"Thanks for the tea and the biscuits, Solus. They were delicious." Friya stood up. "Now I have to go visit Faluel. Being an apprentice suck. She says that I spent too much time in the Desert and that now I have to make it up to her by solving the problems of her territory."
"I'll join you in a minute. I just need to bring Solus back to the tower first." Lith closed the windows of his house before opening a Warp Steps.
"Do you mind if I come with you?" Phloria asked. "I'm really curious to see how much the tower changed during your absence."
"I'm going back home, instead." Quylla said. "I'm going to have all the dates that I can while Mom and Dad are having a second honeymoon to fix their relationship. Once they get back home, magic will be my only companion."
They each Warped to their respective destination and Lith also gave Phloria a tour of the new floors. Solus held his hand the whole time, using the physical contact to regain her strength more quickly.
Phloria could see that there was nothing romantic behind that gesture, yet the way how such intimacy felt natural to them irked her to no end and made her feel somewhat jealous.
She was annoyed at the thought of them having such a close relationship back when she and Lith were together, and jealous because despite all of her efforts, after joining the army she had failed to find not only love, but also friendship.
The difference in height, noble title, and magical talent were things that had stood in the way of an honest relationship ever since she was a child. People either avoided her because they felt inferior or tried to suck up on her to climb the social ladder.
Once in the army, the difference in rank had made things even harder. Those of lower rank were usually scared to death by her, while those of higher rank only considered her like a tool for their political ambitions.
It was the reason Phloria had started to date with people from the Mage Association and how she had found Kallion. He had been a tall noble from an ancient noble family with talent comparable to her own.
With him, there were no barriers nor stupid measurement contests about everything. Ever since the mission in Kulah, however, after the nobility, the Association, and even the army had shunned her, her world had become painfully small.
'I guess I now understand how Friya felt during the academy.' She inwardly sighed. 'As long as I can't broaden my horizons again, I'll never know if the feelings I have for Lith are honest or just gratitude that my isolation makes me mistake for something more.'
"Are you alright?" Solus touched Phloria's arm, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Yeah, sorry. I was spacing out in envy." The best lie was always covered in truth. "The tower is becoming more amazing with every floor it recovers."
"Menadion made sure that she and her apprentices would be self-sufficient and this really works out for us as well." Lith said. "Dad is taking care of the Greenhouse for us ever since we got it back in the Desert.
"He is no mage, but thanks to the sharing effect of the Library, he knows everything he needs and he is making a great job. By the way, Solus, do you want to come with us to Faluel, or do you want to stay here?"
"I'll pass, thank you." Solus replied. "I'm glad of getting rid of you and having some time for myself."
Before Lith could reply, the tower's defensive systems activated one after another as someone knocked on the front door.
"Isn't the tower supposed to be invisible?" Phloria asked.
"From regular sight, yes. Anyone with mystical senses can easily see it unless we hide it underground." Solus replied. "What really makes no sense is the knocking. Everyone who knows about the tower also knows that they have to inform us before visiting."
The knocking repeated, this time louder and a bit longer.
"Fuck me sideways." A wave of Lith's hand conjured the image of the hooded figure standing in front of the door, sending a cold shiver down his spine.
The tower's Sentries had canned and recognized the intruder, reporting the threat at hand as a code white.
The unexpected guest was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but she was actually almost one thousand years old. She was about 1.68 meters (5'6") tall, with shoulder-length light blond hair streaked all over with the seven colors of the elements.
At a first glance, her chestnut eyes brimmed with the energy typical of youth, yet a second would reveal a centuries-old sadness that covered everything like dust.
She wore the deep violet mage robe that the Griffon Kingdom awarded to its Magi, with a round pin of Davross on her breast pocket. A prancing Griffon holding two scepters was embossed at its center while the words First Magus had been etched on its edges, forming a full circle.
She carried a rectangular package in her right hand the size of a jewelry box and another the size of a flat-screen in her left.
"Aunt Loka!" Even after their clash in Jiera, that childish babble word was still etched in Solus' mind, replacing the real name of Lochra Silverwing, the First Magus.
"The same crazy bitch who tried to murder Lith in his sleep and to take you away?" Phloria took Reaver out of her dimensional amulet and had Lith put it inside the Armory.
"I want to see if the fabled Silverwing can withstand two full minutes of Tower tier Spirit Spells!" She said with a snarl.
"Thank you, Phloria." Lith was glad to have by his side someone who not only was quick-witted, but also wasn't afraid to fight against a white-cored legendary Magus. "Solus, engage protocol omega."
"Wait a second." Solus pointed at Lochra knocking from time to time and ignoring the Sentries that kept circling around her in the attempt to scan her equipment. "I think that if she wanted to harm us, aunt Loka would have already barged in."
"Maybe." Lith replied. "Or maybe she is afraid of what we can do with the tower boosting our powers. Or maybe she knows that any damage she does onto the tower would reflect on you."
"Yes, but then why didn't she come to your home? Everyone knows where you live and there she wouldn't have to be afraid of the tower. If aunt Loka wanted to harm you, she would have taken your parents hostage to keep you from escaping.
"I think that she just wants to talk." Solus said.
Lith thought of countless contingency plans, even to Warp the tower back to Salaark. Yet running away would have solved nothing.
"I'm with Solus." Phloria said. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your life on the run, you have to face her. Yet, if I were you, I would start chanting already. Just to be safe."
"Let her in, Solus." Lith said with a sigh. "And Phloria, I've been weaving spells from the moment I put Reaver in the Armory."
"Same." Solus said.
"And so did I. I guess we can't be more prepared than this.." Phloria said.
