“What the heck was that lovey-dovey act with that Fomor?” Friya beat Faluel to the punch, speaking first the moment they reached the artificial cave where Lith and the others were waiting for them. “I get that it’s your legacy we are talking about, but we all risked our lives for this.
“I don’t care about their sob story. Those monsters are still a bunch of murderous bastards that tonight will dine on the people of the Kingdom. Are you really so dumb that you can’t hold it in your pants the moment a beautiful woman makes her move on you?”
“What woman?” Quylla asked while staring at Morok.
His expression was serious like she had never seen him before but there was no hint of shame or guilt on his face.
“This would take too long with words so please give me your hand.” The Tyrant took Quylla’s hand and slapped Friya’s away. “This is about my family. I’m going to discuss it with my fiancée first and then with you guys.”
A mind link and a full explanation later, Quylla went pale.
“Good gods.” She said while conjuring a rock to sit down. “Feel free to tell them everything. I just need a bit of time to recover.”
A second mind link later, Lith was sitting next to Quylla and was no less pale than her.
Garrik’s story hit him even worse than Morok.
An abusive father, a protective older brother, and a helpless little brother were the story of Derek McCoy’s’ life. He was so upset that his human body twitched from time to time and part of it shapeshifted into one of his other forms.
‘Calm down, Lith.’ Solus spread her aura in the telepathic equivalent of a warm embrace to soothe his restless spirit. ‘That boy is not Carl and he is currently safe. Glemos is already dead and can’t hurt him anymore.’
Her words both calmed his nerves and made him wish that Ajatar had killed Glemos slowly instead of giving him a quick death.
‘Even if the monsters reject our offer, we can always set a meeting with Ryla and escort her and Garrik to safety. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll help you however I can, even if that means revealing the tower’s existence to Morok.’
‘Thanks, Solus, but that shouldn’t be necessary.’ Lith sighed, slowly regaining his cool.
‘I never thought I’d say this, but thank the gods Elysia is not a boy.’ She thought in a corner of her mind, where Lith couldn’t hear her. ‘I can’t imagine what would happen if anything close to a threat were to befall the baby and trigger Lith’s trauma.’
“Listen, kid, I’m sorry for your little brother, I really am, but-”
“You did the right thing.” Lith cut Ajatar short and made everyone else gasp in surprise. “If you need help busting Garrik out of Zelex, you can count on me.”
“Thanks, but it would be too dangerous.” Morok shook his head. “First, the two of us aren’t enough to keep thousands of monsters at bay and protect a child at the same time. Second, then what?
“You heard Ryla. If Garrik steps outside of the mana geyser even for one second before he reaches adulthood, his life force could fail to stabilize forever. On top of that, even if Zelex wasn’t surrounded by a space-compressing array, the nearest mana geyser is too far away for a Spirit Steps.
“We’d need a Warping array, but all it takes to shut it down is an orc shaman with a crystal or a Balor’s wings.”
‘Can we do it with a Tower Warp, Solus?’ Lith asked.
‘Assuming that we have enough space and privacy to conjure it, maybe. There’s no telling if the tower core can overpower the arrays nor if there’s enough world energy available to do it.
‘The Tyrants devised Zelex so that not even a single speck of energy can escape its premises. It’s possible that the tower can’t tap into the geyser at all so I wouldn’t rely on it until we made sure.’
“This is a mess.” Quylla whimpered, holding her head between her hands. “It will likely screw up the whole ceremony.”
“I’m sorry, babe, but our marriage will have to be postponed until I don’t find a solution for this issue.” Morok knelt down, taking her hands into his own. “I don’t give a damn about Jiera, the Harmonizers, and even the Tyrant’s bloodline legacy but I can’t leave the kid in the Undead Court’s hands.
“Let’s be real, if the monsters side with the undead, Garrik will be the first to be sacrificed for his Harmonizer. Everyone will hate him just because he’s Glemos’ son.”
“I said ceremony, not marriage, silly.” Quylla cupped his face while looking him in the eyes. “I was thinking about all the hoops we’ll have to jump through to let your brother attend. Also, explaining how I’ve gotten myself a mother and a brother-in-law at the last minute is bound to cause a scandal.”
“In-law?” Morok echoed.
“I know that Ryla isn’t your mother, but if you want to make Garrik part of your life she has to be included as well. Passing her for your mother would ensure them both the safety they need and avoid explaining your complicated family tree to the rest of the Kingdom.”
“Damn, woman, Ryla was right.” Morok embraced her, happy that she was not only willing to accept Garrik in their family but she was also including him in their plans for the future. “You two are really going to get along.”
The group left the couple a few minutes before scolding Morok again.
“As I was saying, you screwed a perfect plan real good, kid.” Ajatar said. “The collapsed tunnel and the demons were meant to destroy what little safety the children of Glemos had left and pressure them into accepting our offer.
“You were supposed to be the hero, earn their trust, seal the deal and then move them out of Zelex. Once most of them have been sent to Jiera, there will be no turning back even if they were to discover our trick.
“You instead pulled back and gave them time to think. What if after they calm down, they see through our ruse?”
“I think you are underestimating them.” Faluel shrugged.
“Ryla already noticed that a good chunk of Morok’s story was bullshit, she just didn’t care. On top of that, judging by Syrah’s reaction, she already has her fair share of doubts as well.
“After all, we knew that painting Glemos like a loving father was a gamble. Just like playing the hero card right after the demons’ attack. Let’s be honest, it was a good plan and it got us a foot in the door but it’s bound to feel forced.
“Everything happened too fast. First the demons, then Glemos’ heir, then a convenient alternative to the deal with the Undead Courts. I think that the Hati Queen noticed it right after the excitement from the battle faded away.”
“I know it was a gamble, but what else were we supposed to do?” Ajatar said. “The monsters had already accepted the deal with the undead. There was no time to slowly earn their trust.
