Lith spent his days drowning himself in his work to not think about the many things he had lost. Aside from his revenge on Orpal, there wasn’t much left in his life. Everything he had worked for and built during the past 19 years was now gone.
Aside from the tower and what he had stored inside the pocket dimension, he had nothing but his name.
The Desert was a golden cage where to spend his time, but a cage nonetheless.
The people he cared about lived in the Kingdom. Every day, Faluel, the Ernas, Vastor, fought on the battlefield while he was stuck in Salaark’s palace. Thrud and Orpal, the people he hated, were in the Kingdom as well, outside of his reach.
On top of that, until Friya found a moment of respite from her duties as an apprentice, the Fringe would have to wait.
‘Is my third life going to be like the first?’ He thought whenever he stopped working. ‘Beginning and ending with revenge?’
“Lith, we need to talk.” Rena entered his lab without knocking.
“What’s the problem, big sis?” Lith smiled at her, seeing how her blonde hair looked more vibrant now that the Desert’s sun had darkened her skin.
“If the Kingdom makes unreasonable demands in exchange for the full pardon, you must turn them down.” She replied. “I can’t stand the thought of getting my life back if that means you losing yours.”
“Wait, how do you know about this?”
“Everyone else may be too broken to realize that Jirni wouldn’t come all the way from the Kingdom just for a courtesy visit but I’m not. I talked with her before she left and I know everything.” Rena said.
“Fine.” Lith replied with a sigh. “I agree with you on the deal, but what choice do I have?”
“The longer the war goes on, the more desperate the Royals will become.” She said. “The only thing you have to do is wait until they realize they need you more than you need them.”
“Time is a luxury I don’t have.” He shook his head.
“That’s not true. Even though it’s cracked, your life force-“
“It’s not a matter of my life force, but of my damn core!” Lith lashed out, cutting her short. “I considered stalling, but with my core stuck at deep violet, I have to move quickly, before Meln becomes too strong.
“The gap in our cores is still big enough for Solus and me to beat him and his tower even away from a mana geyser, but soon he’ll surpass me. On top of that, how can you ask me to sit idly while our entire family suffers?”
“Dad is still traumatized by what Meln did. I’m sure that if we brought him back home, surrounded by his friends, he would recover much faster. As for Mom, this place is a prison to her.
“She has nothing to do but take care of Dad and it’s slowly consuming her. On top of that, ever since I infected Tista with my madness and she went on a killing spree, not a day passes that she doesn’t have nightmares.
“She’s a gentle soul and murdering people who were just trying to escape scarred her. She can barely practice magic now. I dragged you all down with me and fixing this is my responsibility.”
“Seriously? Going back to Lutia is your answer?” Rena was flabbergasted. “How do you think that people will treat us now that they know who you are?”
“With the fear and respect that a Magus deserves. They will leave us alone and we will be better for it.” Lith lowered his eyes in resignation.
“I’m sure there must be other options.” She took his face in her hands, forcing Lith to raise his gaze. “Don’t sell yourself short.”
“Rena, the longer I wait the lower my chances to actually make a difference become. Thrud and Orpal grow stronger by the day whereas I’m swamped. I promise you that I won’t accept a slave contract, but aside from that, my hands are tied.” Lith took her hands.
“I’m glad you care so much about me, but all the nice words on Mogar can’t change reality.”
“But-“
“Young master, an ambassador from the Kingdom requests an audience with you.” A maid wearing the long robe of the Desert cut Rena short after knocking at the tower’s open door and kneeling to them.
Lith had still a hard time getting used to being called like that and people treating him as Salaark’s son. He tried to help the woman stand up but she ran away, afraid to have angered him.
“Fuck me sideways. This day couldn’t have started any worse, let’s get over with this crap.” Lith Warped to his living quarters where he expected to find Jirni.
According to Orion, she had worked relentlessly to ease the conditions for his full pardon and for once he felt optimistic.
Yet when he appeared, he found Kamila instead.
For a moment, tears misted his eyes. He had given up on seeing her again and it seemed all too good to be true.
Because it was.
His feelings didn’t let his eyes fail to notice that she wore her Constable uniform and a diplomatic pin over her breast pocket. She also held a folder as thick as a book. One glance was all he needed to know that she had come there as his enemy, not as a friend.
Yet there she stood, with her long black hair held up in a ponytail, as beautiful as the first day he had met her and as he would always remember her, no matter how much time he had left to live.
“Let me guess. Jirni did too good of a job speaking on my behalf and the Royals sent you instead.” His voice was grave, bearing no trace of his inner turmoil.
“Correct. Archon Ernas forgot that her duty is to protect the interests of the Kingdom, not those of a criminal on the run.” Kamila nodded, speaking with the same detached tone that she used back when she was his handler.
A tone that he had learned to love and that stirred countless good memories.
“Are those the conditions for my return?” Lith pointed at the folder. “If the Royals want to drive a hard bargain, they are going to learn that I’m not easily manipulated.”
“You mean this?” Kamila raised the pile of paper and threw it into the brazier that lit the room.
Lith furred his browns, failing to understand her intentions.
“I don’t care about what the Royals want. I accepted this mission because it’s the only way I had to come to the Desert.” Her uniform shapeshifted into her lucky clothes, the same outfit that she had worn during their first date.
It was just a light blue shirt and a knee-length black pencil skirt, but they meant the world to Lith.
He was still recovering from the shock of the burning documents and the emotional blow from her clothes when Kamila fell on her right knee, holding the Camellia with both hands.
The end of the stem was in her left while the petals of the magical flower rested on her right palm. In the middle, there was a common string knotted in a unique way that Lith recognized solely thanks to Soluspedia.
It was the ritual knot of betrothal gifts. Something that required long hours to be made, symbolizing the effort that the giver was willing to put into the relationship they wanted to turn into a marriage.
It was also impossible to unravel, representing the will to establish an unbreakable bond. The giftee had to either accept it or cut the know in refusal.
“Lith Verhen, will you marry me?” Those words made the walls around Lith’s heart shake and so did the tower in answer to its master’s distress.
