“I couldn’t tell you because it’s not my secret but Elphyn’s, I mean, Solus’.” Bytra said. “I already took her life once. I killed her mother and everyone who she considered her family.
“The least I can do for her is to protect her new life at any cost, even if it means compromising our relationship. I don’t deserve you, Zor, and I know how hiding things from our common friend hurts you.
“I didn’t want to make your burden heavier and force you to choose between your loyalty to me and the Organization. Not telling you was the only way to protect Solus and keep you from paying the price that comes with my shitty past.”
“I understand.” Zoreth said, yet her tone didn’t match her words. “As your friend, I’m proud of the personal sacrifices you have made to turn a new leaf and become a better person.
“As your wife and closest confidant, however, I feel insulted. You didn’t have to tell me everything, Byt, but you shouldn’t have kept me in the dark either. You know I wouldn’t have pried.”
The Fourth Ruler of the Flames lowered her gaze but didn’t reply. Anything she would say would sound like empty words. Yet she still had to try.
“I’m sorry, Zor. I really am.”
“I can see that.” The Shadow Dragon was torn too.
She couldn’t decide whether to respect Bytra’s personal growth and the lengths she was willing to go to make up for her past mistakes or be angry at her for betraying Zoreth’s trust.
“Since I’m the only one who doesn’t know and I’m not going to let either of you walk into the World Tree’s Fringe alone, don’t you think it’s time to correct the situation, little brother?” She turned to Lith.
“You’ve risked your life to save me already and you’re going to risk it again to save Solus. At this point, even if Silverwing didn’t let this slip, I would have told you anyway because I need your help to protect Solus from the rest of the Organization.” He nodded.
“I can sense her with my Dragon senses for the same reason the Yggdrasill kidnapped her. Solus is bound to Menadion’s mage tower. That’s how she managed to survive the original Bytra’s murder attempt and why she hasn’t aged a day since then.”
“What?” Zoreth jumped up again, having a hard time believing her own ears.
That piece of news explained everything. Why Lith was supposed to perceive Solus to the edges of Mogar. Why Bytra had refused to tell Zoreth about it. How Lith had achieved his meteoric rise as a mage and Forgemaster.
Yet it also put the Shadow Dragon in an awkward position.
‘If we take Solus with us after we rescue her and Bytra studies Menadion’s tower, she will complete her tower-crafting technique in weeks if not hours. All that time wasted investigating different lines of research and all those trial-and-error experiments could have been avoided if only-
‘Gods, Bytra was right.’ Zoreth looked at her wife and then at Lith. ‘I would have much preferred not knowing. I won’t betray my little brother’s and wife’s trust but that means betraying Dad and my entire acquired family. No matter what I do, I am going to let someone down.’
“Now that the secret is out, how did you understand that Solus and the tower were one, Bytra?” Lith asked.
“It wasn’t that hard.” She shrugged while the Shadow Dragon had to sit down due to her shaking knees. “Don’t forget that I’ve been Menadion’s apprentice. I worked in her tower and used the Fury under her supervision.
“Ripha shared with me enough of her research for me to understand that she was planning something to save Solus’ life in case of emergency. I even helped her on a few occasions.
“Yet I had no idea Ripha had completed the project until Solus revealed her condition and showed the stone ring to me before our trip to Verendi. The cloaking rings eclipsed the tower’s energy signature but I knew that Ripha would never bond Solus to a mere trinket.
“On top of that, it explained how you could craft powerful artifacts back when you were an academy student and why no one ever found Ripha’s tower even though its last position was no mystery to the Awakened community.”
“Because it moves around!” Zoreth finally understood the secret of Lith’s ability to move from one mana geyser to another.
“Correct.” Bytra nodded. “To be honest, I didn’t know the tower could do that, but after seeing Lith and Solus disappear, the final doubts I had about Solus’ survival cleared.”
“That’s noble of you, Bytra.” Silverwing’s voice oozed sarcasm and poison. “After betraying Ripha and killing thousands of innocents as an Abomination, there’s still kindness in your heart.”
“Don’t talk to my wife like that!” Zoreth snarled.
“I won’t, but only because it would be a waste of time.” The First Magus’ face was a mask of cold indifference. “Now that we have cleared the air around the table, do you mind telling me if you can sense Solus or not, Lith?”
“Give me a moment.” He took Elysia from her crib and shapeshifted into the Voidfeather Dragon.
The baby girl followed her father’s lead, creating a resonance that strengthened his homing instinct.
“She’s alive but not well.” It wasn’t the first time Lith was separated from Solus and looked at her light from a distance. “I can tell you she’s hurt. The flame of her existence flickers but not because of the distance. She’s fighting for her survival.”
“Good.” Lochra’s voice was stone cold as she clenched her fists. “Can you pinpoint her location?”
“Right there.” Lith pointed his finger north, northeast. “No, wait. There.” His hand moved to the far east.
“What the farm?” Solus’ light didn’t just flicker, it also jumped from one point to another like a fly on steroids. “Something is wrong. Her presence comes and goes and every time it happens her position changes. How can that be?”
“I’ll tell you how.” Salaark said, drawing more than one shocked gaze on her. “Why are you looking at me like that? Even though I won’t interfere directly, it doesn’t mean I won’t share an outdated piece of information.”
“A few World Trees ago, I was invited to their Fringe. The Yggdrasill wanted my opinion on a Forgemastering technique of their creation and I was curious to check if the claims about the Tree being as powerful as a Guardian were true so I accepted.
“Long story short, the Yggdrasill’s Fringe is different from any other. It’s shaped by Mogar for them and the World Tree spends the first part of their life turning the newborn Fringe into an extension of their being.
“As long as I was in there, it wasn’t just like being away from my turf. It was like being on the turf of a hostile Guardian. Space was compressed to the point that using a single dimensional spell required lots of effort.
“The Fringe is on Mogar yet you have to think of it as a separate world where the Yggdrasill makes the rules. It’s not that Solus’ presence moves so much as you can sense her solely through the openings in the Fringe as the Chroniclers move in and out.”
