“Ba.” The baby girl nodded.
“Bad.” Valeron pointed fingers as well.
“The farm?” Kamila said. “Isn’t he too young to speak?”
“Using Elysia’s learning rate as a benchmark, I’d say no.” Lith said with a smug grin on his face. “Well said. They treat me badly.”
“Don’t drag the children into our petty squabbles! That’s a low blow.” Kamila took the baby girl away, afraid of hearing the word bad addressed to her as well.
“Mama.” Elysia said, making Kamila sigh in relief.
“What about me?” Solus asked.
“Ba… ba.” Elisya replied.
“Baba? Is it a variation of mom or does it mean ‘very bad’?” Solus went pale, not liking either answer.
“Ba… ba!” Elysia pouted.
“Fix this right now or you and I are going to have a problem!” Solus jumped to her feet, forcing Lith to use the Dragon scales to explain the situation to the children.
That small argument was the only event of the morning and soon the excitement from the marvel of crossing the ocean on a train turned into boring normality. They moved too quickly to see anything from below and after a while, the waves looked all the same.
“Do we really have to spend two days like this?” Solus groaned after less than one hour.
“How long before lunch? I’m bored!” After putting the babies in the crib, Kamila was using Accumulation non-stop.
It was a way to spend her time but it was far from enjoyable.
“Four hours.” Lith wasn’t faring any better.
Aside from using his breathing technique and reading his notes, there wasn’t much he could do. He could only take notes of the theories and ideas he developed during the journey since to check if they were viable he needed a lab.
“Damn, I can’t believe the day would come that I would resent Soluspedia.” Solus said. “I have nothing to read because I already know my favorite books like the back of my hand and I have nothing to do because the elemental sealing arrays of the Wayfinder are set to prevent the use of even chore magic.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Quylla opened the door of the compartment after knocking. “What about one of those movies of yours, Lith?”
“Seconded.” Orion scratched his head in embarrassment. “I should have planned something for entertaining. The soldiers can’t even exercise due to the lack of space. This is going to be a nightmare for everyone.”
Lith didn’t like the idea much since he could only project stories that he knew by heart so unless there was a special occasion, watching any movie was quite boring for him anyway.
Also, the living room didn’t have enough chairs so Quylla had to conjure the missing two with hard-light constructs. Light magic was the only element available since it helped dealing with seasickness and its offensive branch was the stuff of legends.
The time until lunch passed uneventful with Lith insisting on taking care of the babies by himself just to keep his mind and hands busy. The meal was prepared in the kitchen wagon and delivered by carts.
“I can’t believe that most people are eating straight from their plates while we have the luxury of a table.” Quylla said.
“I can’t believe you think most of them give a d… dam.” Orion had to bite his tongue to escape the parents’ death glare. “Only pampered noble idio… ms are going to whine about that. First, it’s just for two days.
“Second, having a good warm meal that you can consume while taking your time and inside a safe place is like attending a banquet for someone used to work in the field.”
“Nice save.” Lith nodded. “Twice.”
“I’m sorry, I’m out of practice with baby talk.” Orion sighed.
“Don’t worry, I know how you feel.” Solus sighed as well. “I don’t think I remember a single swear word anymore.”
“Consider this a good opportunity to practice, Dad.” Friya chuckled. “Once the baby is born, it’s going to be your turn to talk in code all day.”
Orion choked on his meal and his daughters laughed, thinking that he was nervous at the idea of becoming a father again after so many years. The truth was that he was utterly terrified.
‘The baby is like a countdown. Once they are born, the Gernoff will try to kill Jirni for breaking Oghrom’s law.’ He thought. ‘I’m in a damn rush to Awaken and the worst part is that even if I do, there’s no guarantee of survival.
‘I’m not going to leave Jirni to fight this battle alone but at the same time, the idea of making all of our children orphans, especially the baby, scares me to death.’
Jirni had yet to come forward with Lith and even with her daughters.
Telling Lith the truth meant to reveal to him Vastor’s involvement in her plans. The news of the Master Awakening Jirni without telling Lith and even helping her to hide it from him might have compromised their relationship.
Jirni couldn’t risk alienating either of his allies if she wanted to stand a chance against a whole Awakened bloodline.
Coming clean with her daughters, instead, meant not only to reveal the magnitude of Jirni’s deception and how far she and Orion had exploited Quylla’s research behind her back.
It would also involve them in a conflict that would endanger their lives. On top of that, they were bound to share the news with Lith which led back to the first issue.
Jirni’s plan required Orion to Awaken and then they would ask the others for help. This way, no matter how angry her daughters or Lith would get with her, there was nothing they could do to stop her anymore.
Vastor’s involvement would remain a secret, leaving Lith to come up with the idea of asking Vastor for help “on his own” and giving the Professor plausible deniability.
“Do you think is going to be a boy or a girl?” Friya nudged her father.
“I don’t know. Your mother and I want it to be a surprise.” He racked his brain, searching for a way to change the subject. “How are things going with the little Valeron?”
“Better than I thought.” Lith shared with them the many things he had learned by communicating with the baby boy via the Dragon scales.
“What? Are you telling me that Protheus and a few of Thrud’s Generals are still alive?” Orion’s eyes flared with violet mana at the thought that Phloria’s murderers had been spared and even enjoyed a good life.
“Calm down.” Lith Hushed Valeron’s ears and turned the baby boy around so that he couldn’t see Orion.
“I personally took care of those responsible for Phloria’s death. Leegaain only rescued those who belonged to a unique bloodline and you already knew that the Council had accepted the surrender of Ufyl, the seven-headed Dragon.
“This is no big deal.”
“How can you say that?” Orion’s jaw fell on the floor and then started digging. “Are you really the same Lith I know?”
“No, I’m not.” Lith replied. “When I held my daughter for the first time, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let my hatred taint her so I let it go.”
