“I hadn’t thought about that.” Kamila said with a pensive look on her face. “What if we ask Baba Yaga to call her Firstborns as well? With their power plus Dawn’s prisms, you’d have full-red blood cores who can fight freely during the day.”
“As I said, I’ve married a genius.” Lith sat up while rubbing his hands and thinking about who and how he could manipulate for help. “Great idea, Kami.”
“Glad to help, but I’m not done with the bad news.” She said. “The family of travelers you saved is still traumatized from what you did to them and that’s nothing compared to what happened after you reached Zeska.”
Lith’s eyes lost their enthusiasm as he remembered what he had done to the young boy before Orpal’s arrival and to the wounded citizens after.
“Just tell me how many.”
“Thousands of lives were lost and half the city was razed to the ground during the fight.” Kamila replied. “Yet even if it pains me to say this, that’s nothing compared to how you treated that boy, the Constable, and the men of the Knight’s Guard.”
“What do you mean?” Lith rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I remember beating the boy’s parents, but that’s it. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything else.”
“That’s the point exactly.” Kamila sighed. “In your-, no, in Derek’s fury, he brutalized those horrible people in front of their child. That poor kid blames himself for everything that happened.
“He believes that if he was better, his parents would still be alive.”
“They died?” Lith’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“In the initial blast.” Kamila nodded. “When Meln sneak attacked you, Derek defended solely himself and the boy.”
“And nothing of value was lost.” Lith grunted.
“There’s no need to be this callous.” Kamila took his face in her hands. “Think about it from his perspective. Because of him, his parents were publicly humiliated and tortured while he was forced to be a helpless spectator.
“Because of him, they couldn’t escape from the Undead King and died right in front of his eyes. No matter how you feel about their deaths, that kid is just eight, for the gods’ sake! An eight-year-old who witnessed more death and brutality in one day than most soldiers their whole life.
“And don’t get me started on the Constable and the Knight’s Guard unit. Those people came ready to lay down their lives, at first to stop you and then to defend you. And they did. Meln killed them all because Derek didn’t care enough to protect them.
“Because you didn’t care.” Her gaze was firm and her voice stern, but there was no judgment or blame in them.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Lith asked, placing his hands over hers.
“Because it was only a matter of time before you looked into the aftermath of Zeska by yourself and I didn’t want you to face that burden alone.” She replied. “Because I know you are going to leave soon and I want you to realize you have a lot for which to return.
“Not just for me, the children, and your family, but also your legacy. I want you to remember all these things while you fight and use them to fuel your strength. You must return to me. Do you understand?”
“I do.” Lith hugged Kamila tight, realizing the weight of his action and the care behind her words. “I’ll return and fix the mess I’ve left. I promise.”
“Good.” Kamila nodded, seeing that resolve had replaced the gloom in his eyes. “If you’re feeling better now, I’d bring in the kids. They want to see their father without him snarling at them like a mad beast.”
Lith now sounded much more confident and relaxed, which she took as her cue.
Kamila knew Lit couldn’t and wouldn’t remain idle for long. Not with Solus potentially suffering in the Tree’s roots by the second. Yet there were things for which Kamila needed him to be ready before doing anything else.
“Not yet.” Lith shook his head. “After hearing so many bad news, I need another mood booster.”
He swept Kamila off her feet and lay her down gently on the bed on her stomach. Then, he sat near her and put his head against her left buttock.
“What are you doing?”
“Shush! I’m trying to hear the ocean waves.” He replied.
“My ass is not a sea shell, silly.” She giggled.
“Really?” A quick slap and the sharp sound it produced were a testament to the firmness of Lith’s new pillow. “I beg to differ.”
“Thanks.” She giggled at the compliment. “Just tell me when you are ready to go.”
Sadly, there was no time for sex and neither of them was in the mood for it. The clock was ticking and the burden on Lith’s conscience couldn’t be quelled by silly jokes.
“I’m ready.” He called the Voidwalker armor that slipped on his body and shapeshifted into a comfortable white shirt and blue pants. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Hey, they are our children, not another item on your to-do list!” Kamila called upon her Voidfeather armor, covering herself in a sky-blue day dress. “Elysia and Valeron have missed you a lot these past few days and they are not the only ones.”
“I know.” Lith sighed. “Derek treated my family like shit. I don’t know how to apologize to them for what he said.”
“One thing at a time.” A wave of Kamila’s hand relayed the message that Lith was up, giving everyone the time to prepare for his arrival, and summoned the babies in her arms.
From the sucking stance with which they appeared, Elysia and Valeron were being fed at the moment of the conjuring.
The baby girl scowled at the untimely interruption of her sacred meal, the elevensies, but her small face lit up when she recognized the culprit.
“Dya! Dya! Dada!” She threw her arms in Lith’s direction, almost falling off Kamila’s hold.
“Papa!” Valeron shapeshifted into his Bahamut form and took flight, landing on Lith’s shoulder before starting to nuzzle against his face.
“So much for being appreciated.” Kamila grumbled. “They’ve never welcomed me like that.”
“That’s because you never went missing for days after a deadly trap.” Lith took Elysia from Kamila’s arms with a spark of Spirit magic and nestled Valeron in the crook of his left arm.
“I stand corrected. I’m glad they never welcomed me like that.”
After the initial enthusiasm, the babies started to cry out of joy and relief, forcing Lith to use the Dragon scales to reassure them that he really was back and in good health.
“Dya.” Elysia sniffled, glad that the ugly scary thing that resembled her father was gone for good.
“Dya.” Valeron hadn’t met the Void so he was much quicker to calm down.
He returned to his human form and started to tug at Lith’s clothes for food. Now that Valeron wasn’t worried about Lith’s disappearing like it had happened to Jormun, the little boy’s appetite reached new heights.
“I’m sorry. I can do many incredible things but producing milk is not among them.” He said with such a straight face that made Kamila laugh and Elysia stare at him in disappointment.
Dads were supposed to be omnipotent.
