2087 Safely Endangered (Part 3)

"You are the best daughter-in-law I could ask for, Kamila. May the gods bless you and the baby." Elina said.

"We can do that, but do you realize that it's just bullshit?" Salaark asked. "Words are just words, it's our physical presence that matters."

"Stop ruining this for me!" Elina still had a hard time accepting that the gods she had become used to calling upon ever since she was a child were now right in front of her.

She dragged Lith with her, leaving Kamila alone with the crowd.

For someone with no family, being surrounded by strangers that were all smiles and nice with her was beyond creepy. She had met only a few of the guests on the day of her second marriage ceremony and they had just exchanged pleasantries.

Now every one of them wanted to congratulate her, hold her, and of course, touch her womb to look at the baby with Invigoration.

Kamila tried everything she could to escape the encirclement but the Dragons and Phoenixes gave her no quarter until they had what they had flown across Mogar for.

"What's wrong with Dad?" Lith asked, but Elina just kept dragging him toward a huge table filled with beverages of all kinds.

Raaz was sitting in a chair, holding a drink in one hand while with his other arm he embraced Leegaain. Both man and Guardian were clearly drunk from one toast too many and bawling their eyes out.

"My baby boy is going to become a father." Raaz repeated in-between hiccups to anyone who tried to take the glass away from him.

"I can't wait for that little love bean to grow." Leegaain said amid tears. "There are so many things that I want to teach them. I'm going to be a grandfather again!"

"Okay, what the heck is going on?" Lith couldn't bear his father's wails whereas the Guardian's cries were literally bursting his eardrums once he had entered the Hush zone that surrounded the table.

"I get that Dad has become emotional since he waited years for this moment, but the old lizard? He can't stand me, he never could. Why is he acting this way?"

"Because even though he doesn't think of you as someone of his kind due to the way you acquired his blood, the baby is a different story." Milea Genys, the Magic Empress replied.

"They are blameless, carrying a pure and stable bloodline that branched off Leegaain's. He couldn't love them less even if they were his own."

"Really?" Lith asked in disbelief.

"Really. The fact that he almost razed the Empire to the ground when the baby was attacked speaks volumes about his feelings." Milea nodded. "Congratulations, by the way. Consider yourself an honorary citizen of the Empire.

"Our borders will always be open for you and your family."

"Thanks." Lith offered her his hands, freezing up when she disregarded it and hugged him. "Wait, what?"

Milea didn't reply, letting him go just to throw him into Surtr's arms.

"I can't believe you followed my advice so quickly, little brother. Let's toast to the first of many Demons."

"I beg your pardon?" The moment Surtr let go of Lith, a glass filled with an amber-colored liquid was shoved in his hand which he was then forced to drink.

"I've waited all day for this moment. Come here!" A burly blonde man over 2 meters (6'7") tall with golden wings coming out of his back squeezed Lith in a bear hug. "I kicked Thrud's ass for you so the least you can do is share a drink with me."

"Do I know you?" Lith's confusion only grew after Gentor instead of replying shoved him to Sinmara, who in turn passed him to Fafnir, and then to the rest of the family.

"Is this a celebration or some kind of elaborate form of torture?" He asked while panting after Tista had rescued him from the cheery mob. "With all those toasts, I think I have drunk my body weight in alcohol."

"How dare you complain?" Kamila came out of the crowd as well, dragged by Rena.

Her hair was so disheveled that she seemed to have been rescued from a storm, her clothes were completely crumpled despite their self-ironing spells, and she was absolutely livid.

"I swear to the gods, if one more person touches me, I'm going to paint these halls red with blood!" Her oath was welcomed by the Phoenixes with a cheer and then they toasted to that.

"Don't be a sourpuss, lil bro." Tista chuckled but still used a darkness spell to cancel his stinky breath. "We've kept the best for last."

Lith and Kamila had been brought to a long table where the rest of the family and their friends had patiently waited for them.

"Congratulations, Kami!" Zinya walked toward her sister with open arms, remaining offended when Kamila stared at them like venomous snakes and refused to get close.

"Please, no, Zin. I beg you." Kamila was moved to tears finally seeing someone she actually cared about and on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the idea of being touched again.

"Are you telling me that I can't embrace my only sister on this joyous day?"

"Define joyous." Kamila bought herself some time by drinking a glass of water and straightening her clothes. "Can it wait for a couple of hours? Maybe tomorrow would be be-"

"Don't be silly." Zinya ignored her and went for the hug. "After being alone for most of our lives, you should be happy that so many people care for you."

When she caressed Kamila's womb, her eye twitched and it took her sheer willpower to not punch Zinya in the face. The repressed anger triggered a pulse of Spirit Magic that shattered a few glasses.

"Okay, I'll let you go now." Seeing her sister being scared of her, made Kamila's rage disappear.

"I'm sorry, Zin. I'm really happy to have you here after such a long day but right now, every hug is a hug too many. Just give me a minute of rest, please."

"Don't worry, I forgive you. This time." Zinya added the last part with a snort. "By the way do you want to know the gender of the baby or do you want it to be a surprise?"

"How can you possibly know already? The last time I checked it was this big and that was a few hours ago." Lith's thumb and index finger were about 2 cm (0,8') apart.

"Salaark." Zinya replied and the rest of the table nodded.

"Thanks, I'd rather it to be a surprise." Lith and Kamila said in unison but for completely different reasons.

'With my luck, they might actually be twins or triplets. I've had enough thrills for today.' She thought.

'If it's a boy I'd live with the terror of losing him like it happened with Carl. If it's a girl…' Lith's mind froze at the memory of all the problems that Tista had gone through as a child and then as a teen.

"Can we congratulate you or are you going to smash something to smithereens as well?" Rena's voice snapped him out of it and told him that she wasn't joking.