Once they returned to the Winged Boar hotel, they were well-fed, rested, and Lith had still his head ringing from Kamila’s earful about setting boundaries.
“Do you think I’m getting a tan?” Solus asked, showing him her slender arms.
“Definitely.” Lith nodded while projecting a hologram of her old appearance. “Your skin is more reddish than bronze but it’s still a tan.”
“I definitely need to stay in the sun more.” She replied with a warm smile. “Until now, I was afraid that every time I went back into my ring my body would reset. That I was still frozen in time, more a thing than a human.
“But now I’m certain that I can change as well and it’s all thanks to you and Kami.”
Lith didn’t mention the earful to not spoil her mood and just smiled.
“Any news?” He found the others in the restaurant.
The place was richly furnished and utterly empty. All the other clients had run away in terror, but no one cared. The owner had already seen the bag of gold and it contained more than what he earned in months.
The staff often came to blows to decide who would serve the monstrous guests, but not to avoid them so much as for the privilege of serving them. They were all people paid in copper and Zoreth tipped in silver.
There wasn’t a single hint of fear in the hotel, only the smell of fresh flowers.
“Yes. The cooks are great and they even serve Garlen cuisine, mister picky eater.” Zoreth chuckled. “Oh, and the spa is worth its reputation, you have to give it a try.”
“I meant the Council.” A snap of his fingers set a Hush zone around the table.
“Not yet.” Bytra shook her head. “I guess they are still talking with Garlen and deciding if we are worth their time. Making us wait is a power move, Lith. It makes us understand that they are not afraid of us and gives them time to prepare.”
“That’s why I came back. We need to prepare as well.” He nodded. “There’s one thing I don’t understand. How are we supposed to convince the Council to give us the Mouth?
“Blackmail rarely works and even if it did, once they don’t have anything to lose anymore, they can spill the beans with our Council and put us in a world of trouble.”
“That’s actually the weak point of my plan.” Zoreth sighed. “Sure, we can threaten to expose the existence of the Mouth, but at that point, they would rather keep it. Violence is not an option either.
“The Master worked hard to get the Organization into the Garlen Council. We would just make a lot of enemies and gain nothing from it.”
“What if the heir of Menadion stepped forward?” Solus said while clenching her fists.
“That would certainly give our claim legal grounds.” Zoreth tormented her chin as she spoke. “Whoever took the Mouth is a murderer and a thief. The Mouth can be considered part of your legacy and the Garlen Council would do anything to back you.”
“Are you insane?” Bytra said. “You can’t reveal your existence like that? It would put your life in danger.”
“Lots of people already know.” Solus shrugged. “You, Zoreth, Grandma, even Dolgus and Theseus. Without the tower, I’m just a weak-ass Awakened. No war will be fought in my name or to get me.
“On top of that, I’m sick and tired of living my whole life in the shadows. I’m not a criminal. I didn’t do anything wrong and I just want back what’s mine!”
She took a brief pause to catch her breath.
“Also, I was thinking of altering my appearance to avoid problems.” Solus added a layer of darkness to the Hush zone and shapeshifted.
Her body became taller, reaching 1.75 meters (5’9″) of height. Her hair regained solely the orange and silver streaks that she was supposed to have and her features now resembled more Menadion’s than her own.
She still looked similar to Threin’s paintings, but no one would recognize her as Solus unless they had met Elphyn in person. Also, thanks to her tower side, her body didn’t lack extra mass and growing in size hadn’t lessened her physical strength.
“This might work.” Lith looked at her, almost failing to recognize his friend behind the stone mask of determination that her face had become. “But are you sure about this? If you step forward, people will ask questions and you need to have answers.”
“Are you going to pretend to be a human again?” Solus replied.
“Only during an undercover mission.” Lith shook his head. “I’m done hiding and pretending to be someone else. I’m going to always use my full powers and live proud of my nature of a Tiamat.”
“And I’m proud of carrying the Menadion name.” She said. “I’ll make sure to not mess with your life. I just want back what’s mine. I’ve lost everything I had, I’ve lost centuries of life and most of my memories.
“I’m sick and tired of letting people take everything away from me without putting up a fight. On top of that, I’ve nothing that the Council might want. Menadion’s knowledge is outdated and the tower is lost.
“Since I spent the last 700 years slumbering, my Forgemastering is nothing special. If we get the Mouth back, I plan to give it to Grandma. No one will dare to attack her and she will keep it safe if not even update it with Creation Magic.”
Actually, Solus just wanted to touch the Mouth to trigger its tower equivalent, and then she planned to gift it to one of their friends just like she had done with the Hands.
That speech was for the sake of their companions, who were unaware of the tower.
“That’s actually the best thing you can do.” Zoreth nodded. “Claim that Salaark saved you. That you are her guest and protégé. It will make our claims even stronger.”
“Don’t worry Elphyn, I mean, Solus. If anything goes wrong, I’ll protect you with my life.” Bytra said.
“Were you two really this close?” Theseus asked. “I know that all the Rulers of The Flames knew each other, but this is a bit extreme.”
“We didn’t.” The two women replied in unison, but only Bytra continued. “It’s because of me that she lost everything. I put Solus in the condition she currently is, killed Menadion, and caused the destruction of the tower.”
“You did what?” Dolgus’ eyes flared with bright violet mana as he stood up, glaring at Bytra. “She was one of the greatest minds and of the most generous people I’ve ever met. Council or not, today you’re going to pay for what you did!”
“It wasn’t her.” Zoreth jumped up, putting herself between them. “My wife is just like Theseus. She killed her original, Korgh, and inherited her memories. She wasn’t even born until three years ago, let alone 700.”
At those words, Dolgus’ aura disappeared and he gave Bytra a bow in apology.
“I’m sorry for my brash words and losing my temper.” He said. “I should have kept a level head and noticed the lack of reaction from Lady Elphyn. I praise your determination to make amends for crimes that you didn’t commit.”
