"Thank you." Only after hearing those words did Lith return the embrace.

"You are welcome, silly man." Kamila snuggled her face on his chest. "You don't have to worry about me either. I can understand why you kept your origin a secret, but the day I accepted to marry you, I also promised to accept every part of your life.

"Or in your case, lives. If you see me shaken is because I am, but also because I feel confident enough in our relations.h.i.+p to not be forced to pretend that everything is alright when it's not.

"I don't want to wear a mask and neither should you."

"G.o.ds, what the heck did I ever do to deserve someone like you in my life?" Lith held Kamila tighter, losing himself in the sweet scent of her hair that he had feared lost forever.

"A lot." She replied. "Don't get me wrong, you are still a homicidal a.s.shole, but you are my homicidal a.s.shole. You saved your parents from poverty and our respective sisters from illness.

"Even though you carried a lot of secrets since the day of our first date, now I know that you've always been honest about your feelings for me. I will need some time to process today's events but that doesn't mean that I'm pus.h.i.+ng you away."

Once again there was no lie in her words.

Lith remained like that for a while, appreciating that moment without saying anything.

That night they slept simply hugging and when they woke up, Kamila had Solus Warp the tower to Salaark's beach. They watched the sunrise there and spent the rest of the day in the place where their family had been born, promising to return there.

Solus was happy to be part of it, but also a little awkward.

"Are you sure you don't want some privacy?"

She asked while they were sunbathing and Lith experimenting on how his Abomination form reacted to water.

? "Are you kidding me? I can surely use the company of my wife." Kamila chuckled. "Also, you knew about Lith and Derek all along. I need your expertise now more than ever."

"About that, I don't think I can be of much help." Solus replied with a shrug. "To everyone else, they are different people, but to me, there has always been only Lith. I'm not saying that his past as Derek is irrelevant, just that that part of his life had already started to fade by the time I met him.

"His old self, the one that still inhabits his Abomination side, was a hopeless broken man who cared about no one but himself. Even the four years old Lith worried a lot about his family and worked his a.s.s off for them.

"He often lied to them, but never to hurt them. He did it to protect them and himself. You must understand that just like you find it hard to accept his previous incarnations, so does Lith.

"He always worried about how his parents might react if they discovered the truth and he still suffers from some kind of imposter syndrome. The very same lie that allows him to have a second chance at life at the same time keeps him from truly appreciating it."

Those words conjured the memories that Lith had shared with Kamila, making all the times he had called himself a malevolent ghost flash in front of her eyes.

"Now that you know the truth, Lith is as scared of you as you are of him." Solus said. "You hold a power over him like no one else ever did before. You can tear his life and heart apart at any moment and he knows it."

"I would never do such a thing!" Kamila said in outrage, noticing Solus' stare at her womb. "But you are right. Knowing Lith, he's probably picturing some convoluted scenario based on the ghosts in his head right now."

"Indeed." Solus sighed, staring at her own in worry.

"Thanks, Solus." Kamila hugged her. "Thank you for being my rock in this mess and for watching Lith's back. I know how dangerous the Golden Griffon is for you and I wouldn't blame you if you decided to stay out of it."

"It's nothing, Kami." It took her a second to notice that something was off. "Have your b.r.e.a.s.t.s gotten bigger already?"

"A bit, but please don't tell Lith. I don't feel like doing more than cuddles right now."

"Believe me, he knows already." Solus' serious look made her giggle.

***

They returned to the Kingdom at sunrise. Lith alerted Faluel who in turn contacted the Royals, telling them that the crisis had been resolved.

Lith found two Royal Guards waiting in front of his house. They raised their hands and conjured a Warp Gate to Valeron that would leave no trace of his pa.s.sage in the official logs.

Lith and Kamila found themselves in the Throne Room, where the Royals and the Council representatives were waiting for them.

"Is everything alright now, Magus Verhen?" The King had yet to make a full recovery so Sylpha wore the Saefel Armor and carried the Sword at her hip.

She had even set light and darkness sealing arrays, just to be safe.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize for my previous behavior" Lith replied, his voice remaining his own as he shapes.h.i.+fted into his Abomination form. "I don't think there should be any problem, no matter how long I keep this form."

To prove his point, he not only kept his equipment on, but he also took a flower from a nearby vase. There was no sizzling on contact nor did the flower wither, proving Lith's mastery over the Chaos and darkness that comprised his body.

"You gave us a big scare." The Queen took a good look at the elemental energy in his eyes and at his face, searching for any of the twitches that had preceded the previous outburst.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to hurt you. The prolonged exposure to Chaos energy took me by surprise and twisted my mind beyond what I thought possible. Now, however, I know how to deal with it." Lith lied through his teeth.

The elemental flow was steady, with no trace of Decay, and his face was a black slate so s.h.i.+ny that Sylpha could almost see her own reflection bearing the seven eyes looking back at her.

For some reason, it creeped her out even more than the funny haircut made of black flames. She almost felt drawn to her own distorted image, her consciousness pulled by an unknown force.

Yet her will was strong and just averting her gaze made her snap out of whatever it was.

"Excellent. I have no intention of pressing charges against you since you warned us about the risks that taking your Abomination form might entail. Our deal is still valid.

"Yet I'm not so na?ve that I would miss how you deep down probably think most of the things you said while under the influence of Chaos. We have a lot to discuss, but time is of the essence.

"Since your Abomination form is now stable and we can consider the matter of your outburst settled, it's time to introduce our secret weapon to you."