"What the f.u.c.k?" Lith looked at his Abomination features fading away and ad then at Kamila as if he saw her for the first time.
"Don't worry, babe, it's all right. You just need to rest and to give your poor brain a break. Otherwise you're not going to perform well at Faluel's." She said.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"We both know that tomorrow you have a lesson you cannot afford to miss. Whoever did this, they wanted to destroy you by attacking where it hurts the most and they went this close to succeeding." She pointed at his cracked rings, her wounds, and at the lingering blackness on his hands.
"If you change your life because of what happened tonight, if you drop everything just to prepare for their next attack, then you'd be just dancing in the hand of the culprit.
"When you find this bastard, I want you to play by your own rules, not to follow theirs. This way, no matter what sick game they have in mind. They can't beat you if you refuse to play it." Kamila said.
"I really don't deserve you." Lith used all the Invigoration he had left on Kamila, to heal her wounds without leaving a single scar.
"Finally something we can agree on." She smiled as the Scalewalker covered her again and they moved to the bedroom.
Lith fell asleep in her arms like a child, both his mind and his body were too tired to hold out a second longer after touching the mattress.
Only then did Kamila allow herself to weep for what had happened to Lark and to shiver in fear at the idea of what might have happened if Lith really lost control over his Abomination side.
'Not telling Lith that I love him to calm him down was the right thing to do. He would have been too vulnerable to give me an honest answer and it would have added even more weight on his shoulders.'
'I want to be someone he can rely upon, not another person he has to worry about.' She thought, knowing that even though the sun would keep rising, Mogar had now turned into a darker place.
***
The ruins of the Lark Household, after that all the evidence had been collected and the area cleared of the corpses.
Archon Jirni Ernas didn't know Count Lark much, but she knew that he was a good and honest man. It was more than she could say about most people she knew, even herself.
Yet his death was worse than a cruel murder. It was the proof that, even though it wasn't the real deal, the card that she had received represented a threat to her family. Jirni couldn't just wait for the culprit's next move, she needed to prepare her own.
The moment she returned to the safety and the secrecy of her home, she used her secure amulet to contact Professor Vastor outside the known Kingdom lines of communication.
"I need to know if our project is ready." Jirni said the moment Vastor picked up the call.
"At a great personal cost but yes, it is." He already knew about what had happened to Lark, making the "Future" card he had found in front of Zinya's home burn in his pocket.
He wasn't afraid for himself. Killing a country noble was one thing, putting a scratch on the Master and live to tell the tale was another.
"How the heck did you do it?" She blurted out in surprise.
"Do you really want to know?" Vastor replied.
"Depends. Does it work?"
"Like a charm." He replied.
"Then, even though as an Archon I'm deeply worried by your lack of morals and by your workings bordering on Forbidden Magic, as a person involved in this mess and as a mother, I don't give a f.u.c.k about how you did it.
"Bring everything to my household as soon as you can. There's still a lot of work to do." Jirni said.
***
The following day Lith woke up perfectly rested and back to his peak condition.
At first, he felt happy and relaxed at the sound of Kamila cooking breakfast for him. The bright light of the sun coming from the window, the warm blankets, and the vivid red of the recently imprinted Camellia made him feel at home.
Then, he suddenly remembered what had happened to Lark and all those feelings turned into guilt as if being happy so soon after the death of his friend was an unforgivable crime.
The pain and anguish came back, but not as strongly as Lith expected them to. He was still grieving, but having vented his feelings the night back instead of bottling them up, Lith was able to move forward.
"I've made lots of pancakes. You need something sweet to help your mood and a full belly to face your lesson." Kamila was already wearing her light blue Constable uniform and was ready for work.
She had just the time to have breakfast together before rushing away.
"Thanks again for last night." Lith didn't feel hungry so much as tired and sad, but he still ate everything to please her.
"Don't mention it. By the way, I don't think I'll make it for lunch but I'll do my best to at least have dinner together." She tried and failed to smile.
Jirni had already sent her the full list of people who had received a Balkor card. Neither Lith's family nor her own had gotten one, but she was afraid of what would happen if they failed to save the next victim as well.
Kamila had no idea that a Future card had been left at Zinya's because Vastor had taken it before anyone else could notice.
Lith and Kamila made small talk while eating, trying to make that day look normal even though it was anything but. They left the apartment together, holding hands until the Gate brought them to their respective destinations.
Kamila at the Archon Headquarters in Valeron and Lith back to his barn in Lutia. He had arrived in time, yet everyone was already waiting for him. Faluel didn't smile nor said a word until she moved them to the safety of her lair.
"I know how ridiculous it sounds, but I have to ask anyway. Are you okay?" Faluel said, taking the words out of everyone's mind.
"As much as anyone in my shoes can be." Lith sighed deeply.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Lith. Lark was a good man." Phloria hugged him first, glad to see from his eyes that he was faring much better than after Protector's faked death.
After everyone gave him their condolences, Faluel had a few words to say.
"Before starting this lesson, there's something that cannot be delayed any longer. As you all should know, I've received a card as well and so did the Ernas family. Which means, Friya, that you are twice the target.
"Yet I can't protect you and Lith's family at the same time. He came to me first, so his deal with me supersedes yours. Archon Ernas sent me the images from the Lark estate and I've studied them with my friends.
"We've come to the conclusion that it's the work of a single person that is either a powerful Awakened or a fake mage with access to powerful artifacts."
