Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

The sound of the clock made me aware of the silence within the room.

The Duke had led me back to his study where he and I sat across from each other at his desk. Not knowing what to do, I glanced at the many book shelves that filled the walls of the room.

"I'll be blunt. What's your Zora?" The Duke finally broke the silence with a question I knew he was gonna ask me.

Witches and warlocks obtain a special power from their lineage called a Zora. Low-blooded witches would most likely have a resistance to some element while a high-blooded witch would be able to have an affinity towards a certain type of magic.

For example: a witch who has a Zora of barriers would be able to cast shield/barrier magic without having to draw any magic circles or prepare any ingredients. A warlock with a water Zora would be able to summon and control water without an incantation.

It's like a special super power. Of course, it does have some side effects but each are unique to a witch or warlock.

I leaned onto his desk trying to make my chest as revealing as possible without showing too much. "You show me yours and I'll show you mine."

His embarrassment from before came back to join our little party and his eyes immediately shied away from my own. "I guess... It seems only fair that I showcase my own powers first."

He stuck out his hand and on the floor directly below his palm was a bright, glowing white magic circle.

From the circle emerged a beautiful double-edge longsword. Intricate gold designs flowed along the handle and the guard of the sword. On the handle's pommel stuck out a woven red tassel with a gold bead holding it together. Along the blade is a silver-white metal with gold lying on the fuller and the edge.

The sword itself felt as if it was emitting a light.

This is a holy weapon.

I stared in disbelief, the man in front of me had the blood of an archangel. "You're full of surprises. I thought there were only 5 archangel exorcists left in the world."

He stood up from his chair and grasped the handle of the sword, swinging it a few times. "Yes, ever since the War of Quarte, exorcist numbers have been dwindling. Only archangel exorcists can produce a holy weapon. Regular exorcist can imbue a weapon with temporary holy powers."

I never took the chance to learn about exorcist since most of them want to kill me so this was interesting info.

Angel's decided to stop meddling in human affairs after the War of Quarte. The War of Quarte was the war of all the four countries, elves, humans, dwarves, and orcs. We haven't seen angels since and that was more than a century ago.

The Duke placed the sword back into the magic circle and I watched as it slowly disappeared into the floor.

"So, are you gonna show me yours?"

Looking at the Duke while he was standing made me realize something about him. He wasn't as tall as other men. He was possibly 5'11 compared to my 5'7.

I pretended to be flustered and looked at the ground, "Since you asked... I guess I have no choice." I slowly reached for the straps of my dress and pulled them down my arm.

The Duke immediately covered his eyes with his right hand and shouted, "No, stop! Put your clothes back on! Only your future husband should see that."

I pouted but complied with his demands. "Fine, fine. My dress is fully on again. You can remove your hand."

He sighed exasperatedly and started to rub the temples of his head. "Please, madam. Show me your Zora."

"Hmmm. Fine, but I warn you. It's gonna make you hot."