“Yeah, I miss Solus too.” Kamila sighed after reading his fleeting expression. “I bet you two would be neck-deep in some nerdy debate if she was here with us.”
“Yeah, we would.” Once he was done, Lith knocked on the wall and said: “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Baba Yaga replied as the basin and the changing table disappeared.
“Let’s get out of here before I overstay my welcome.” Lith tried to hand a baby over to Kamila but they both clung fang and claw to him until he gave up.
The reunited family walked through the bedroom door and into a corridor that extended for dozens of meters with several doors and branches on either side.
“Farm me sideways, Baba Yaga’s hut redefines the ‘bigger on the inside’ concept. The bedroom alone is bigger than the whole hut’s size from the outside. Which way is the exit?” Lith asked.
“Any way, if you are a guest.” Kamila rapped on the door from which they had just come out and a Warp Gate formed into its frame. “Otherwise this place is an inescapable dungeon.”
Lith nodded and stepped toward the dimensional corridor but Kamila grabbed him and conjured a Hush Zone.
“Do you remember what happened when we tried the family intervention on Derek?” She asked.
“It’s hard to forget.” Lith grimaced in shame and regret.
“Then you know that you must be extra nice to members of your family.” Kamila said. “Your words stung deeper than any sword or spell could, especially for Elina. I’ve never seen her cry so much.”
“Is it that bad?” Lith inwardly cursed his Abomination self.
“Worse. Even after I brought you back from the Trawn woods, she’s the only one who didn’t come to check on you while Baba Yaga carried you to the bedroom.” She replied.
“Is Mom that angry?”
“Not angry, ashamed. Elina thinks she failed you as a mother and that you wouldn’t want her there.” Kamila shook her head.
“Shot!” The Guardians’ auto-correct turned the curse word family-friendly. “Mom’s always felt responsible for Meln’s and Trion’s behavior. It took me a long time to convince her that she wasn’t a bad mother and that Aran and I won’t abandon her as our older brothers did.
“I’m afraid I’ve shattered her confidence and brought her worst fears back to life with just a few words.”
“Shot!” Valeron nodded enthusiastically.
“Cio!” Elysia did her best to join them.
“Why on Mogar’s green earth do they only pick up this kind of words easily?” Lith grumbled in frustration.
“And you ask me?” Kamila waved a finger under their small noses in a rebuking manner only for her frown to melt away when the babies grabbed it. “It took Elysia months to learn the word mom despite all my efforts yet she learned shot without even trying!”
After a moment to compose themselves from the unpleasant surprise, they walked through the Warp Gate and appeared in a large empty space inside Salaark’s tent-palace.
Lith recognized the place as the mana geyser that usually fueled Solus’ tower during their stays in the Desert. Now, instead, Baba Yaga’s hut and a second tower occupied the geyser yet it still had world energy to spare.
A few dozen meters from the hunting cabin there was a tall, majestic tower 50 meters (164 feet) tall that seemed made out of the purest of silver.
Under any other circumstance, Lith’s first instinct would have been to walk up to Silverspire and try to uncover its mysteries. Even from a distance, he could tell that it wasn’t made of silver and its aura gave him the strangest feeling.
It was an inanimate object, yet it reminded him of a young child trying to stand up on his feet for the first time. Somehow, despite its unbridled power, Silverspire felt young and unsteady.
Right now, however, the people in front of Lith drew his attention more than any marvel of magic could.
Elina, Raaz, Tista, and Rena stood at a safe distance without taking a single step forward even after the Warp Gate closed behind Lith. They just looked at him other without saying a word.
“Lith?” Being the strongest in the family, Tista found the courage to break the awkward silence. “Is that really you? I mean, the you you, not the burning, angry jackant”
“Yes, Tista.” Lith nodded tickling the children into a giggle to prove his claim.
“Can we approach you?” Raaz was next, clearing his throat.
“I would love it if you did, Dad. I’m back. For real this time.” His words pushed the members of the Verhen family into a charge that would have tackled Lith to the ground were he not a Divine Beast.
“I’m so sorry.” Elina cut through the crowd to hug him first, breaking into tears upon contact. “I’m sorry for everything you had to go through as a child. I should have protected you from the cold and hunger. I should have convinced your father to disown Meln before he could hurt you so much and his hatred turned into obsession.
“I know that mine are just empty words but please, give me one more chance to prove to you that I mean them.” She checked his arms and chest for injuries and then his face for malnutrition.
Elina caressed Lith’s cheeks with her thumbs, staring into his eyes while wishing for his forgiveness.
“Don’t say that, Mom.” He took her hands into his own and kissed them. “None of that was your fault and I could never resent you for something you couldn’t do anything about.
“I won’t try to deny what my Abomination side said. I may have thought those things as a kid, but only because back then I was in survival mode. My Abomination side is what gave me the fierceness to endure what I had to, but only until you taught me there was more than survival.
“You taught me how to live.” Lith handed the kids to Kamila and wrapped Elina in an embrace. “Don’t take his words to heart. He was just hurt and scared. He only remembered the worst parts of my life and dealt with them the only way he knew.”
“Your Abomination side wasn’t wrong, though.” Elina returned the embrace, shedding more tears. “And the worst part is that I can’t be angry at him. Not only because he’s a part of you but also because he’s the reason you’re alive.
“I’d endure his verbal lashing at any time if it means you’ll always return home safe.”
She sniffled and quivered for a while before finding enough strength to stand up on her own.
“Welcome back, son.” Raaz gave Lith a warm but short embrace as soon as Elina stepped away. “I know I wasn’t a perfect father, but I have no regret because I know I did the best I could.
“I can only hope that you’ve learned from the few things I made right and you’ll use them to become a better father than I was.”
“Dad!” Lith tried to deny such words but Raaz stopped him in his tracks.
“I’m not finished, young man. Whatever your Abomination side is, wherever he is now, thank him for me.”
