Lady Genevieve returned the embrace with strength that belied her elegant appearance. "Six months," she said quietly. "You promised six months. Not a day longer, or I'm sending your father to retrieve you."
"Six months," Jack confird. "I'll be back before you notice I'm gone."
"Liar," Genevieve said fondly, releasing him. "But I appreciate the sentint."
Octavia stepped forward next. "I distributed the gold as you requested. The staff was thrilled. You've earned loyalty that money can't buy, brother."
"I know," Jack replied. "Keep the business running smoothly while I'm gone. And if any nobles try to undercut our pricing or spread rumors about product quality..."
"I'll handle it," Octavia interrupted with a slight smile. "This isn't my first negotiation with overly ambitious rchants. They'll learn quickly that the Kaiser family doesn't tolerate market manipulation."
Celeste yawned, not bothering to cover her mouth. "Try not to die in Caeloria. I've got bets placed on your return date, and dying would really ss up my odds."
"I'll keep my survival in mind while considering your gambling habits," Jack said dryly.
Annabelle approached with the wrapped package, her young face serious despite the early hour. "I made you sothing for the journey. It's not much, but..." She held out the package.
Jack unwrapped it carefully to reveal a small sketchbook, the cover embossed with the Kaiser family crest.
Opening it showed blank pages waiting to be filled, but the first page held a drawing. A remarkably detailed portrait of the entire Kaiser family, everyone captured with artistic skill.
"So you don't forget us while you're gone," Annabelle said quietly.
Jack bent his knee slightly to be at her level, eting her eyes directly. "I could never forget any of you. But I'll treasure this anyway. Thank you, Annabelle."
She hugged him quickly, then stepped back, her composure maintained despite the emotion visible in her eyes.
Seraphina approached last, her hands clasped in front of her in the proper stance of a devoted servant. But her eyes showed the affection of soone who'd cared for Jack through the darkest years of his life.
"Co back safely, Young Master," she said. "The estate isn't the sa without you."
"I will," Jack promised. "Take care of everyone while I'm gone."
Finn had remained silent throughout the farewells. The forr Chosen One's clairvoyance let him see seconds into the future. Not enough to predict major events, but sufficient to read the imdiate danger he could feel.
"You're walking into sothing dangerous," Finn said finally, his voice carrying certainty. "I can't see what specifically, but the path ahead holds conflict that exceeds what you should have to go through."
"I know," Jack replied. "But it's necessary. Maiser Holdings needs political capital, and Rhys needs seasoning. This journey serves multiple purposes."
Finn nodded slowly.
He turned back to the carriage where Rhys, Father Caelen, and Lyra waited. "Ti to depart. We have two weeks of travel ahead, and I want to reach the first waypoint before nightfall."
The family stepped back as Jack climbed into the carriage, settling onto the bench across from Lyra. Rhys and Father Caelen took the opposite bench, with Slyph hovering in the space between them.
The guards at the helm called out to the horses, and the carriage lurched into motion.
Jack watched through the window as the estate grew smaller, his family standing in the courtyard waving farewell.
The carriage moved through the estate gates and onto the main road, forests rising on either side as they began the journey.
------
Two miles from the Kaiser estate, on a hill overlooking the main road, two figures stood watching the carriage depart.
The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with a beard and mustache ticulously grood despite his casual stance.
His blue eyes tracked the carriage's progress with the focus of a predator marking prey.
He wore traveling clothes that suggested he was nobility, but the way he carried himself indicated soone who'd transcended such mundane classifications long ago.
The woman accompanying him possessed a remarkable presence. Her auburn hair cascaded beyond her shoulders, her physique exhibited captivating contours, and her amber eyes radiated intellect that most wouldn't notice.
She leaned against a tree with casual grace, one hand resting on the hilt of a blade that looked far too elegant to be a common weapon.
"That's the Soul Warden?" the woman asked, her tone carrying amusent. "He doesn't look like much. Just a boy playing at being noble."
"He's eighteen," the man replied, his voice carrying the roughness of soone who'd spent decades shouting orders on battlefields. "And he's got soul magic. That makes him dangerous regardless of how young he looks."
The woman laughed, the sound carrying genuine mirth. "Soul magic. The Council's favorite target. How many have we hunted now? Twenty? Thirty?"
"Forty-two," the man corrected. "Though most of them died quickly. This one might be different."
"Different how?" the woman asked, pushing off from the tree to stand beside him. "He's still just a boy with magic he probably doesn't fully understand. We've killed dozens like him."
The man's blue eyes narrowed as he studied the distant carriage. "Different because he's a Kaiser. Alaric's son. That bloodline doesn't produce weaklings, even if they look unimpressive."
"So what?" the woman challenged. "We've killed Chosen Ones. We've killed things that shouldn't be able to die. One boy with soul magic and a famous father doesn't concern ."
"It should," the man said, though his tone carried amusent rather than genuine warning. "But I suppose that's why this will be entertaining. So, Mira, who gets to kill him? You or ?"
The woman grinned, her orange eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I call the first attempt. You got the last two soul mages we hunted. It's only fair I get this one."
"Fine," the man agreed. "But when he proves more difficult than you expect, don't complain when I have to finish what you started."
"He won't be difficult," Mira insisted. "Look at him. Traveling with two companions and a Chosen slave. No guards beyond the carriage drivers. No visible weapons. No indication he understands what's coming."
She gestured at the distant carriage as it disappeared around a bend in the road. "This will be easy, Warren. We'll follow them to so isolated location, eliminate the companions, and bring his head back to the Council. Three days, maximum."
Warren wasn't entirely convinced, but he nodded. "Three days. We'll see if your confidence matches reality."
They stood there on the hill as the morning sun climbed higher.
Neither of them noticed the faint shimr in the air behind them. A presence that observed with interest before fading completely, leaving only the morning breeze and the distant sound of the carriage moving toward its destination.
-----
Inside the carriage, Jack felt a chill run down his spine despite the morning warmth.
The sensation was familiar. The feeling of being watched, of predators marking their territory.
His hand moved to where his weapons would materialize from system storage if needed, golden eyes tracking the forest on either side of the road with enhanced perception.
"Sothing wrong?" Rhys asked, noticing Jack's sudden alertness.
"No," Jack replied, forcing himself to relax. "Just adjusting to being outside the tower. The openness feels strange after so long in enclosed floors."
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