Two hundred and fifty-six years.

Ivey's eyes drifted back and forth between Seymour and her parents. They were sitting in front of her glancing through piles of paperwork and the computer, disregarding her.

It seemed the Physical Realm had been without its Shaman Queen for 256 years—ever since Ivey King's death. During that time, the Shaman King had to retrieve her Soul—all of her Souls, immediately while it was still fresh.

Ivey winced at the word fresh: as in not spoiled or decayed.

After that, her Souls were preserved by Draco in the Oversoul Realm until a vessel was created. At which time, the Soul Calling Ceremony was performed to bind her Souls. It was also then that her primary Soul became temporarily linked to the blade Seymour had driven into her. Yes, Seymour stabbing her had been him returning her final Soul to its rightful owner. And Ivey had just learned that after being stabbed, the knife had blown up, like literally.

As it turns out, they couldn’t link all of her Souls immediately into the vessel. At that time, it was too much of a risk to do them all at once. The vessel in the womb, being so small, could only hold so much. They couldn't take the risk of the tiny vessel containing more energy than it was capable of. So, they stored her primary Soul, the source of it all, somewhere else until it could take on more.

Hence, they had constrained it to a physical blade, which Seymour always kept with him. Ivey had yet to ask where Seymour had been staying before her awakening.

Yes, an awakening, it had been called, where all her Souls finally merged.

Ivey rested her hand against her chin, unaware of her gaze resting on Seymour.

It was an interesting, and out of the box concept.

A typical Soul Calling Ceremony would be performed to call the rightful owner back to its home—vessel. Hence, Soul Calling. In Ivey's case, it was used to bind her Soul to the vessel first. That meant before the rightful owner even got a chance, Ivey had stolen it. Furthermore, under normal circumstances, it required an animal sacrifice.

I wonder which type of animal was sacrificed for my sake?

"...requested the help of the Shaman Clan."

Ivey caught the last of her father's words. He was now leaning against his chair, tapping the table with his fingers quietly.

"They've been dealing with this issue for some time," her mother answered on the opposite side. She moved her mouse around the computer. "This is their third request."

All of them were sitting in a conference room with a circular table situated in the middle. Ivey's parents sat around the table while Seymour sat in the corner, flipping through a bunch of papers. Ivey had settled between her parents, facing Seymour, giving her a good view of him.

He looked extra delicious today, in a sleeveless tank top that showed off his shoulders and muscles. Unfortunately, the fabric all but covered his wickedly, broad chest, leaving much to the imagination. Ivey's eyes wandered down past his abdomen to the linen trousers he wore—disappointed they weren't tighter.

"He's quite the looker, isn't he?" Her mother nudged her, a sly smile on her lips. "I see where you're looking. Don't try to deny it."

Ivey shook her head, a smile crossing her lips. She had been worried that her parents would treat her differently after coming back from her seclusion. It was a comfort to see that even after taking up the mantle as the Shaman Queen, her parents treated her no differently than before.

Ivey glanced down at the mark of the Shaman Queen on her ankle.

While the Place of Life and Death was a beautiful, magical spot despite its lack of nights, it did great wrecking her senses, and Ivey wasn’t too keen on going back anytime soon. She was only brought there to assist with training and to help her ascend to the Oversoul Realm to meet Draco and recover her lost mark.

Ivey had spent another four days in the Oversoul Realm, training with Draco to use her powers and gain more knowledge of the Clan before being allowed to leave. She’d learned quite a lot over the last few days or so, but there was still much more to go. Ivey was only allowed to leave after promising to continue her daily meditations to boost her spiritual energy.

And while Ivey didn’t feel any different, her vision altered somewhat. After returning from the Place of Life and Death and encountering Seymour, and now her parents, she could see different auras of colors radiating from them. She could also see the vibrant, shining flames inside their bodies—or vessels—where their Souls reside. While the auras were varied in colors, the Soul flames were the same pulsing white, a lightbulb inside their darkened vessels.

"The Society of Witches & Wizards are normally very effective in dealing with their own issues," Seymour spoke from his corner, interrupting Ivey’s thoughts. "Something must be going on here."

"The Society of what?" Ivey finally spoke.

"Wizard and Witches," her mother leaned back, lost in thought. "You could say they are almost as old as our Clan. We were at war during the first hundred years or so of our existence. Afterward, we all learned to get along, or so I've heard."

How come I don't recall anything in my training with Draco?

"What do they look like? Do they actually fly around on brooms and wear pointy hats?" It was a serious questioned from Ivey, who grew up thinking they were just tales.

"You're looking at one right now," her mother said proudly.

Ivey's eyes widened. "You're a witch?!"

She bounced out of her chair, scrutinizing every inch, every line of her mom. She'd always thought her mother looked more Elf than anything, but a witch?! How exciting!

"Not I," Marcelle shook her head. "Your bodyguard over there. He's one." She paused before adding. "Well, a Wizard anyway. I mean, part Wizard."

So that means I'm not part Witch?

Disappointed, Ivey turned her attention towards Seymour.

"What's with the look?" Her father shook a finger at her. "Who cares if you aren't a Witch. You're more powerful than one anyway!"

"We should get going," Seymour interrupted their family debate. "Time waits for no one."

"Of course," her mother clapped her hands together. "I'll send them a message to let them know you're on your way."

They all started moving, collecting their computers and paperwork.

"Ummm...where are we going, again?" Ivey smiled, chuckling nervously while running her fingers through her hair.

They all stopped what they were doing to look at her.

"Were you not paying attention?" Her father raised an eyebrow.

"How can you expect her to with Seymour in the room?" Marcelle glared at her husband.

Ivey covered her face. Mom, thank you for having my back, but do you have to make me sound like a brainless idiot whenever Seymour is around?

That only happened once—okay—a few times, but it was her secret.

"You'll be going to the Society. It's pretty much a Center for magic as well, like our Tower. They'll fill you in once you get there," Efren answered, pausing before continuing. "You'll be traveling via Portal. There's no need to worry about packing, the maids will take care of it."

Ivey smiled and nodded, not knowing what else to say. It was a little weird having maids even though they really didn't do much other than care for her every need, which was probably already a lot in itself.

"Ivey!" Her mother grabbed her hands suddenly, startling her. "Do not be charmed by any good-looking guys while you're there. Remember who is in your heart!"

She blinked at her mother, confused. Growing up, her mother sometimes spoke to her in cryptic words that didn't always make sense until later. At times like these, she had learned to nod and smile. Any sort of threats, questions, or comments would only make it worse.

Her mother winked at Seymour.

Wait—who's the one getting charmed here?

@`--,--