The Prince of Demons

Nez

I carried my troublesome nephew to his room before laying him in his bed. Lux curled on him, warming him. What was that ? Nil was dodging his version of , then he was on the ground. All surrounding him that I was using to stop his and wear down Lux as well as the all seemed to fold in front of him. Nil’s eyes were incredibly bloodshot after, and he clearly coughed up a bit of blood. Now was that from using his or the of whatever that was? He did no lasting damage, but his body was overwhelmingly exhausted. Restoring his would not do much for him, so we needed some way to restore his body. That, or let his parents know after a few years of good behavior he cast a none of us can identify and absolutely knocked himself out on the day of his brother’s birthday. We have to get him in good enough shape for the party, we cannot distract from Ein. We really should not have punished Nil today; we should have waited.

I replenished Nil’s to start; it was taking more from me than before. His has definitely been growing. Adding his and along with his able to help regulate the output, that could have been a lot stronger than I originally estimated. If Lux was more proficient with she might be able to restore Nil, but that was currently out of the question. The main problem was getting Nil to a or or vice versa. There were several on staff, but they would tell Senna and Azzeck as soon as they finished healing him especially given how overexerted his body currently was.

“How is he doing?” Nox asked from behind, as he wrapped his arms around me and set his head on mine.

“We need a or to get him back up and running in time for the birthday celebration for little Ein. Do you know any that would do it and remain silent after? Or someone proficient with or who could?” I probed, leaning back.

I can do . A feminine and bell-like voice said into my mind. Who was that? Who could so easily speak into my mind like that?

“Who was that?” I snapped, glancing around.

I am right here. The voice replied. I noticed Lux staring at me. Since when could she talk?

“Wait, is that you Lux?” I checked. Lux was looking right at me.

“Is Lux talking to you?” Nox asked, and I could feel his head tilt with curiosity.

What do I need to do to help Nil? Lux inquired.

“You would need to do a spell known as to recover his and to restore his body. Unfortunately, I am not sure how to explain either to you.” I explained to her.

“How good are Lux’s speaking skills?” Nox probed, seeming to have thought of something.

“What does that matter?” I asked, not following.

“You are an , and from what I remember Magus Erli talking about, you guys help each other out, You could probably find a discrete that knows and can teach Lux here the needed two . Or have them heal Nil straight out, but that would be a little trickier as I am sure there is some obligation to report the treatment of an Imperial Family member of an Empire such as Speranza especially given Nil is a child.” Nox explained. That was an amazing idea actually.

“It would put them in a bind to say the least, but teaching Lux would not. For someone able to teach that is a short list, I could have -oh no. No no no. We might need to risk Senna and Azzeck.” I answered as an incredibly unpleasant realization came over me.

“There is about only one able to do what we need on the timetable and you have a problem with them.” Nox teased as he connected the dots.

“I feel Senna would be overwhelmingly understanding in this instance. We have his grandparents back us up and we are golden.” I replied, nodding encouragingly.

“Wow, you are willing to let Senna know that her precious little Nil got injured from using a again, and while this time he narrowly avoided lasting damage, he completely exhausted his body and put such a severe strain on his that without some pristine restoration he will be sleeping for the next several days rather than deal with this person. Is it an ex?” Nox mused. I physically shivered.

“Oh Lords no. First off, we have solid proof that she is most certainly not my type. And second, she is the most insufferable being on the face of Tenebrae.” I snapped at him.

“How bad could she be? Senna might actually kill you; you should be well aware of how much she does not like Nil injuring himself with .” Nox chuckled.

“I feel Senna’s wrath is the more viable option for us. Azzeck might be willing to help his dear brother and husband out in this case.” I suggested. I heard a cough from the side.

“Now, while I do enjoy your riveting conversation, I do have a list of people I was searching to teach Lux. There was only one female name on the list for . How about a practical interview?” Poam chimed in.

“I think I have been clear on my stance and risking Senna’s reaction. Where is Emperor Father Nil?” I snapped, not wanting to talk to her.

“How bad is Orga Fayle? And making sure that Senna and Azzeck are not wise to this little gambit.” Poam asked. I held back the desire to vomit.

“Is it safe to assume you have already mentally contacted someone to get her here as soon as possible?” I sighed.

“Yes.” Poam replied. I tried not to groan.

“We are just going to wait and find out.” I said, just leaning into Nox.

I motioned for Lux to follow us, and we went to a receiving room. I was rubbing my temples; I did not want to deal with her. She was insufferable. The Lords had to have handcrafted someone so annoying while giving her to maximize how much she grated on you. Within half an hour, a servant let us know our guest had arrived. I hid Lux with . The servant opened the door, and an incredibly energetic fox Beastkin burst into the room.

“Greetings Empress Mother Poam and Prince Nox, I have answered your summons and am here as requested. Wait, what are you doing here Nez? Did you apply to one of the tutors as well? You always sucked at , never quite grasped it you know? Switch to where you managed to find success. I guess you should always try and learn new things, it might stick eventually.” Orga stated with such speed and energy it was barely intelligible.

“I told my husband I would rather not have picked you, but the list for teachers qualified is quite short, Magus Orga. How did the last examination go? Get to the second test this time around?” I shot back.

