“I know, but I didn’t expect everyone would follow.” Kamila slumped her shoulders. “Having the kids and other women here is one thing, having men is another. I know that it’s stupid, but I hate the idea of being the less attractive woman.”
“That’s not true, you are the most beautiful woman on Mogar.” Lith gave her a soft kiss as his wings unfolded, wrapping around her in an embrace.
It was something that happened every time he held her. At first, it had creeped her out a bit because the membranous wings were weird to the touch. Then, Kamila had realized that it was something he did only for her.
Lith’s wings didn’t react to Salaark, Elina, and not even Solus. Kamila considered it their own thing and it made her feel special.
“Also, I’m not the only one.” Lith chuckled, using an air magic spell to carry the words of a distant conversation so that she could also hear it.
“Man, I never thought that an undead could have a massive headache.” Trion’s voice said. “Thank the gods I’m flat down there or things would get awkward.”
“Between Solus, Kamila and Salaark, I don’t know where to look.” Trion said.
“You and me both, brother.” Senton replied. “Sometimes I freeze up, staring at them and Tista like a moron. My only hope is that they haven’t noticed.”
“Dude, that’s gross! She’s my sister!” Trion made a retching sound.
“She may be your sister, but she’s still a hot woman!” Senton replied. “I consider Elina like a mother whereas I’ve never-“
At that point, Lith cut the spell off.
“One more word and I can’t pretend that I’m not listening to them anymore. I’d need to explain Rena why I’m killing her husband.” Lith said with a sigh.
“The troubles of Awakened hearing?” Kamila giggled.
“More like a Tiamat’s. If Tista hears him, Rena will kill Senton for me. Fingers crossed.”
A few days later, Lith received a call on his Council amulet.
He was expecting one of the usual calls from Feela or Faluel to update him about the War of the Griffons, but the rune belonged to Xenagrosh instead.
“What do you want?” He asked.
“Before you left Dad’s home you said that we needed to talk about what happened between Bytra and Elphyn.” The Shadow Dragon replied, hurt by the coldness of his voice. “I was hoping that after your marriage and all this time, you would have softened a bit.”
“You see, Xenagrosh-“
“Please, I told you to call me Zoreth.” She cut him short.
“You see, Xenagrosh, I have softened up but Solus still has nightmares. She still cries every night when the images of your wife’s horn piercing through her chest and slaughtering her friends flash in front of her eyes.” Lith ignored her plea.
“I have nothing against you but a lot against Bytra. Forgiving her is not up to me and you can rest assured that I don’t want to see either of you until Solus feels ready.”
“Can you ask her for a meeting, then?” Xenagrosh replied. “Bytra has many things that she wants to tell Solus and I to you. With all that happened with the Kingdom, family should stick together.”
“Family doesn’t murder family. Meln and Bytra are perfect examples of bad apples that must be brought away from the tree to not make it rot.” Lith said.
“Don’t you dare to compare my wife with that disgusting man!” From her outraged voice, Lith understood to have crossed a line he shouldn’t have. “You are not talking about the old Bytra.
“She was the real monster and did things that-” Xenagrosh stopped for a moment. “That every one of us Eldritches did over the centuries. Look, everyone here is a monster, but not Bytra.
“She’s pure, naïve, and kind. It’s the reason I love her. Isn’t even a monster like me allowed to want to protect the person she loves?”
“You are.” Lith nodded.
He had felt like a monster for a long time and knew the feeling well.
“I’ll talk to Solus and let you know the answer, Zoreth. Lith out.”
Right after the call, Lith told everything to Kamila. They had decided that during the weekend they would stay alone after they were done with work. Having company was nice, but only until it wasn’t.
“You should tell Solus immediately.” Kamila said.
“She’s coming here tomorrow for our shared day. What’s the rush?” He asked.
“She’s as traumatized as Raaz and as paranoid as you.” She said while caressing his face. “She’ll freak out at first and then she’ll mull over the issue until she makes a decision.
“Solus needs a lot of time and courage to prepare herself to face her monster. She also needs your support. Whatever she chooses to do, Solus needs to know that she’s not alone.”
“Were you always so wise or are you developing maternal instincts for our ‘daughter’?” They called Solus like that between them ever since she had forced herself between them at night, like a child after a nightmare.
“No to both.” Kamila rolled her eyes at the memory. “I am just quoting Jirni and her extensive lessons about human behavior. I think that Solus needs to face Bytra, or she will be stuck like this until she does.
“Yet it’s not up to us to decide.”
Just as predicted, Solus blew a fuse hearing that Bytra wanted to meet her.
“No way! I’m not following that monster anywhere this time. She lied to me back at Vastor’s home just like she lied to my Mom!” Solus yelled at the top of her lungs, stomping the sand in outrage and creating a crater.
After a while, she started pacing around the cottage, always asking the same question.
“What do you think I should do?”
“For the umpteenth time!” Lith said with a sigh. “Let’s go hear what they have to say. If you don’t feel well or simply you can’t stand her face we can always leave. I’ll be there with you and I swear that at the first sign of trickery we’ll show them the results of our training.”
The thought of the Blade Tier spell they were developing helped Solus to calm down.
“I think that Kami is right. I need to face Bytra. Ever since Vastor’s marriage ceremony, my trauma has only gotten worse and I’m tired of being afraid of my own home. I need to kick that damn ghost out.” Solus said.
“I agree. The tower is the special place you shared with Ripha first and with Lith now. You can’t let Bytra take it from you.” Kamila still felt a bit awkward when Solus used her moniker.
Also, she would’ve really loved to make sure once and for all that Solus wouldn’t barge into their room in the middle of the night anymore.
“Thanks, Kami.” Solus nodded to her and turned towards Lith. “Let’s set up the meeting for tomorrow and make it over a mana geyser. This way, my human body will last as long as it needs and if anything goes wrong, we can fight at our full power.”
“Excellent idea.” Lith nodded.
“Tomorrow?” Kamila echoed. “I thought you would need a bit of time to muster your courage.”
