"Is this guy for real or is he just someone you"ve made up to avoid the crossfire?" Friya asked.

"Kallion is real and just for your information, he is my boyfriend." Phloria didn"t even try to hide the pride in her voice. She had much more difficulty compared to her sisters finding someone to date.

Phloria was a very tall woman by Mogar"s standards with her 1.8 (5"11") meters. She had long black hair with shades of blue, hazel eyes, and the build of a professional swimmer.

Her features weren"t as cute as Quylla"s and she was nowhere as curvy as Friya. She was taller, stronger, and magically more powerful than most of the male population, which made her quite intimidating at first sight.

Even a second or third might not help. Phloria was pretty, but her serious expression coupled with her physique gave the impression she could kill a man with just one hand.

When her suitors discovered it actually was an easy feat for her, they would usually run away.

"Why have you never mentioned him before?" Jirni was really curious to meet this Kallion. He had to be either a remarkable man or a fool.

"Because I wasn"t sure if he is looking for a fling, a relations.h.i.+p, or something more. Actually, I"m still not sure. Since I don"t think that more dates can clear things up, I decided to see if he"s willing to meet you and he said yes."

She said while gloating at the thought that her worst fears hadn"t come to pa.s.s. Kallion"s choice meant he was serious about them, otherwise he wouldn"t dare face her parents.

"Whatever. I bet he is a fool." Orion"s voice was sour like an unripe lemon.

"You should have kept the little monster. He at least had a spine. Not to mention he is collecting t.i.tles like they are autumn leaves. G.o.ds, I never thought I would say it, but I miss him so much."

"Dad, you never liked Lith when he was my boyfriend! You never like any of them. I"m sure that if we were to get back together you wouldn"t like him again!" Phloria rebuked, obtaining an approving nod from the rest of the family.

"Phloria is right, dad." Friya said. "Try not to ruin everything for Quylla and Phloria. We deserve your support, not your sabotage."

"I"m really glad to hear that, dear." Jirni said with a soft smile that gave her daughters the creeps. It was the kind of warm, motherly smile that she usually displayed before landing a killing blow.

"It would have been so awkward introducing Lith"s lovely girlfriend to you otherwise." As usual, Jirni didn"t disappoint them. Most of their tea fell onto the table while a couple of cups broke into pieces. Phloria"s and Orion"s.

"It"s over. Jirni already met her and she is giving her approval. She would never call a gold digger "lovely"." Orion inwardly griped, feeling his heart sink.

"Her name is Kamila. She is a smart woman who will become my apprentice in a while."

"Are they…" Phloria attempted to ask with a casual tone.

"Planning to marry?" Jirni interrupted her to land another sucker punch. "Maybe. All I can tell you is that they seemed really close back in Othre and Elina was crazy about her after Lith brought Kamila home a few months ago for his birthday."

The rest of the cups shattered in unison, making the butler emit a low whine. He had just finished cleaning the floor for the second time in less than five minutes.

"Too bad, I liked him." Lucky said. "He had a pleasant smell and whenever Phloria was worried about my weight, he slimmed me down a bit."

"First, he"s not dead. Second, he did what?" Even though they broke up three years back, Phloria still felt a bit hurt at the idea that even after being together through thick and thin she had only sc.r.a.ped the surface of the living mystery that was Lith.

At the same time, learning he had cared so much for her that he had even kept Lucky healthy, deeply moved her. Phloria wasn"t the kind of woman who would dwell on the past.

She had moved on, yet she had never forgotten about what they had and what they could have become. Jirni didn"t miss the lingering affection reflected in her daughter"s eyes and exploited that moment to give Phloria advice.

"I understand why you left him and in hindsight, I think you did the right thing. You were too young and had yet to discover who you really were or what you wanted. Now things are different. Sometimes you have to take a step back before being able to move forward."

Jirni had no desire to force Phloria or Lith into a relations.h.i.+p. It was their life, their choice. She only wanted them to realize how much they meant to each other and that they didn"t have much time left before their feelings turned into nothing more than a pleasant memory.

***

Trawn Woods, Solus"s Tower.

Unlike the rest of her family, Tista had no need for Jirni"s etiquette boot camp. The Verhen household had never missed one of her birthdays. They were nervous as heck but up to the challenge.

The more Lith"s and Tista"s reputations grew, the more often they would be involved in social events. They had decided it was time to suck it up and stop avoiding the problem.

Tista would have loved to spend some time with Quylla and Friya. They had become good friends during her time at the academy, when Quylla was retaking her fifth year.

Solus took priority, though. Tista had never heard Solus so shaken and the opportunity to spend a few days together without Lith meddling was too good to turn it down.

"Wow, you are gorgeous!" Tista said after Solus showed her humanoid body to her.

"If that"s a joke, it"s not funny. I"m a midget and even if this is actually a template of my real body, I have no d.a.m.n features. I could look like a witch, have green skin, or only my maker knows what." Solus pouted.

Being called gorgeous by Tista sounded more condescending than complimentary. Even if Solus"s real face was that of a G.o.ddess, she would still look like an ugly duckling compared to her friend.

"Someone is really grumpy today. Are you sure my brother isn"t around?" Tista was surprised and hurt by Solus"s outburst. She had just arrived and knew nothing about the wargs mission.

Tista thought that after longing for a body for so long, Solus would rejoice and hug her. Such behavior was completely out of character.

"I wish he was here." Solus sobbed. Small drops of golden light streamed down her face, disappearing the moment they left her skin.

"At least I could blame him for how I feel. I wouldn"t have to face this horrible void that is eating me from the inside alone. How can you people stand all of this silence? It"s driving me crazy!" Her shout echoed throughout the tower.

Like it had happened in Othre, Solus and Lith were so far from each other that their mind link was broken, no matter how hard she tried. Back then, though, the separation had only lasted for a little while and she had been so worried that her mind was kept busy.

Now she had remained completely alone for hours until Tista had finished her business and joined her. During that time, Solus had realized that her problems were worse than she thought.