"Was I a bad mother?" Elina suddenly asked.
Lith turned his head abruptly, incapable of making sense of her absurd question.
"Is it my fault if all my sons have given up on me one after the other? Do you think that Aran will hate me as well once he grows up?"
'I think that between the constant worry and your surprise visit you broke her.' Solus thought.
'Meaning?' He asked.
'Your mother was in pain all this time, you numbnuts. She probably lived in fear that you weren't calling home because you had decided to follow Trion's footsteps and ghost her.'
"Don't be silly, Mom. You're the reason why I didn't raze Lutia to the ground the moment I learned magic." Lith couldn't bear the thought of resembling his older brother.
He wanted to have nothing in common with Trion, not even a similar haircut. Let alone make Elina suffer as Trion did.
"Thanks, dear." Elina laughed at what she considered a joke.
"You did the best you could for all of us, always going the extra mile, even if it meant giving up the little you had saved." Lith took her hand, refusing to let his mother beat herself up.
"All of your children love and respect you, but sooner or later, we have to grow up and find our own path. Orpal chose self-destruction, while Trion his own pride. As for Rena, well, I seem to recall her being your pride and joy for marrying in Lutia and giving you two grandchildren."
"You are all my pride and joy, silly." Elina sniffed. "By the way, your sister will probably move here for the last month pregnancy now that you are home. You should give Rena a Warp. She's trouble moving lately so I can only see her when I visit Lutia."
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll bring Rena, Leria, and even Senton along." Lith was about to open the portal when Elina stopped him.
"Was the 'even' really necessary? Senton is a good man. Also, remember to knock. If you open a Gate in the middle of their living room, you'll give Rena a heart attack. They are not used to your visits anymore." Elina's words sounded like genuine worry and mild scolding, making Lith sigh.
He appeared in front of the Proudhammer's house, yet it was the Verhen crest that was engraved on the door and walls. It represented a black dragon coiled around a tower. A magic staff and a sword were crossed behind them, symbolizing all Lith's and Solus's skills.
Every time Solus looked at the Verhen coat of arms she brimmed with joy. It not only represented their bond, but also how Lith considered her part of his family.
After knocking on the door, Lith heard quarreling from inside.
"You shouldn't tire yourself answering the door." Lith recognized Sirma's voice. She was Rena's mother-in-law.
"You already moved my bed here to not make me climb the stairs. I can at least open a goddamn door. I'm pregnant, not crippled!" Rena's voice was angry like Lith had never heard her before.
'Oh shit. I might have just gone from the frying pan into the fire.' Lith thought.
Luckily for him, Rena's face lighted up with joy seeing him.
She was a gorgeous woman 24 years old. Rena was 1.70 meters (5'7") tall with shoulder-length blonde hair with shades of black and bright brown eyes. Pregnancy had made her bosom and belly impressing.
"Lith, it's so good to see you." She tried to throw her arms around his neck and almost tripped for the excess weight leaning forward. To make matters worse, she never called him by name unless she was about to scold him.
Lith held her carefully, testing the danger level of the area.
"Twins?" The thought was terrifying for him.
"Oh great, we meet for the first time in over half a year and even you can't see past my belly?" Her voice turned angry again.
"Besides, you would know already if you bothered asking those few times you called. You scared Mom to death, little runt. Don't you dare to do that ever again." She wagged her finger at Lith's nose, just like she did back when they were little and he disappeared in the Trawn woods for too long.
"I'm sorry sis. I'll be more careful in the future." Lith found himself repeating his old lines. He was slowly realizing how many things he had missed by neglecting his family and how much suffering they had gone through because of him.
"You're alright, that's what matters." Her voice was now sweet and motherly, filled with the relief of seeing Lith in one piece. Rena hugged him tight while sobbing softly.
'I don't know whether to find scarier her mood swings or the fact that she's right.' Lith thought.
"Do you need a check-up?" He asked.
"Gods, yes. You have no idea how hard it has been for me since Tista left. The new Healer is good, but he can't compare to having White Griffon quality medical assistance 24/7." Rena let Lith help her to a couch while she told him about the discomfort she had experienced.
More than symptoms, it sounded like a grocery list.
'Gods, no.' Lith thought while using Invigoration on Rena.
"Congratulation on your triplets. Do you want to know the gender?" He relieved her back from the inflammations, regulated her hormonal imbalances, and got rid of all the aches tormenting her.
"No thanks, I want it to be a surprise. Are they healthy?" Rena's voice almost sounded like a moan of pleasure as her body relaxed for the first time in months.
"Of course they are." Lith lied.
One of them had inherited the same disease as Tista. His little lungs were filled with impurities to the point that Lith doubted he would survive for long once the umbilical cord was removed.
"Thank you so much. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe I'm just paranoid. It runs in the family." Rena chuckled along with Lith.
'The bad news is that being a congenital disease I can't treat it with normal light magic. The good news is that after my breakthroughs and managing to treat such a bad case like Xedros's, this little guy should be easy.' He thought.
'There's no such thing as easy when dealing with a life force that weak.' Solus said. 'You must tell Rena the truth. Healing the baby might take a lot of time, just like with Xedros, and you can afford neither being distracted or interrupted.'
'Not going to happen. In her state, stress could send her into labor, and then I'd be putting four lives at stake instead of one. I'm going to tell her only once she and the babies are safe.
'And I'll do it only because she needs to be aware of being the carrier of the disease, otherwise the next time we might not be so lucky.' Lith shuddered at the thought.
Rena was overjoyed at the idea of returning to her ancestral home with her beloved brother and personal Healer. The mention of the big meal waiting for her sweetened the deal, since all those emotions had made Rena work quite an appetite.
Truth to be told, those days almost anything did. Eating for four was a tough job, but someone had to do it.
