"You're really sweet, but you didn't have to prepare so much stuff. We are going to have a big talk, not a romantic date." Kamila said.
She would have liked to take a shower and change her clothes, but Belius's arrays made it impossible to use dimensional magic. Once outside the pocket dimension, the food would get cold. Even if Lith could reheat the delicacies with magic, they would still lose part of their flavor.
"We haven't seen each other for so long that we could as well take it as a date. My past is ugly, a bit complicated, and with a sprinkle of mortal danger, but it's all in the past. You aren't going to break up with me, are you?" Lith's paranoia got knocked into twelfth gear, making her laugh.
"Gods no. I would be a monster to do something like that after how I welcomed you back home this morning. It's just that I know a lot of bad things happened when you were at the academy. To be honest, I have a gloomy story to tell as well." Kamila sighed.
"Do you want to go first?" Lith asked while pouring her one of Maekosh's finest beers.
"No way. I've waited too long for this. You first."
Lith told her about his early days at the White Griffon academy and how he had unpleasantly met those who he now called friends. He was surprised to discover that once he removed the magical jargon, there wasn't much to tell.
At least until he talked about Kaduria's plague first and then Balkor's attack. Kamila wept when she learned about Protector's struggle against death to entrust his last words and love to Lith.
She had to stop eating to hug Lith when he explained to her at what cost he had saved the life of his friend.
Kamila still didn't like the idea that Ryman had endangered Lith's life so often, but after realizing how deep their bond was, she started to like him simply because of his love for Lith.
"Okay, that's enough for now." Kamila said after Lith finished to tell her about the fourth year.
"I've consumed a lot of tissues for Balkor already. If we get to Nalear, I don't think I would have the strength to continue our conversation." They had finished eating from a while, switching from beer to red wine.
"I really need to wash my face, but at this point, I might as well take a shower. I'll slip into something more comfortable while I'm at it. Go easy with the wine. I don't want to find you asleep when I get back." Kamila said.
As she closed the bathroom door, Lith moved the dirty dishes in the kitchen, dimmed the lights, and shapeshifted the Skinwalker from the uniform into the black suit they often used for their romantic role play.
Then, he took the dessert out of the fridge.
'Gods, I really didn't miss this part. See you later.' Solus grumbled while she cut their mind link and hid in a corner of her own mind.
Unfortunately for Lith, Kamila did slip into something more comfortable. A loose shirt and pants she used when she was home alone. Even her hair was fixed in a makeshift bun.
"Pervert! I told you I had a sad story to tell. How could your mind go straight to sex?" She wanted to sound angry but she failed to repress her silvery laughter.
"Shower plus 'something comfortable' equals sex. Math never failed me before." Lith said without even trying to hide his disappointment and making Kamila laugh harder.
"You're incorrigible." She sat on his lap, embracing him and giving him a short kiss before going back to her seat.
"Is it better now?" Kamila asked.
"Can you at least keep your hair down?" Lith turned up the lights.
"No. I want to make sure that you listen to my words instead of staring at my face." She chuckled. She actually needed quite a bit of willpower to prevent herself to skip the conversation and go straight to bed.
Talking about Zinya was sad, painful, and somewhat embarrassing for Kamila. Not because of her sister's handicap, but because what she had to ask for him made her feel vulnerable.
Also, Kamila knew how the request would sound to Lith's ears. Like an attempt to exploit him. No matter his answer, she knew that by simply speaking those words their relationship would change.
She was afraid because when things changed in her life, usually it was for the worse.
'It would be so easy to avoid the topic and pretend that nothing's wrong. These last weeks have been so hard, always thinking about how I can help Zinya in case she decides to divorce.
'Being overworked and lonely only made things worse. I missed him a lot and now that Lith is back, I only wish to cling to him and lose myself in his embrace. Yet it would mean running away from a problem I don't want to face.
'Zinya has already suffered for too long. If I keep not doing anything for her, now it wouldn't be because I'm helpless, but because I'm an egotistical coward.' She thought.
Kamila told Lith about Zinya, this time in detail. She explained to him her sister's current predicament as a prisoner in her own house, the cheating, the domestic abuse on her and the children, everything.
Lith's eyes turned into fiery slits brimming with mana as Zinya's story resembled more and more his own. His Earth father, Ezio McCoy, among his many flaws was also a cheater.
Back when Lith's name was still Derek, he had once found an e-mail his father had sent to his lover, where he professed her love to her and her children. Lith had no idea why they had later broken up, but he never stopped resenting his father for giving his affection to someone else's kids while he treated so badly his own.
His inner turmoil drew Solus's attention, who quickly returned fearing something really bad had happened.
'Dammit, that was unexpected.' She thought after checking Lith most recent memories.
"There's no need to get angry." Kamila had no way to understand the rage in Lith's eyes. She misunderstood it as aimed at her for trying to exploit his magic with a sob story.
Lith's reaction hurt Kamila deeply and made her think that, if he believed her capable of such a thing, he must've had a low opinion of her.
"I'm not asking you to do it for free. I have enough money to cover even Manohar's fares." Her voice was calm but cold, like when she spoke to Lith as his handler instead of his girlfriend.
"Wait, what? I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at that f…" Lith then demonstrated to have an extensive vocabulary and a venomous tongue. The streak of insults lasted for several seconds.
The teaspoon in his hand was now reduced to a small ball of metal. The twisted metal was both a source of shock and relief for Kamila. Relief because it proved her the sincerity of his words and indignation.
Shock because she knew Lith was strong, but she had never witnessed how strong he actually was.
"As for the treatment, I can't make you any promises. Body Sculpting is a very complex discipline and I didn't practice it ever since I quit my job as Assistant Professor. Worst case scenario, I'll find you an expert." Lith said.
