The House Witch (The House Witch, #1)

by Delemhach

“Give me some food. I’m hungry,” was what Kraken had said, but it came out as a mew. His alpha meow was coming along, but still not up to par in the cat’s mind. Fin seemed to understand all the same, though, and made a kissing noise while setting some eggs on a small plate. The sound was annoying, but Kraken knew that it meant food, and so decided not to make a big fuss about it.

Lol

“I kind of thought you were gay.” Hannah’s words brought everyone back, and all eyes turned to her.

Lol me too!

“Do not think you are unworthy of greatness.” He pretended not to hear her.

“Ah well. Just know: don’t turn away from a path simply because you do not think you deserve to tread its ground.”

Fin turned and studied the woman sitting on his left more closely. Her jawline was quite soft, and the corners of her lips looked as though they wanted to smile but had gotten stuck on the way there. Her head was tilted slightly to the right and a few loose hairs near her face moved gently in the tiniest of breezes. She looked peaceful, and innocent somehow, in that moment, making a small warmth bloom in his chest.

One thing that did occur to him as he moved farther from Annika was how she always seemed sad when she showed her true self. Fin didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“My apologies, sire. Lord Piereva deserves a hearty toast from me.” Aidan stood, goblet in hand. “You, my lord, have found my estranged son, Finlay Helmer.” “How strange, he introduced himself as Finlay Ashowan,” Lord Piereva practically spat in reply.

Lol!

“Have you anything to say before we begin?” the captain asked with a raised voice that the others could hear. “I may want my own children someday. If that could remain a possibility, I would appreciate it greatly.”

“Hilda … we were unaware, but she is a water witch.”

“Where is Hilda pulling the water from?”

“Magic that drains a witch of both magic and life becomes permanent?” “That is how curses are formed. Yes.” Fin nodded as the ground quaked beneath their feet.

I believe I have read you correctly all along. You are of all elements, Mr. Ashowan. You are far from weak. I see earth, fire, air, and water in you. More earth and fire, but the others are there all the same. Perhaps they are centered around the home, but I have not met one of your kind before, so I truly do not know.”

“Try to finish up quickly, I want to get back to making dinner.” Fin sounded bored, and Lee gave him a small bitter smile. “I’ll do what I can, bitch witch.”

Lol!

Bitch witch? Really?” Fin asked exasperatedly, as Lee grinned proudly. “It suits you.” “It’s sad that’s the best you can come up with,” he retorted derisively. “You think you can do better?” “Sure. Though there isn’t much worse than being called ‘mage.’” Lee’s grin turned to a scowl.

Lol! Bitch witch

“To survive you have to give back every evil you receive, to let your enemy know that you will not suffer their wrongdoings.” There was pain in her face when she snarled the words at him, and she didn’t seem to realize she had started to weep. Fin did the unexpected. He hugged her. “I’m not strong enough to do that. You’ll have to kill me to save me the misery of my impending doom.”

The religion had gained a respectable amount of followers for a century or so, but their numbers had dwindled once the previous King of Daxaria had disbanded the law allowing the hunting of witches.

“Shouldn’t you be making my dinner?” Mage Lee commented as he took another sip of the Troivackian moonshine that had his eyes watering, yet also numbed his body at the same time. “It won’t take me long to spit in a bowl and hand it to you,” Fin replied without a moment’s hesitation.

Lol!!

“Will our king find anything interesting in your records?”

“W-what … What is a house witch?” “You are capable of performing magic around the home, and only around the home. You are completely useless outside of your property. Given that we have always been outside of the gate when practicing magic, it would explain why you have failed every test.”

It has to be due to the larger space and more occupants of my home giving me more power … Fin reasoned to himself.

“I think she may be the former Princess of Troivack. The aunt of the current king.”

“Your king has just reported to me that there is a fire witch in the Troivackian court acting as their chief of military.” Fin froze. Shit. Shit. Shit. Son of a mage. Shit. “The king told me you had no idea who this was,” she continued slowly while watching her closely.

He knew his father had been ambitious, but to desire to overthrow the Daxarian Coven?! “He has the support of the Troivackian Coven, the Coven of Aguas, and I believe he is already leading them autocratically. This war is getting incredibly out of hand, so I wonder if it would be possible for you to share with me everything you know or remember about Aidan Helmer. It will help us strategize against him.”

“My father is a purist.

“A deficient witch should only serve their betters—witches of the original elements, and no one else,” he finished his explanation and tried to ignore the white noise blaring in his head.

From what I have seen today, however, I can say that you are in fact quite powerful.

I would place you amongst a respectable level even amongst pure elemental witches.”

Home was the feeling of care and warmth. When Fin felt the most at ease wasn’t when he used his powers to defend his hearth, it was when he used them to make everyone and everything feel good, relaxed, content, and fulfilled. It was the place where you could rest and be whole. Free of disputes and divides.

