“Are you physically stronger than a regular man and would it be inherited?” Orion asked.
“Yes to both, but-“
“Are you willing to marry into the Ernas family, take our name, and treat Friya with the love, respect, and loyalty she deserves?”
“Are you serious?” Nalrond was flabbergasted.
“Kid, I’ve already told you to only answer me with a yes or no!” Orion poked at Nalrond chest, their noses millimeters apart.
His eyes blazing with bright violet mana, the massive height gap, and the angry father aura scared the crap out of the Rezar.
“If she’d had me, I’d marry her tomorrow but-“
“You are damn perfect!” Orion’s expression turned upside down as he hugged Nalrond and patted his shoulder. “Welcome to the family.”
“Don’t I have any saying in this?” Nalrond and Friya said, but her mouth was still gagged by Jirni’s mouth so he was the only one speaking intelligible words.
“No.” Lady Ernas shook her head while letting go of her daughter and embracing her future son-in-law as well.
She forced him to bend down to kiss him on both cheeks before whispering in his ear.
“If you dare use protection from now on, I’m going to kill you.” Jirni’s lovely, motherly smile extended to her eyes and her voice was warm and affectionate, making her threat much more unsettling than it already was.
“What about me?” Morok cleared his throat until no one could ignore him any longer.
Orion and Jirni inhaled sharply, exchanging a quick, desperate look as their determination faltered and Quylla wished for Mogar to swallow her.
The sentient planet ignored her plea along with countless many others and the ground stood still.
“Hey, that’s beyond offensive! How can you throw a whole parade for such a whiny guy and treat me like I’m crashing the party?” Morok said. “I’d like to remind you that you have invited me here and that I’ve been courting Quylla way before mister tall, dark, and handsome crawled in your life.”
His exploits as a Ranger were well-known, just like his streak of social blunders and his relentless courting Quylla that bordered on stalking.
“You don’t get it, son.” Orion sounded desperate, his shoulders slouching. “I don’t have to persuade you to marry my daughter since you asked me her hand the first time we met.
“It’s you who has to give me a plausible reason to swallow my pride and expectation and let you in my house.”
“Fine.” Morok said with a snort. “First, if you bothered to ask me the same questions you made Nalrond, I’d have replied yes to all of them as well. Aside from the Light Mastery, of course. I know nothing about that.”
“That’s a good start, but it’s not enough.” Jirni clicked her tongue. “Continue.”
“Second, unlike Nalrond I’m Awakened as well so Quylla will have a partner for life, if she’d had me.”
“This actually sounds like a threat, but go on.” Orion sighed, drinking Griffon Fire and its 50% alcohol content like it was water.
“Third, and you are forcing my hand here, Lith and I are sort of distantly related. More or less.” Knowing that no one would believe his words, Morok turned so that no one but the Ernas could see his face.
Then, he made his six eyes appear on his face in a pattern similar to Lith’s and had his hands become covered in scales bearing the colors of the elements.
It lasted for just a few seconds, but it was enough to make the Ernas couple open their eyes wide in surprise, Quylla turn pale, Lith facepalm with a boom of thunder, and Kamila almost laugh her ass off at his grimace.
“Is it true?” Orion, Jirni, Raaz, and Elina asked Lith in unison for completely different reasons.
“It’s complicated.” He replied while baring his fangs to Morok for embarrassing him in front of his parents.
“Then make it simple.” Elina replied. “I’ve seen you struggling with your condition as a Tiamat for months. If you knew someone in the same situation, why didn’t you ask for his help?
“Also, why did you never tell us that you have discovered another branch of our family, and does he know about Solus?”
“You mean the short stuff over there? Of course I know her.” Morok pointed at the petite young lady who was too busy rejecting Tulion’s advances to take part in the conversation.
“Never mind.” The dumb look in his eyes was all Elina needed to understand that Morok knew nothing about Solus.
“Oh gods! Hold that thought, Lith.” Orion left to save his honored guest from the clutches of his philanderer son.
“I’m so sorry, Lady Verhen. The next time Tulion bothers you, you have my permission to kick him in the gonads.” Orion said the moment he brought Solus into the safety of their fold.
The fact that she had taken Lith’s family name confused him, but very few things about Lith’s life didn’t so Orion had stopped asking himself questions a long time ago.
“Thanks for your timely rescue, Lord Ernas.” Solus gave him a perfect curtsy in her beautiful sky-blue gala dress. “I have to turn down your kind offer, though. It would be an unusual and cruel punishment.”
“It sure would.” Morok nodded.
The only time he had addressed her as “short stack”, Solus had kicked him so hard that by the time Morok had managed to stand up again, Quylla wasn’t mad at him anymore.
“No, it wouldn’t. Please, Lith, continue.”
“Morok and I don’t share more blood than you and I do, Orion. He has multiple eyes like me because that’s a common trait of evolved humans.”
“You mean he belongs to a Fallen race? It would explain a lot.” Jirni looked at Morok with renewed suspicions.
“No, a successful evolution.” Morok puffed his chest out with pride, trying to ignore the repeated insults.
“Wow, if that’s evolution, it makes me want to reject modernity and go back to being a primate.” Orion said.
“Dad!” Quylla said, her face turning red in embarrassment.
“If that’s what you’re embarrassed about, then I can assume that you knew about it already and you are okay with it.” Jirni looked at Quylla in surprise.
“Of course she knows. I told her everything she needed to know about me before asking her out the first time.” Morok replied. “Say what you want about me, but with a bit of luck our children will have your daughter’s looks and brains and my bloodline abilities.”
“At least he’s been honest about it. Also, he does have a point.” Orion looked at Jirni, pondering the pros and cons of her daughter’s hypothetical offspring.
“He indeed does.” Jirni nodded. “I still don’t like him, but it’s not like we have the time to find a replacement. Also, think about how powerful Quylla would become during pregnancy.”
‘I hate it when I’m always right.’ Quylla thought as she could feel the scales in her parent’s brains being positively tipped by Morok’s inhuman nature.
“You pass, but barely. Welcome to the family.” Orion patted his shoulder with nigh zero enthusiasm.
Taking in someone as quirky as Manohar but with none of his genius and accomplishments didn’t feel like a great deal.
.
