Raaz was overwhelmed by Tyris’ warmth, the gentleness of her touch, and the softness of her body. Elina could see his neck and ears turning to a bright shade of purple.
Senton’s jaw had hit the floor upon her arrival and he seemed to have no intention of picking it up anytime soon. That and his unblinking eyes made him look like a dead fish or a young man at his first crush.
Even Aran looked at the Guardian like a fairy had descended among them.
“Since I’m already here, would you mind if I give you a hand in the kitchen?” Tyris let go of Raaz the moment she perceived that the darkness in his heart had been lifted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve prepared a meal and I’m curious to put my abilities to the test.”
Raaz plunged onto his chair, too embarrassed to turn around and look his wife in the eyes. His mind and his body hadn’t been at odds like this since his teen years, but experience had been a valuable teacher.
“Whatever happens, don’t talk nor move until your heart stops trying to break out of your chest. Otherwise you’ll make a fool out of yourself.” He said to himself out loud in a loop, without realizing that his throughs were coming out of his mouth.
“Rena, what about your in-laws? Kamila, what about Zinya?” Elina inhaled sharply at her husband but managed to smile at Tyris nonetheless.
“They will be here in a few minutes.” Rena nudged at Senton and stomped his feet, but to no avail. She had to put her finger in his mouth and trigger a gag reflex to have his attention again.
“Same with Zin.” Kamila was proud of Lith who was the only person in the room completely unaffected by Tyris’ presence.
“Then we can definitely use a hand.” Elina nodded. “By the way, I’m glad to finally have the occasion to thank you for what you did in Verendi.”
“It was my pleasure.” The Great Mother gave her a small curtsy before shapeshifting her usual court dress into a pale blue cotton shirt and gown that barely differed from the clothes that the women of Lutia wore.
Her golden hair shortened to shoulder length and she arranged them in a ponytail that left exposed the pearly pink skin of her slender neck. When she fastened her apron, she moved with such a grace that even the magical beasts couldn’t keep her eyes off her in awe.
“What about me, Mom?” Lith asked. “Don’t you need my help like usual?”
“No, but thanks for the offer. You can help your father if you want.” Elina nodded at her still-muttering husband.
A quick cold shower and five minutes of self-pity in the bathroom later, Raaz was as good as new.
“Look at the bright side, Dad. You are too embarrassed to be depressed.”
“This is no joking matter, son. Your mother will kill me. Even worse, she might ask for a divorce.” Raaz couldn’t help but think how betrayed he would have felt if their roles were reversed and it was Elina drooling like a fool for another man in front of him.
“You’re blowing things out of proportion.” Lith shook his head. “Mom will surely put you in the doghouse and refuse to speak to you for a while, but I’m certain that she’ll forgive you out of love for my future baby sister.”
“This is no joking matter!”
“Who’s joking?” Seeing how serious Lith was, Raaz clenched his heart as if his son had stabbed him with a knife.
After returning to the living room, Lith projected a light-hearted movie for the kids. One of those ridiculously cheesy stories that he hated ever since from Earth where the bad guys were dumb and funny rather than evil and the good guys always won.
“Can we train a dragon of our own, uncle Lith?” Leria asked while looking in amazement at the protagonists of the movie.
“That’s just a story. Real dragons are much bigger and smarter than that. It’s more likely for them to take you as their pets instead of the other way around.” He shrugged.
“Maybe a Wyvern, then?” Aran said.
“Believe me, Wyverns are nasty clients. Besides what about Onyx and Abominus?” Lith pointed at the magical beasts who were staring at the kids with puppy eyes. “What would you feel if they looked for cooler kids to play with?”
Aran and Leria grabbed the furry neck of their respective friend, begging for their forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, Onyx. You’re better than any dragon and we’ll be friends forever.” The Shyf purred in reply.
“I’ve never forgotten how you saved me from that undead, Abominus. I wouldn’t give up on you for the world.” The Ry licked Leria, his tail thumping with joy.
When Zinya and her children arrived, it took just a few minutes to introduce Tyris to them and almost half an hour for Tezka to recover from the heart attack that the sight of the Guardian gave him.
As for Zekell as his wife, things went just as smoothly. The old blacksmith had spent enough time with Rena, Tista, and Faluel to be resistant to feminine beauty. Sirma only needed to almost twist his ear off to snap him out of his stupor.
“I’m happy to finally be able to congratulate you in person.” He said while shaking Lith’s hand and then Kamila’s. “After everything that happened after you left bringing my boy with you, I needed one good news.
“By the way, who is she?” The blacksmith pointed at Tyris.
“I’m just a maid.” She replied with a warm smile. “The Verhens hired me to help them while they get readjusted to living in the Kingdom.”
“Another one? Don’t you guys have Solus already?” Sirma threw a suspicious look at Lith.
“My duty is to help Elina while Tyris takes care of Kami. She’s specialized in hybrid babies.” Solus replied.
“Then why aren’t you the one cooking?”
“How is it going in Lutia during my absence, Zekell? I hope that being related to my family didn’t cause you too much trouble.” Lith changed the subject, hoping to stop the questions for which he had no logical answer.
As he offered the Proudhammers seats, he noticed that the quality of their clothes had improved since the last time they had met.
“I’m not going to lie to you. It was rough at first, but the gods willing, after Morn’s execution everything went back to normal. After that, my business really took off. And it’s all thanks to you, my son.” He said while patting over his chest where an odd pin was.
It consisted of a black disk the size of a coin with seven colored stones arranged in the same pattern as Lith’s eyes in his Tiamat form.
Then after noticing his wife’s glare and Senton’s crushed expression, Zekell rushed to add: “I mean, in-law. Son-in-law, of course.”
“What’s that?” Solus asked after noticing that Sirma wore an identical pin as well.
“Do you remember when I asked you permission to sell replicas of your Dragon friend, I mean, your Dragon form?” Zekell said, receiving a nod in reply. “Well, the business went so well that I brought it to the next level.
“Don’t worry, I’ve kept my word and your share of the profits safe.”