That was what Fin wanted to use his magic to keep. Even if it was in the castle of the king, he wanted it to not just be a safe place, but a good place.

am a house witch. The bigger my home, and more people that share my home, the more powerful I am. I have to visit a place in the house and be in its space for a short amount of time, and afterward I can do all kinds of things. If I am off the grounds of my home, however, I am magically powerless. Though with or without magic, I remain one of the best cooks on the continent.”

“You should care because the rumor is about you and Mr. Howard. Everyone is saying you two are lovers and that you both had a courting date last night!” She succumbed to laughter then and there as Fin felt a tic in his right eye appear.

Lol!

Fin had pointedly ignored thinking about the inevitability of Lady Jenoure’s marriage, and now that he did so, immediately began working to convince himself that it would never have worked anyway. Besides, there were plenty of other women in the world. Men too, apparently … not that that particularly meant much personally to Fin.

Lol

“Hannah! Hannah, you don’t need to tell the cook! Seriously, I didn’t mean—” Sir Taylor straightened, a new paring knife in his hand. “Do I look like Hannah to you?” he growled, rounding the table, crossing the room, snatching his apron off of the door handle, and stomping past his startled fellow knight. “Depends on the angles,”

Lol!!

“Hardly. I was going to sweep you off your feet and show you a good time.” Fin’s chilling smile as he delivered the statement, followed by his slow wink, made Thoel snap.

Fin laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. He then leaned in so that he was a tiny inch from the man’s ear. “You’ll hear all about it after dinner.”

“Fin and Lady Jenoure are in love, and I’m certain that it is why he is losing control of his magic,” Hannah declared, meeting each and every eye upon her.

“Fin is desirable to women?” Sir Harris ventured slowly, his voice filled with awe. “The majority of the women in this castle feel that way, yes,” Hannah affirmed patiently.

Lol

“He could more than likely earn quite a bit of wealth and status if he relied on his powers or actually tried—he’s just being an idiot. The king has sought his company more times than I wish to count.” Hannah shook her head with a sigh. “So, we need to help him along at every turn,” she ordered imperiously.

Fin blinked. He had never in life ever heard a man be so abundantly open about being a whore. Not while sober, anyway …

Lol!

By the way, I loved your sausage,” he said, standing swiftly. “I beg your pardon?” Fin’s mind went blank. “You made sausage last night for dinner, and it was perfection. Just like you.” The man gently wiped his thumb across his lower lip, a movement that Fin wasn’t sure why, but drew his attention immediately. “Just a thought for you, though, have you ever slapped a couple buns over the meat? Pile some good sauce in there and I think you’d have a messy but fulfilling time.” Fin’s jaw dropped for what felt like the hundredth time that day. His face was frozen between a smile of amusement and shock.

Lololol

“I want you to continue feeding your brother’s belief that Fin is the spy.

“It should be fine with me. I’m not that interesting of a person anyway.” Fin shrugged. Both Annika and the king snorted.

Lol

Lol

Annika is supposed to marry in order to gain military support from Zinfera. She can’t let Daxaria fall to ruins just because she doesn’t want to— Wait a moment. Why is she telling me we can be together? She wouldn’t lose the Zinferan support just to run off with a cook. What is she planning? His mind began whirring to life. There were pieces missing from the story … Annika was doing something … but what?

“How is your wound? I know you were—” Fin started immediately, the notion of him behaving with any measure of composure a forgotten memory. “Mr. Ashowan, you’ve made your position clear. Please do not be heartless and behave so dotingly.” Her clipped tone cut through him, and Fin found himself slowly straightening his shoulders. He had unconsciously been leaning closer, trying to be nearer to her being.

Annika took a shaky, steadying breath, “love is one of those damnable parts of life we can’t always fully understand.” Fin felt doused in warm glowing magic. She’d said it. He couldn’t dismiss what he thought he saw in her gaze from before anymore. She loved him. At that moment, nothing else existed. Time could’ve stopped, for all he knew. There was a force greater than he could fathom filling the air, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“To be honest, I barely knew him. That’s love though, you pick someone you like and play the hand that your choice deals you.” Fin’s spine went rigid. He walked out of his cottage on stiff legs and headed back to his kitchen. His mother’s words were deeply troubling for some reason …

“On the contrary, I’d rather know ahead of time if my bride is in love with another man.” While his expression didn’t change, Fin’s grip on the handle of the tankard tightened.

“Ever since coming here I think I’ve grown more powerful. Bigger house, more people to take care of … I think my abilities grew to accommodate me.” Jiho leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. “Ever think about what that could mean if, oh I don’t know, a war broke out?” At Fin’s alarmed look, Jiho continued. “Do you think you’d be able to protect the entire castle if it became threatened?”