A Clove of Fates

2. Headaches

I loved my Father, really, I did. But being around him gave me headaches.

It was all that magic just oozing out of him always. For most, it made them swoon, quite violently, pulled toward my father like moths to a flame, made everything he said sound like love songs.

But I wasn't most. I was an enchantress, the Enchantress, at that. And for people like me, all that magic made our heads buzz, our fingers shake, our stomachs sink like stones and flip like pancakes. I'd always envied humans for their ability to let magic pass through them like air, holding their breath when they needed to, being able to blow it out in one big puff. But it clung to me, built up inside of me until there was nothing left but highly pressurized energy, ready to blow at any moment.

So needless to say, these Seventh Day dinners with father were less than pleasant.

Darby, the highest of our palace servants, led me to where my father waited at the head of the dinner table—Aeska, my sort-of step father behind him slightly. They smiled as I approached.

My father spoke first. "Good evening, Ifera." A knife in my brain. "You cut your hair."

Subconsciously, I moved my hand to my chest where my hair once fell and felt it brush my shoulders as my head shifted. "Yes." It was always something like this when I saw him. "The dress I bought you" or "You look different." Obvious statements that I couldn't tell whether or not were compliments. He was a weird guy, my Father.

He was also not a guy at all. As much as he liked to remind me of this fact, as much as he went around saying that he was Heillar, God of Charms, First Born of the Divine, I always seemed to forget.

Aeska leaned forward slightly at his waist, his green eyes just a little bit too wide, his smile just a tad too bright. It had scared me at first, how he managed to look thirty-five and nine at the same time. It was a God flavored impossibility that hadn't taken me too long to get used to. "Well, I like it. It's very pretty, Ifera." He straightened and dug in his suit pocket, the buttons not done right, and pulled out a handful of candy. "Would you like a treat?"

Hm. Gods-know-how-old pocket candy. I opened my mouth, not sure how to answer.

Father smiled at him and shook his head. "Please, my love. Don't spoil the poor girl's dinner."

Aeska pouted. "You're no fun."

I couldn't help but smile. Aeska's magical aura was much more enjoyable than my father's.

Darby walked ahead of me to my seat at the table and pulled out my chair. I frowned as I went to sit down, my Father and Aeska already seated. "Is there no one joining us tonight?"

Father shook his head. "No. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay too long. I have some other business to attend to, and I wouldn't want to walk out on any guests."

But it was okay to walk out on me? I didn't question him about it, though. My head was throbbing and his talking only made it worse.

Darby cleared their throat behind me, and I turned around to see them offer me a spoon. I smiled in gratitude and took it, releasing some of the magic welling up inside of me into the secret talisman. It grew warm under my touch, but it wasn't yet unbearable, and it made it possible to look at my father without flinching.