“As much as I would like to listen to this bickering, we have a tight schedule today. Due to the odd nature of this request, we feel a practical interview is necessary.” Poam interjected with a smirk.

“Is it not to teach one of the Princes ? What is the request exactly? What do you need for the interview?” Orga asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“Before we proceed, we need you to sign the as there is some highly sensitive information.” Poam instructed her.

Poam signed it so fast the paper almost ignited. It glowed, showing the contract was binding. I snapped my fingers, revealing Lux. Orga’s eyes went wide, and she shot over to investigate Lux. She leaned in close with a look of pure awe. When she got too close, Lux swatted at her with a blade of light.

“Is that what I think it is?” Orga inquired, looking a bit giddy at Lux.

“Meet Lux, , the student, and to Crown Prince Nil. Your practical interview is to teach Lux and .” I explained to her.

“ can do much more than rudimentary healing. It has vastly more interesting applications.” Orga snapped at me.

“I am well aware; the practical interview question was set well in advance of knowing it was you. That is just icing on the cake. We needed two relatively simple that were easy to teach and useful to know.” I informed her.

“Two? Trying to teach a single to something that may not even understand me was not challenging enough?” Orga checked. Orga then jumped in surprise.

“As Lux probably just informed you, she most certainly understands you. Clock is ticking.” I said calmly.

Orga immediately went to work. As much as I loathed her, she quickly began explaining the fundamentals of to Lux with amazing clarity. To be fair, thanks to her lessons in using and practice using Lux knew how to change her fairly easily.

“So, she already knows the basic fundamentals of maybe a little adjusting for her being a would be in order but it is as simple as getting her to know how to use those two .” Orga reported.

“Correct. Good observations. A new question, what is the focus of your research?” Poam asked. I fought the urge to sigh again.

"That was in the application. My research is on the and of .” Orga replied while staying focused on Lux.

She seems quite suited to teaching Lux. Can you two work together long term potentially? Poam whispered in my mind.

How did this turn from us teaching Lux the we need to get Nil ready for the party to recruiting a tutor for Lux? I probed in the most neutral voice I could.

Multitasking. We can do both at the same time; she seems to be suited for the task. Poam explained, clearly ignoring my dislike for her.

I would be able to work with her if I absolutely have to. I grumbled. If it was for Lux and NIl, I could.

Orga intentionally fried the in her fingertip, and then demonstrated on them. She then fried them again before presenting her finger to Lux. Lux mimicked the demonstration, effortlessly healing Orga’s finger.

“That is very good Lux! You are a fast learner!” Orga praised Lux.

“One down, one to go.” Poam instructed.

“This is more showing how to perform the than actually teaching. I am assuming she sat in on Nez teaching the Crown Prince. Her foundations are fantastic.” Orga grumbled which made my lips twitch.

“What makes you think I am the one teaching the Crown Prince?” I asked with a smirk.

“Because you wouldn’t look so smug if it wasn’t you. Now, this is odd, two relatively easy to teach the of the Crown Prince, but he himself is absent. Even though he is a kid, he should still have say in who teaches and interacts with his . There is also the obligation of any or of the Institution of Mages to report the treatment of a member of the Imperial Family. Add in a for secrecy, and you have the mix for an injured Crown Prince who needs to be healed discreetly and the ideal way of doing so if it knows how. There is a birthday celebration for Prince Ein tonight where the two are supposed to be seen in public together for the first time according to the rumors. This is all just speculation of course.” Orga spat at an incredible rate in retaliation. She was always so obnoxiously perceptive and has virtually no filter between that head and mouth of hers.

She is sharp. I also see where you wouldn’t like her. How dare someone else know a you couldn’t grasp. Nox teased me.

That is not why. She never shuts up. Want to study? No no no, let me tell you about sixty things you don’t care about. And Orga talks so fast as well, like she needs to race the thoughts in her head. I snapped back

“Focus on the task at hand.” Poam instructed her.

Orga refocused on teaching Lux, working on . Currently, we had an immense buffer of time. Easily five hours before the celebration. After twenty minutes, Orga scorched her finger, and presented Lux to try. Without effort, Lux healed it. Now to heal Nil.

“That was well done Orga. Now, I must get Lux moving along.” Nox interjected, grabbing Lux and using to go straight to Nil.

“We will have to discuss this with the Imperial Majesties on whether they would like to hire you, but that was a solid interview.” Poam said calmly.

“I bet I will be hearing back.” Orga replied sarcastically while glaring at me.

“Look Orga, I have no say on whether you get hired. Nil does, his parents do, his grandparents can influence the decision, I on the other hand have little to no say.” I told her bluntly.

Nox dear, can you bring Nil and Lux back here once he is healed? I requested of him mentally.

Already on it honey. Nox replied sweetly.

“Please wait a minute while Nox brings Nil here. He was in the middle of an afternoon lesson.” Poam instructed Orga.

We all sat there in an awkward silence while we waited. After about ten minutes, Nox reappeared with Nil and Lux in tow. Lux was clearly tired from having to use those two so much. Nil’s eyes were still a little red, but nothing terrible. He stood looking at Orga in amazement, rubbing a bit of the sleepiness out of his eyes.

“Nil, I would like to introduce you to Magus Orga Fayle. She successfully taught Lux how to use and .” Poam said, motioning to Orga.