The High Seer Lady Sibyl Belladonna strode into her spacious bedroom within Faria palace and threw off her thick beige overcoat onto the wing chair.
"Hmph!" She huffed with irritation. It had been a terribly unproductive day. She had just returned from a coven gathering that had been a complete waste of time and energy.
The coven was supposed to have gathered for the purpose of deep scrying to gather any possible future prophecies. Instead, it had turned into a gossip-fest that had gotten completely out of control.
The two remaining witches who she could tolerate being around, Lucile and Mathilda, were all twittering and chattering over the latest news—her daughter's upcoming wedding with the King of Faria, Cedric Blaxtone.
It wasn't that Sibyl was not excited for her daughter's wedding. It was just that she and Athena had spent three entire days planning out the most important parts of the wedding and then to have to rehash all that to Lucile and Mathilda was just far too much of an overload.
As a result, the coven had ended up unable to generate a vision that was worth much of anything.
With a soft groan, Sibyl sank down onto the chaise lounge by the fireplace and wrapped a thick white chenille throw around her shoulders.
She wanted a little red wine to mellow out the frigid winter afternoon, but it was just too much effort to get up and walk away from the warmth of the fireplace.
HOOT, HOOT.
Her owl sounded outside the patio.
Sibyl got up from her reclined position and went to the double doors.
HOOT, HOOT.
Zero normally didn't call out to her unless there was something important it needed to warn her about.
Sibyl stepped outside and closed the french doors behind her. A gust of winter gale immediately blasted into her face causing her teeth to chatter.
The afternoon sun did nothing to take the wintry chill from the air. It was still too cold to melt any of the snow that was still on the ground and clinging to everything in sight.
This had better be good.
"Yes, yes. I'm here. What's going on?"
She looked out at the pale brown hoot owl perched on the thick snow-laden limb of the leafless maple tree.
HOOT—HOOT. HOOOOOT.
"You don't say." She sighed. "Whatever is going to happen today, I don't really care."
HOOT—HOOT—HOOT.
"Oh? So you want me to stand out here in the freezing cold and just watch and wait."
HOOT—HOOT.
Sibyl pursed her lips. The owl had been with her for almost twenty three years. It had never steered her wrong before.
If anything at all, it had been her one steady companion through all the ups and downs—less a familiar, more a friend. She had learned to trust this little guy.
Sibyl shivered. Her thin white velvet dress was not warm enough for this sort of weather. She wrapped the chenille throw tightly around her body and crossed her arms.
The soft leather indoor slippers she had worn when she stepped outside were starting to leech the coldness of the stone pavers up into the soles of her feet.
Whatever the owl predicted would happen better happen quickly. She could not stand out here much longer.
Sibyl leaned up against the door and closed her eyes, working her witchy radiant energy around her to keep her body as warm as she could.
"You smell so good." A soft deep voice sounded mere inches from her.
"Goodness me!" She called out, startled by the sound.
"Hello, Beautiful Woman." The face of a man she had not seen in years appeared before her eyes.
This was a completely enclosed courtyard. The only way he could have come into the courtyard was either flying in or bouncing down from the rooftops.
Either way, the man was trespassing into the Farian royal palace, and she was not happy to see him.
"You—" She swallowed, trying not to choke on her own breath.
Sharp painful memories that she thought had faded into the distance of time once again surged unchecked.
Memories of giving birth and caring for two children, alone and without any support all bubbled up and boiled over until it crested within her chest and choked her throat with rage and sadness.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed.
"I told you to wait and watch for me, didn't I?" His light blue eyes softened as he leaned closer to Sibyl, ignoring her angry face.
"All these years, you didn't care anything about them, and now that my daughter is getting ready to marry the King of Faria, you show up to reap the benefits?" Her tone was accusatory, her words clipped.
King Jero shook his head.
"How can you say that I didn't care about my daughter? You disappeared before she was even born and this is the first time I have even been given the chance to see her."
Sibyl pressed her lips together and looked away. She could not argue with that. It was absolutely true.
"Darling. I am here to strengthen political ties and to greet the new king, Cedric Blaxtone. Since my daughter has finally returned, I want to see her as well."
"Surely you will at least allow me to see my own daughter." He cajoled with a gentle gaze.
Sibyl made the mistake of turning towards him and instantly regretted looking into his intense blue eyes.
His gaze was like a flame retardant, dousing out the fire deep within the pits of her soul. The anger that she had been nursing all those years towards him was effectively extinguished without even much effort on his part.
She closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh.
Not again.
It was those same blue eyes that had bewitched her so many years ago. They had not changed one tiny bit.
The last time she saw him, his hair was long and dark with hints of a wave. Now, it barely touched his shoulders, with streaks of silver around his temples.
Even his neatly trimmed beard was white, giving him a look that was still just as devilishly handsome as ever.
Curse him!
King Jaro chuckled. "You don't have to close your eyes. I won't disappear even though your eyes are closed."
Sibyl frowned and opened her eyes.
"How did you know I was here?"
King Jero shrugged. "Haven't we been talking?"
"When did you talk to me about anything? The only one I have been talking to has been my owl, Zero."
"Darling. It's not Zero. It's Jero."
"Yes, I know your name is Jero." Sibyl frowned in agitation. "I'm talking about my owl Zero."
King Jero laughed. "You've been saying it wrong all these years. The name is Jero, not Zero."
"Pshah!" Sibyl huffed. "I know my owl's name. His name is Zero."
HOOT—HOOOOOT!
The owl squawked.
Sibyl looked over at the hoot owl.
"What? You must be joking!"
HOOT—HOOT.
"He's not joking. You've been mispronouncing it all these years. It's always been me talking to you through the owl, Love." King Jero chuckled.
Sibyl turned back to Jero. "How is that possible?"
His eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Do you remember when you first got pregnant with Talia? That was when you first met the owl."
"Zero?"
King Jero shook his head. "His name is Goji. You've been calling him Zero, but in reality, that was my name that you had garbled and mispronounced."
"The owl sought me out and became my familiar." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "How could it be possible that it would be your familiar?"
"I sent my best-trained familiar to you, Darling." King Jero's eyes softened. "I've been using him as a medium to talk to you all these years and to keep an eye on you to make sure you were doing well."
Sibyl took a deep breath. Jero. Zero.
Damn.
She flashed him an irritated look.
"What do you want with me?"
The smile left his face. King Jero leaned back on his heels.
"Can we go inside and talk? It's cold out here and I don't want you to get sick."