2814 Still Burning (Part 2)

"It's our warmth and affection that turned an Abomination into a loving father and husband. Even if Lith didn't share one drop of our blood, I wouldn't love him any less for it and I would still call him my son." Raaz said.

"So that's it?" Leegaain asked.

"I've waited seventeen years for Lith to tell me that he was an Awakened hybrid. I can wait seventeen more. I can wait as long as the gods will give on Mogar for all I care." Raaz walked out of the Hush zone and to Lith's rescue.

"How could you do that? Elysia is just a child!" Elina rocked the still-crying baby girl in her arms. "Babies are bound to make mistakes and it's our duty as parents to stop them and teach them better.

"Not to scare them like that and guilt trip them to teach them a lesson."

"I agree with you, Mom." Lith replied. "The only problem is that babies her age aren't supposed to do anything. Look at Surin!"

The other baby girl spent most of her time in the arms of a member of the family or in her crib. At the moment, she was staring at the holograms of small fish that moved in circles right above her head.

"The worst she can do is suck on a blanket or drool all over us when we hold her. The worst Elysia can do is kill someone."

"True, but I still think you went overboard." Elina nodded. "There must be a healthier way to handle her powers."

"Come on, dear, cut him some slack." Raaz wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It was just the magical equivalent of a puppet show. Elysia learned her lesson and no one got hurt for real.

"Remember that our granddaughter has special needs and we must trust our son to do what's better for her."

"Thanks, Dad. If you have any suggestions, Mom, I'm all ears." Lith crossed his arms. "I'm a first-time father and Elysia is a one-of-a-kind baby. I have no idea how to deal with her."

"That's not true! Plenty of Divine Beasts had children with humans in the past. They must have encountered similar problems and solved them. Right, Sinmara?" Elina asked.

"Indeed." The Phoenix of Darkness replied. "The trick is to keep them away from non-Divine Beasts with the exception of their human parent. The babies are not violent with them and small blasts like the one Elysia produced earlier are barely a sting for someone my size."

"Excellent idea!" Lith clapped his hands in mock enthusiasm. "I'll take Elysia away and you won't see her until she's old enough to control her powers. How does it sound?"

"Say that again, young man, and I will…" Elina stopped mid-sentence, her face going blank.

Her brain didn't register Lith being taller, stronger, and magically gifted. To her, he was still her baby and she saw him as such. The problem was that any threat that she could think of was painful for her.

She would never threaten Lith physically or emotionally. The idea of cutting him out from any family event out of petty revenge was absurd. She wanted to win the argument, but her motherly heart vetoed everything her brain could concoct before it reached her mouth.

"I will cry." She pouted.

"Oh, great. Now we have three babies throwing a tantrum, Dad." Lith snorted.

"Lith!" Elina blushed in embarrassment.

She knew that she sounded childish but it was the only option she had left.

"Don't you dare call your mother a baby, young man!" Raaz held her tight and raised his finger at Lith in mock outrage.

"Thanks, dear."

"Especially when she acts like one. That's my job." He burst out laughing.

"Very funny!" Elina nudged him. "I can see where our son gets his attitude. We'll talk about this later."

"Like father, like son." Raaz shrugged, looking at her with loving eyes.

After Lith had revealed his Abomination half to the family, Elina too had considered the eventuality that the soul inside Lith's body might not belong to the original baby. Unlike Raaz, however, she had never questioned Lith's identity.

He was her son and there was no revelation that could change her mind about that. Now that he knew the truth, Raaz felt proud of her. Her words made his heart feel lighter, glad that she had been right all along.

***

East coast of the Griffon Kingdom, Lith's tower, a few days later.

"I still can't believe this thing can travel through Mogar and beyond in an instant." Rena opened a window, letting the salty breeze reach her nose.

That morning, she had asked Lith and Solus for a ride. They had watched the sunrise from the moon, watched it again during breakfast in the warmth of Salaark's beach house, and now for a third time in the Kingdom.

For everyone else, it was still breakfast time but she was ready for lunch.

"Glad that you are enjoying yourself, big sis." Lith moved around the kitchen with Elysia strapped on his back in the baby carrier. "Are you sure you don't want to bring Senton along? He must feel left out again."

"Gods, I never thought the day would come when you would be the one trying to make my husband feel welcome at family events." She chuckled. "You spent most of the time you two were in the same room glaring at him."

"Yes, and I was a jerk." Lith nodded. "Also, this can hardly be called a family event. There's only you, me, Solus, and Elysia here."

"Dya!" The baby girl flailed her arms and legs in excitement

She had no idea what was going on but she liked the pretty light in the sky. Also, the smell of food meant it was feeding time.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have brought here Solus and my lovely niece either, if you three weren't a package deal." Rena moved to his back and played with Elysia.

"I'm sorry. I know you asked for a private meeting but I still can't get away from her." Lith sighed. "As for Solus, if anything were to happen to her and the tower was too far away for her to get back inside the stone ring, there's no telling what might happen to her human form."

"I know." Rena sniffed the delicious smell of the mushroom risotto he was cooking. "It's no big deal since Solus would sooner or later learn about our talk anyway and Elysia won't understand much of what we say."

Lith stirred the pot and nodded.

'This is weird. Ever since she married, Rena and I have rarely spent time alone. She has never asked me for a private ride of the tower before.' He thought.

"I'm sorry, Rena." Solus blushed a bit, giving her a small bow. "I hate to intrude on you two so if you want, I can shut myself in the ring and give you privacy."

"There's no need for it, but thank you for the offer." Under her warm smile, Rena still couldn't wrap her head around what kind of relationship Solus had with her brother nor believe that such a young-looking woman was actually over 700 years old.