “because sword magic is a derivative of light magic.”
Kai tilted his head and frowned.
“I… I don’t think I understand that...” he said, uncertain and earnest, the kind of confusion that wanted to be fixed.
Sera sighed before explaining again, gentle but firm.
“Think of this: it’s actually going to be easy. You already have such control over your light—for example, your light rope. You made it by condensing light, by hardening it. You have to do the same, but this time condensing light and turning it into a blade.” Her tone was steady, the voice of a teacher who believed in her pupil.
“Condense light? Make it hard? How can I even do that? How do you even understand that yourself? ” he asked, bewildered and a little self-deprecating.
“That’s what you’ve been doing all this time with the rope, but this time don’t turn it into a rope,” she said with her soft voice, making sure Kai would understand, patient and reassuring.
“Oh, okay. I’m going to try.” He said, determined and hopeful.
He lifted his right hand onward and closed his eyes, and a radiance emerged from thin air. His eyes clenched as he imbued the light with even more magic essence, and the light began to harden. A bead of sweat streamed down his cheek as he tried to maintain control. As the light was taking shape, it became even harder to control. And it scattered. Beads of hard light scattered around the air like a hailstorm. Sera stood there smiling—the light beads wouldn’t hurt her; his light wasn’t that potent at that moment.
“You almost did it!” she brightly exclaimed, warm pride in her voice.
But Kai was rather disappointed.
“Almost… huff… huff,” he said, deflated but still trying to sound brave.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself; this just proves you can do it!” Sera said, encouraging and upbeat. “Look, try it again; I bet you’ll get it this time.”
“Sigh… she’s always so optimistic. It’s refreshing,” he thought, as a smile cracked on his face.
Kai lifted his hand again. He clenched his eyes as he struggled.
“Yeah… yes, like… this, change form… change form.” He muttered, focused and a little frantic, visualizing the light taking the form of a sword. He had never seen a real sword before, only caricatures in the books his mother used to read for him when he was a toddler. Maybe that was part of the reason this was hard.
Sera contemplated on edge as her son struggled, the light taking shape.
“You can do it! You can do it!” she thought, fierce and tender all at once.
Finally—clang! The sword made a faint metallic sound as it struck the floor.
Kai opened his eyes; his hands weren’t trembling anymore. He could control the sword now with ease.
Sera watched amazed as Kai waved his hand, making the long sword levitate in the air, pride softening her features.
“I knew you could do it!” Sera brightly said, voice full of relief and joy.
Kai smiled in satisfaction, looking at the radiant sword. The sword gleamed like hardened sunlight. He noticed it didn’t have a hilt like those in his memory. There was a solution. He waved his hand and at the base of the blade, a root unfurled—twisting, tightening, until it became a hilt. It didn’t shine like steel; it pulsed like something alive. He had made a hilt with earth magic. But the sword was made of light to its core, so it was only normal for the plant-made hilt to burn to ashes. And it instantly did. Kai jolted surprised; Sera chuckled, almost mocking but fond.
“You’re laughing? How am I going to hold it then? I don’t want to control it in the air all the time,” he said, frowning, practical and a little exasperated.
“Don’t worry, use your water magic. Imbue it with water magic, it will cool down,” Sera said, calm and instructive.
Kai waved his hand, imbuing the levitating sword with water magic. A watery blue gleam wrapped around the sword and the light of the sword died, transforming it into a real, solid, metallic sword, like it had absorbed the water. Then Kai tried again: a root emerged at the base of the blade, until it became a hilt. Kai lifted his hand and took the sword, his grip tight around the hilt.
“This is perfect!” Kai said, proud and triumphant. “Mom, look at it, amazing right?” His voice shone with childish pride and newfound confidence.
Sera was lying on the floor. Kai rushed to her, knelt, and asked:
“Mom! Are you okay?! What’s happening?!” he cried, panic raw and immediate.
Sera was huffing, nearly unconscious.
“Kai… I’m sorry, I can’t… protect you anymore…” she said, voice thin and strained, each word a sacrifice.
“What are you talking about?! Mom! Let’s go inside!” he said, distraught and desperate.
Kai tried to carry her, but she held his arm firmly and said:
“No… Kai, they’re trying to localize you… I used a concealment spell these past days so that… they couldn’t find you…” Her tone was urgent, trembling with the last of her strength.
“What?!” he shouted, disbelief and fear colliding.
“But… my body couldn’t hold a spell for so long… Kai… run! Please.” Her plea was small and fierce.
“I’m not leaving you behind!” His eyes swelled with tears, stubborn and raw.
“They’re coming, Kai! I can’t conceal us anymore… they must’ve noticed! Kai, go… please… run…!” Beads of tears streamed down her cheeks, each word a breaking point.
“No, mom—!” Kai jolted.
They heard a noise coming from behind, leaves rustling from the bushes. Kai and Sera both felt chills running through their bodies. Sera’s heart skipped a beat—they were here. Kai slowly turned his head in terror, and spotted two silhouettes in the shadows of the bushes, their red eyes gleaming like beasts of the dark.
“Kai… run…” she whispered, voice barely a thread, fierce with love.
“Mom… I won’t run… I’ll protect you…” Kai said, his voice trembling in fear but resolute, courage born of love.
Sera looked at him, her face pale but resolute, her gaze burning with sorrow and pride.
“Kai… when the darkness closes in, remember, your light cuts deeper than any blade. You are far stronger than you think, I love you” Her words were a benediction, steady and luminous.
Her words lingered in the air like a final blessing, fragile yet unyielding. From the shadows, the silhouettes stepped forward, their red eyes gleaming like embers in the dark.
“Heh heh… if it isn’t the new heir… and a human. This is going to be… SO MUCH FUN!” the nearer figure sneered, voice oily and cruel, delighting in the hunt.
To be continued
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