"By the gods, Mom, shut up and let me do the talking!" Nok rolled over his back, exposing the soft fur of his belly to look as harmless as he could before explaining the whole story from the beginning.

"So you adopted Nyka once you understood that she had been reborn as an entirely new person." Elina said.

"Correct." Kalla nodded. "Do you mind offering me something to eat? Nurturing the crystal on my neck takes a lot of energy and being clobbered doesn't help. Also, the kids have a lot of things to say to each other and I don't want to embarrass them further with my presence."

"Sure. Follow me to the kitchen. I'm sure we have many things to talk about." Elina said while making way to the pantry.

"Food? Kitchen?" Nok's stomach rumbled from all those emotions and the strict diet. "I think I'll join you. I'm not interested in girls' talk."

The three of them walked away while the girls went to Solus's room, taking a bath in the hot springs that Salaark had given to each one of her guests in the place of a bathtub.

Tista told Nyka about how after reaching the blue core she had become a Wyrmling as well and how she had been struggling with her newfound double nature. Then, it was Solus's turn to share with her friend everything that had happened since the events in Lightkeep.

"Wow!" The Vampire said with a face that didn't match her words. "You girls are boring. After all this time, all you have to talk about is work? I wonder who among us is really dead and who is alive!"

Nyka then told them about how after moving to Lightkeep she had met lots of people, both living and undead, spending most of her free time at social events.

"I have a boyfriend now." She said, puffing her chest out with pride.

"Is he nice?" Tista was sick and tired of the handsome yet obnoxious men she had met in the Awakened community.

"Is it serious?" Solus asked.

"Respectively yes and no." Nyka replied, conjuring a life-sized image of her boyfriend from the gurgling water.

It took the semblance of a man with the features typical of the Griffon Kingdom. He was as tall as Nyka and had a kind yet sad look in his eyes.

"Ikaros is a nice guy, but I don't think our relationship will last." Nyka shrugged. "He's a thrall waiting to be turned into a Banshee and I bet that once it happens, he will be too busy learning how to control his powers and hunger to care about me.

"On top of that, I don't mind a Banshee's flirty attitude in a friend, but if it was my boyfriend, I'd kick his ass before dumping him."

"Then why are you dating him?" Solus asked.

"Because I have to start from somewhere and I'm tired of being alone. What about you two? Did you meet someone interesting?" Nyka said.

"No." Solus replied.

"I wish." Tista groaned.

"How is it even possible? Tista, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met and you, Solus, finally have your body back while Lith is single. Why didn't you ask him already to get his magical sword inside your enchanted cave and drive out the evil Dragon?" Nyka asked, making Solus turn to a bright shade of purple.

"What the heck is the Dragon supposed to be in this metaphor?" Tista laughed at Solus's expense while she plunged into the water to hide her face.

"I have no idea. It just sounded fitting." Nyka replied and Tista laughed harder.

"You've got nothing to laugh about, young Lady. At least Solus has only been back in the game for less than one month and she still has lots of limitations. What's your excuse?"

"I got plenty. I live in the shadow of my brother, there's a madman targeting our friends-"

"That's bullshit and you know it. I mean the real reason." Nyka cut her short.

"First, I had trouble finding a boyfriend because they only cared either about my body or getting close to Lith." Tista sighed. "I had placed my hopes in the Awakened community, but after our bloodline became of public dominion, they treat me like a breeding ground.

"I've just gone from being surrounded by gold diggers to baby diggers. I'm sick and tired of being approached by people that want something from me instead of just being interested in me. How the heck did Lith find someone like Kamila?"

"By getting his ass out there and taking risks!" Nyka said. "I can't believe that I, the youngest of the group, have to teach you the ropes."

Tista hid in the water as well, dipping up to her mouth.

"Speaking of risks, Solus, you've know Lith for a long time and you two even fused more than once. Have you tried walking in his room wearing nothing but a smile? I'm sure it-"

"How's Vladion's investigation going?" Solus said, eager to change the topic.

"Not well. Ever since you guys left Lightkeep, he has been rarely at home. He stayed only long enough to Awaken me and teach me the basics of Blood Magic. Then he sent me to the academy and went out in search for the copycat." Nyka said.

"The last time I heard from him, he said to be close to the solution."

***

Valeron, Knight's Guard Headquarters.

After Quylla's staged death and filing for divorce, it had taken a long while for Lord Ernas to go back to a semblance of normality.

Time had failed to heal the wounds that Jirni, the person Orion had always thought that he would spend his whole life with, had inflicted upon him by breaching his trust in such a cruel way.

Alcohol had only made it worse and so did loneliness. Yet with all the troubles that plagued the Kingdom, the Royals had soon needed his help and Orion's sense of duty managed to give him the strength to escape his slow spiraling into depression.

He spent so much time working to keep his mind busy that he hadn't seen his children in weeks. When Phloria walked into his office at the Knight's Guard, he didn't even notice it was her.

"About time. I'm almost done with the paperwork. What's our next assignment?" He barely raised his eyes enough to look at the newcomer's boots and assumed that it was his secretary.

"What about lunch with a beautiful lady?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested in blind dates, Drowald? Stop trying to fix me- My little Flower!" He stood up from his chair and went to give his daughter a proper welcome.

"Hi, Dad." Phloria chuckled. "What about that lunch?"

"I'm in a bit of a tight schedule, but I think I can squeeze the time for a quick meal." Orion looked at her with pride.

Phloria was supposed to have already reached her prime yet he could feel just by her handshake that she had grown stronger from the last time they had met.. She had also become cuter, but to his fatherly eyes, she had always been the most beautiful girl on Mogar so the change only made her fit better to the image Orion had of her.

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