2363 A Long Path (Part 1)

Yet how and where to procure the fodder to fuel Vastor's Madness would also have to wait for another day, because another unexpected storm was incoming.

"I can't wait to rub this in the face of all those stuck-up nobles who always badmouth you in the Royal Court, Zogar." Zinya chuckled. "Between your achievement and your new training schedule, I'll have to fight to keep other women's hands off you."

"I'm sorry, Zin, but that won't be a problem." He hugged her, losing himself in her warmth.

"What do you mean?"

"Zogar Vastor was sent off with you. I fought as the Master. No one will ever know of my involvement. It would expose my real strength and my affiliation with the Eldritches." He replied.

"Let me get this straight." She pushed him away to look him straight in the eyes. "You put your life on the line and replaced Valeron in the array. I risked losing my husband and my children their father, yet no one will ever know?

"Are you telling me that Lith, the Queen, and Marth will once again hog all the glory? That after everything you have done, your name will be kept off the records? That those idiots in the Royal Court will mock you thinking that you cowardly abandoned the Kingdom before the final battle?"

Zinya's voice was cold and filled with outrage, but not toward her husband. It was the Kingdom she resented and its people she despised. Zinya found them ungrateful and cruel, wishing them the worst.

"Yes, but you and the kids know. That's the only thing that matters to me." Vastor shrugged. "I have your love, your respect, and for one day, I stood equal to the First King. I don't care for the glory, no one can take this away from me."

"Oh, Zogar. You are too kind for your own good. Those people don't deserve you." Zinya hugged him, sniffling.

She needed sheer willpower to not cry at the injustice and curse the whole Kingdom. She didn't want to ruin that moment for her husband or the kids. Despite her good intentions, Zinya managed to make Vastor feel even worse.

"There, there. We need to celebrate. I need a bath, a meal, and after that, we can do whatever we want." He caressed her back. "I know that you kids are all grown up, but since today I gave you such a scare, what do you say if tonight we all sleep together?"

Filia and Frey looked at him in confusion, taking a step back.

"What's with that face?" Vastor was even more confused. "If you don't want to, just say it."

"They've never slept with their parents, Zogar." Zinya rushed to explain.

"What?"

"Fallmug didn't allow me to stay close to the children nor them to bother him at night." She replied.

"What if they had a nightmare? What if they had a fever?" He asked in disbelief.

"He would either lock them in their room or order a servant to look after them." Zinya clenched her fists.

'Gods, I wish I knew it back then.' Vastor thought in outrage. 'I would have made sure that Fallmug suffered for much, much longer before his execution.'

"Okay. So do you want to sleep with Mom and Dad? Yes or no?" He actually said, smiling.

"Can we?" They looked at Zinya, afraid to be a bother to them.

"Of course you can." Zinya nodded. "Thank you, Zogar." She whispered in his ear.

"We need to talk. How could you not tell me such a thing sooner?" He whispered back, making her stiffen for a second.

She would have never expected that their first quarrel wouldn't be triggered by Vastor's secrets or her jealousy, but by his wounded fatherly pride. Zinya not involving him wholly in Frey's and Filia's life had made Vastor feel left out.

Zinya just smiled, looking at her children's happy faces and thanking the gods for blessing her with the perfect man. Her only wish was for that happiness to never end.

***

Blood Desert, Heavenly Plume Palace. Sundown for the Kingdom but dawn for the Desert.

Lith had felt weird having lunch when it was dinnertime for him and even weirder going to sleep when the sun had started to rise on the horizon. Yet his biological clock was set to the Kingdom and his body was in dire need of rest.

"I can't believe it." He said while looking at the ceiling of the bedroom of the dream house in the tower. "In one day, the War of the Griffon is over, I said goodbye to Phloria, Quylla is choosing the date for her marriage, and Friya is single again."

"How can you blame her?" Kamila chuckled. "Nalrond was such a jackass that in her shoes I would have sicked Orion, Jirni, and the whole Ernas guard at him. Don't you ever do something so insensitive to me, are we clear?"

"Crystal." Lith nodded. "Do you mind if we just sleep? I'm really tired."

"What do you mean, if I mind?" She blinked several times in confusion.

"Well, I know that you are a pervert and that you have your needs. I really love that you can't keep your hands off me, but right now I'm in dire need of sleep." Lith used a dramatic tone, speaking as if he was usually forced to indulge her in their amorous plays.

"I'm the pervert? Since when?" Kamila punched his shoulder.

"Then what's that?" Lith pointed at the white silk roman toga that he could see in her closet.

It had a deep neckline and side slits on either side that would leave most of her legs exposed at every step she took.

"The standard uniform of a Dragon's maiden." She blushed a little in embarrassment. "You are also a Dragon and I thought that maybe we could make a historically accurate re-enactment of their master-apprentice relationship some time."

"Where did you even get the idea?"

"Today I've met Valeron the Second's handmaidens. One thing led to another and I had Grandma make one for me." She glossed over the part about the baby being there as well and the uniform of her choosing being the most demure in Salaark's closet.

"As I said, a pervert." Lith chuckled.

Kamila blushed harder, glad that she had yet to procure the rest of the material for their romantic evening. It would have just proved his point further.

"Thank you, Kami." He said after a while.

"For the dress?" She snapped out of it.

"For always being there for me when I'm weak. For loving even the parts of me I struggle to accept. For helping me to collect my pieces when I fall apart. I will never thank you enough for asking me to marry you and giving me a daughter." Lith drew her close in a tender embrace.

"Silly man." She returned the embrace. "I'll remember these words when it's your turn to take care of the baby and you try to dump your chores on me."

"I call bullshit." Lith looked her in the eyes. "I can promise you right now that if that's what you want, I'll take care of Elysia on my own."