“You stole it from a museum?” Lith asked in surprise.
“As I said, Removal units are considered a failed branch of research. Its goal was to find a way to force the host and the cursed object to split, but it turned out to require more energy than a Royal artifact.
“As it is, a Removal unit is useless since no one is stupid enough to give a host to a cursed object just to free them. Also, it’s much easier to kill a host rather than make them submit.” The First Magus said.
Silverwing stood there for a few seconds, hoping that Elphyn would ask her what she could do in case she changed her mind or how to keep in touch, but Solus remained silent. She didn’t trust Silverwing enough to share her communication rune, not with the risk of Silverwing using it to follow them.
On top of that, the First Magus’ hostility towards Lith had been toned down, but it was still there. Solus worried that any request for help might be misunderstood as a subconscious call for help or second thought, making the white core into a powerful enemy that they had no chance to beat.
“Aunt Loka, do you know Malyshka?” Solus said.
“Who?” The name sounded familiar, but not having heard it for centuries, it took Silverwing a few seconds to put a face to it. “Baba Yaga? Yes, why?”
“At first, she shared your same doubts about my relationship with Lith, but after examining us with her breathing technique, she changed her mind. Please, before your third surprise visit, talk with Malyshka.
“I hope that she can help you to understand that I need my dear aunt Loka, not a savior. There are many things that I would like to ask you about my parents and my forgotten past, but I can’t let you in my life until I’m sure that you won’t harm the people I love out of prejudice.” Solus said.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Silverwing nodded and left the tower, racking her brain about how to find Baba Yaga. The Blood Mother was hard to track since she had no communication amulet.
It was the reason why she created a powerful bond with her Firstborns so that they could contact or find her no matter how far she was. Unlike communication amulets, such a bond couldn’t be used to track her.
“Oh, gods!” Lith collapsed on the nearest chair the moment the Sentries confirmed to him that the First Magus was nowhere to be found. “The Black Dragon was nothing compared to her. Tower or not, I didn’t like my odds.”
He was covered in a cold sweat and panted in exhaustion. Even though Lith hadn’t thrown a single punch nor cast a spell, the mental pressure from Silverwing’s hostility and from casting Tower tier spirit spell non-stop had taken a toll on him.
Phloria felt the need to sit down as well. An important piece of her heart had just withered, and now that the threat at hand was gone, sadness veiled her eyes with tears.
‘I’m happy that nothing bad happened, just like I’m happy that all my doubts about the relationship between Lith and Solus have been cleared. There is no mind control on either side, they are just two people that really love each other.’ She thought while staring at the stone wall in front of her.
‘Yet it also means that there’s no space between them for me. At least not a space I can bring myself to take without being consumed by doubts.’
Solus, instead, was too happy to notice anything. She hummed while carrying her father’s painting around, trying to find the perfect spot to hang it.
“Faluel is probably going to kill us, but since we are already late, making her wait a few minutes longer won’t change a thing. I’m going to take a quick shower.” Lith smiled only for a second until those words jogged his memory.
“Speaking of killing, Phloria, I still have to explain to you what Domination is.”
“Is it some form of mind control?” She asked with a deadpan tone, still grieving her loss.
“No. It’s just a magical technique that only people with streaks in their hair like Solus and Friya, or with special features like Morok, Faluel, and I can use.” Lith replied.
“I understood that much from Silverwing’s words.” She nodded. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to know about Domination if it means endangering you two. Just tell Faluel the truth and blame Silverwing for everything.”
“Thank you Phloria. You are a true friend.” Solus hugged her with joy.
“It’s not like I would gain much aside from more envy. I only have blue streaks.” Phloria sighed. “Go take your shower or Faluel will kill us anyway.”
“I think it’s better if I take one as well.” While hugging Phloria, a pungent smell had reached Solus’ nose.
Between the tears, the snot, and the sweating from the intense emotions, she was dirty.
At those words, Phloria tensed up, expecting them to go inside Lith’s room and shower together. Only when she saw them walk into their respective room did she sigh in relief.
‘I don’t know what’s worse. If the fact that I’m relieved that nothing happened or that it takes them but a single thought to make the wall between them disappear. I understand now why Kamila broke up with him and in her shoes, I would have done the same.’ She thought.
Phloria washed her face and took a bowl of chocolate ice cream with biscuits to drown her sorrows while she waited. At the third spoonful, Springtime appeared on the kitchen wall, making her flinch.
Solus had actually hung the original in her room and crafted a copy for each common room of the tower so that she could always keep that little piece of her family that she had recovered close to her heart.
Meanwhile, in Faluel’s lair, the Hydra wasn’t happy about how things had gone in the Distar region during her absence nor about her disciple’s performance.
“I can’t believe that you have yet to develop the emerald streak in your hair.” Faluel said.
“Lith, Morok, and even Solus already managed to do it. You are the only one lagging behind. Did you at least follow the training routine I had assigned you or did you just work on your tan in the Desert?”
“Lith and Solus don’t count because they are basically Awakened from birth.” Friya replied. “As for Morok, not only does he have the advantage of a bloodline ability, but he mastered true magic from a young age as well.
“You Awakened me recently and I have yet to master tier four Spirit Magic, let alone Domination which I started learning months after them! As for the Desert, it was a boot camp, not a vacation. Feel free to check if you don’t believe me!”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Faluel used her breathing technique, Lifestream, to check on Friya’s body, discovering that her mana flow, body, and core had been tempered to the point of bordering on breakthrough.
“By the Great Mother, you really did work hard.”
“See? I need a vacation and a real one this time.” Friya said.
