2373 Under the Spotlight (Part 1)

"Why do you think Kami rolled her eyes when I told her that I was coming to Valeron as well?" Lith asked.

"Maybe because you don't allow her to walk up a single flight of stairs and open a Steps for her? Because you move her chair for her every time and carry her suitcase for her?" Solus said with a sneer. "She's pregnant, not crippled."

"She's in the third month!" Lith said in outrage. "What if she exerts herself? What if she or the baby gets hurt?"

"Never mind." Solus rolled her eyes and gave up after remembering Elina's words.

"Curb your worry, Lith. Women got pregnant in the past and they survived even when neither they nor their husbands had a shred of magical power." Orion ignored Lith's hand and gave him a brief embrace, patting his shoulder.

"Really? Were you calm when Jirni was pregnant with Gunyin?" Lith was surprised to see Orion there, let alone back to work and wearing all the insignia of his rank.

"Are you kidding me? I princess carried her everywhere, even from bed to the breakfast table." Orion said with an embarrassed laugh. "I can't prove it, but I'm certain that at one point she started to drug me to get me out of her hair and move around freely for a few hours."

"Then what's the point of your words?" Lith furrowed a brow.

"To tell you not to worry and that everything will be much simpler with the second child." Orion shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yes." Orion nodded. "I got drugged only once or twice then. At the third child, I had learned to keep my nerves in check."

"How come you are here, Orion?" Solus asked in worry.

"Jirni is staying home and I can't afford to take a sabbatical at the same time. The reputation of House Ernas is already bad due to…" Orion took a deep breath and clenched his hands. "Phloria's betrayal. We need to show our loyalty to the Kingdom.

"On top of that, if I stay home one more day, I'll go insane. I'm terrible with marriage preparations and just choosing the doilies for the centerpieces makes me want to rip my hair out."

"You and me both." Lith sighed at the memory of his own ceremony.

"Also, Jirni needs her space and so do I. We've gotten to the point that staring at each other's face all day just reminds us of our loss and makes the pain worse." Orion sighed.

"Since we are at it, why are you here, Solus? Even better, how did you get past the security?"

"I brought her here for the same reason I called Friya." Lith pointed behind Orion and at his daughter who had just appeared from around a corner. "They are both part of the DoLorean project and I want to give them the recognition they deserve."

"Hi, Dad." Friya waved her hand as Orion gawked at her.

Her hair was in its natural state, showing the seven elemental streaks.

"What does this mean?" When he managed to speak, his voice was reduced to a whisper.

"Friya is the only dimensional mage I know and I couldn't make Warping runes on my own. Solus, instead, is a Light Master better than I am. I devised the DoLorean but they each made one of the three pseudo cores required.

"I didn't mention their contribution until now because Solus' magical prowess was a secret and because I didn't want to force Friya to choose between her duty toward her family and our friendship.

"Now, however, everyone knows about the Golden Knight and since I'm sharing the blueprints for the DoLorean, Friya is no longer between a rock and a hard place." Lith replied.

"I was talking about this!" Orion pointed at her hair, even using a diagnostic spell to make sure it wasn't just a dye or Body Sculpting.

"I got them with my Awakening, Dad." Friya replied. "With the existence of the Awakened Council known to the upper echelons of the Kingdom and their alliance with the Crown, I don't have to hide my status anymore."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Orion sounded hurt.

"Because explaining the appearance of seven streaks where until a day before there was none would have also meant revealing to you the existence of the Awakened and my deal with Faluel." Friya lowered her gaze in embarrassment.

"As Lith said, now you already know about that stuff so I don't have to hide anymore."

"Damn, kid. I'm so sorry." Orion gave her a deep bow.

"You are sorry? For what?" Friya tried to make her father stand tall but he didn't budge.

"For being such a crappy father that you didn't trust me enough to share your secrets with me." Orion replied. "Now I can tell Raaz that I know how walking a mile in his shoes feels."

Friya opened her mouth, but no plausible explanation came to her mind, leaving it hanging.

"I'm sorry too, Dad. I should have trusted you."

"Damn right you are." Orion hugged her, forcing her to straighten up. "I can't believe it. My Little Rainbow is Magus material and as talented as Silverwing. I'm proud of you, sweetie."

"Dad, no!" Friya blushed in embarrassment at both the public display of affection and her new unwanted moniker.

"Little Rainbow. It sounds nice." Lith grinned at Solus.

'Thank the gods I kept my own streaks hidden.' She thought.

"It sounds adorable." Solus actually said.

After letting Friya go, Orion led them to the main office of the Royal Forgemastery department.

It was a large circular room with a diameter of about 40 meters (130'). At its center, there was a huge Forge-shaped round table and at least fifty chairs. Lined up against the walls were cabinets filled with documents and apprentices ready to provide their mentors with anything they might need.

Lith could feel the hair on his neck stand up due to the massive amount of mana in the air. Every single piece of furniture and paper was heavily enchanted. There were more spells in the room than in one floor of the tower. Yet.

Solus and Lith were surprised to notice that among those present there was Archmage Kwart, former Headmistress Onia, and all the Council representatives of the four races.

"In accordance with our deal with the Royals, we'll take a look at your Void Magic and work to convert it into true magic." Lotho's words made every human in the room twist their face in an angry grimace. "The Council praises you, Magus Verhen."

"Why those long faces?" Inxialot tormented a piece of rotten flesh hanging from his chin, making the Royal Forgemasters emit retching sounds. "You should be happy. I mean, despite being fake mages who have to babble runes and wave your arms like idiots, you are gaining a lot."

"We aren't fake mages!" Headmaster Lema of the Fire Griffon said with a snarl. "We are mages. Period."

"Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that." Inxialot laughed his ass off, drawing even the glares from his peers in the Council.

"Enough!" Raagu said. "Magus Verhen, if you please."

She used Lith's human title in respect for her hosts.