1901 Three is a Crowd (Part 3)

"What's important is that you've recognized your mistakes." Lith said. "Now the question is, do you think you can conquer your fears for Dad's sake?"

"I have to." Trion replied. "I owe Dad that much. I'm tired of being the black sheep of the family. They don't need a second Orpal."

"Meln." Solus corrected him.

"Right. Have a nice dinner." Trion disappeared in Lith's shadow, but the mood remained gloomy for a while.

Then, the peaceful night's breeze and Solus' love for sweets overwhelmed her worries and she went back to being a famished troll, hogging all the cookies.

The three of them took a stroll on the beach, with Solus between Lith and Kamila. She avoided taking Lith's other hand to show her confidence in herself and in their relationship.

Solus wondered if she would have been able to do the same while also feeling like a child holding her parents' hands.

"I guess this is a goodbye." Solus dragged the sand in front of the tower with one of her feet.

"See you in two days." Kamila waved her hand, eager to get some alone time after such a tiring day.

"Are you still having nightmares?" Lith asked.

"Yes." Solus had a dejected look on her face. "I hate the night. It's when I'm left alone with all the ghosts that haunt this tower. I'm supposed to love it since it's part of my mother's legacy, but it's also the place where my friends and I died.

"Sleeping in there is creepy."

"Then why don't you sleep in your own private quarters?" Kamila asked.

"Because with Lith away, I can't regain my strength. Without him, I can't work nor get too far away from the tower because every bit of energy I lose is gone until I get near him.

"Keeping my human body takes a lot of energy and the tower is still heavily damaged."

She stared at Kamila with the longing eyes of a puppy abandoned on a sidewalk.

'Why did I ask?' Kamila inwardly kicked herself.

"Do you want to stay the night?" She actually said.

"Yes!" Solus nodded and then bolted inside the house before Kamila could change her mind.

Lith was shocked by her generosity, but even then, he couldn't have predicted how the events would unfold.

Solus shapeshifted her evening dress into loose pajamas and went to the guest room after wishing them a good night.

"Thanks." Lith said after closing the door of their bedroom. "You have no idea how much this means to Solus and me."

"Sure, just don't make it a habit." Kamila sighed. "Gods, those sad eyes should be banned as tier one Forbidden Magic. I made the rules just a few hours ago and I was the first to break them."

"Still, I admire you for your compassion." Lith said with a warm smile. "Bytra's revelations left a deep trauma on Solus. Those events may date back 700 years ago, but it's yesterday for her."

"Sure." She said with an unconvinced tone. "Let's get to sleep. I can't wait for this day to be over."

"Wouldn't you like to-" If you want to read more chapters, visit panda-novel,co,m

"Heck no!" She cut him off. "I don't know if the rooms are soundproof and even if they are, I'm too afraid of your mind link sharing any detail. I don't feel comfortable making love while Solus is under our same roof."

Lith couldn't blame Kamila for her paranoia, but he still shrugged off her worries as groundless.

That was until the door of their room opened less than an hour later and a crying sleepwalking Solus found her way into the bed. Even at a room of distance, Lith was close enough to calm her down, making her fall asleep, while their bond had allowed her to pinpoint his position.

'What the fuck is going on?' Kamila asked via a mind link that Lith had created.

'Beats me. This has never happened before.' The situation was getting more awkward by the second as Solus crawled under the bedsheets, emerging right in-between them.

Luckily, the bed was big enough for all three of them, allowing Lith and Kamila to slide by the side to make room for Solus.

Kamila's eyes went wide and her back stiffened as she expected the unwanted guest to strip or jump on Lith.

'Solus tends to hug people in her sleep, there's nothing to be jealous about if that happens.' Lith said, making her worries grow.

Kamila gritted her teeth and needed all of Jirni's teachings to not let her emotions get the best of her. She had to repress several rude thoughts and the wish of kicking her own ass for allowing Solus to stay.

'This is great! I have another woman in my bed during my honeymoon and you ask me to not be jealous if she spends the whole night hugging you. Do you really expect me to sleep when we don't know what she might do-'

Contrary to her expectations, Solus turned around and embraced Kamila instead. Solus snuggled up to her, burying her face into Kamila's chest while mumbling one word.

"Mom." Solus said as a tear streaked down her cheek.

That and her sniffling made Kamila's anger pop like a bubble.

'Good gods, I had completely failed to consider who I'm dealing with. Solus and Lith are identical. They both had their childhood ruined by a traumatic event and had to grow up fast.' Kamila thought.

'When Lith bonded with Solus, she was back to being a baby. Pure, naïve, and in need of affection. He has never mistreated her, yet he didn't give Solus the care she needed either. She grew up alone and without love again.

'Learning what Bytra did to her mother must have sent her mind back to when Threin died in front of her. Solus' lack of affection runs deep yet she is now too old to ask Raaz and Elina the attentions she seeks, but in her sleep she's honest.

'She has already lost her parents once and the fear of losing Raaz to madness only makes things worse.'

"Shush." Kamila whispered in Solus' ear while returning her embrace and caressing her head. "Mommy's here. It was just a bad dream."

Solus mumbled some gibberish in reply and stopped crying.

After a few minutes, her breathing calmed down and she fell into a deep sleep, yet she refused to let go of Kamila.

'Thanks.' Lith said, moving closer to them.

'You are welcome.' She inwardly sighed. 'I'll consider this practice for when our kids will barge in our room in the middle of the night after a nightmare.'

"Dad?" Solus asked, feeling a familiar presence beside her.

In her mind, she was reliving the memory of when she slept with her parents. It happened every time Elphyn had a bad dream or just felt lonely.

"You are a big girl, Epphy. You are already five years old. Mom and Dad wanted to cuddle." Threin used the code word for sex.

"You can cuddle Mom and me and I can cuddle you." Elphyn begged him with her big eyes while Menadion hurriedly dressed behind her back.

Threin inhaled sharply, cursing the gods for not giving children the ability to sleep a full night or at least read the mood.

"Elphyn, when two adults cuddle, they need to be alone." He said.