Supreme Magus

Chapter 3497 Captured (Part 2)

?Chapter 3497 Captured (Part 2)

The Brood didn't care much about its members, especially if one of them put himself into trouble like Xedros or Syrook did. Attacking a Dragon would incur revenge only if it was a gratuitous and malicious act, and only if the Dragon died.

There was only one exception to the rule: Hatchlings.

Attacking a Dragon whelp was always punished by death. When the footage of the Awakened trying to kill Shargein spread like wildfire among the Brood, so did the Origin Flames among the ruins of their associates' secret labs.

One by one, those who had helped Garvi and Janya were captured and brought to the Blood Desert where Leegaain's interrogation techniques and Salaark's mind-reading abilities pulled out the names of more Awakened to add to the list.

In less than a day the entire conspiracy was exposed and uprooted but there was no telling if more were brewing. On top of that, with Shargein's identity exposed, now no one would attack while the Wyrmling was around.

Blood Desert, Heavenly Plume tribe, Salaark's Palace.

Elina refused to delay her plans and while Lith went to fetch the missing ingredients, she started cooking a late dinner for everyone.

"Cooking helps me relax as much as eating should do for you." She said with a chuckle. "I bet that everyone skipped dinner. Am I right?"

A choir of grumbling stomachs answered her question.

After learning about the kidnapping attempt, their appetite was gone and their bellies remained twisted into a knot until they were certain that Elina was fine, both physically and mentally.

Rena helped Elina with the preparations the old-fashioned way while Aran and Leira used their magic. The cooking skills of the rest of the family would have made Elina's job harder so they were careful to stay out of Elina's hair while trying to act as normal as possible.

Raaz and Solus were the ones who had taken it worse.

"Are you alright, Dad?" Trion offered Raaz a strong liquor that he gulped down like medicine.

"No, son, but thank you for asking." Raaz smiled and chatted whenever Elina looked in his direction, but the moment she turned around, his expression turned grim and his hands started to shake. "Seeing your mother like that stirred bad memories that I believed to have overcome. I was wrong."

Solus was pale and remained silent unless spoken to holding Menadion's hand under the table in despair as if her mother could disappear the moment Solus loosened her grip.

'What's wrong, sweetie? Everything is fine.'Ripha said via a mind link. 'Elina is fine.

There's no need to be so tense."

'Nothing's fine, Mom.'Solus replied. I've already lost everything once. When I saw Elina lying in bed, I feared it was going to happen again. Please, don't take this the wrong way but for years she has been the only mother I knew.

'Even when I was still trapped in the ring, she taught me everything about love and how to care for others. After Lith introduced me to his family, Elina was the one who took me in first.

'It's only thanks to her if as I regained my memories about us, I understood what a terrible person I was, and how much you've loved me from the shadows. I can't stand losing her no more than losing you again, Mom.'

'I know, sweetie.' Menadion gently returned the hold. 'I was there.'

Lith had taken it worse than anyone else. Not only did he feel responsible for putting Elina's life at risk but, for a moment, he had relieved the pain of seeing Carl's dead body on the metal stretcher of the morgue.

It was the reason he had volunteered to go and buy the rest of the ingredients.

'I can't let them see me like this.' He thought. Most of all, I don't want to add my trauma to Solus."

By the time he returned to the Desert, his emotions were back under control and he acted like everything was fine.

"Let me help you, Mom, or we won't be done eating this feast before midnight." Lith joined her in the kitchen, using his magic to speed up everything.

"Thank you, dear." Elina gave him a warm but stiff smile.

Once they were done cooking, everyone sat down at the table.

At first the dinner was silent, but the more the adults ate and drank, the more they relaxed. The children only had a vague idea of what had happened so when the mood of their parents improved, so did theirs.

Everyone eagerly finished their plates, even the dishes they didn't like, in order to keep Elina happy.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, Mom?" Despite Raaz's and Elina's best efforts, their expressions tensed from time to time, making Aran worry.

"Of course, dear." Elina caressed his hair while inwardly thanking the gods for letting her return to her family. "Do you mind if we also keep Surin in the room, Raaz? She must be scared and I want to reassure her everything is fine."

"Excellent idea." He nodded. "I'll bring a spare crib in our bedroom."

'Surin is the only one who is calm.' Raaz actually thought. 'Elina just wants to feel alive. She must have feared never to smell our children or feel their warmth again. I bet that if she could, she'd drag Lith, Rena, and Tista into our bed as well.'

And he was right. The only thing stopping Elina was the size of the bed and how embarrassing would have been to ask her three adult children to sleep beside their mother.

After a strong camomile tea for the adults and hot chocolate for the kids and Solus, the Verhens split for the night.

"Are you alright?" Kamila asked once the door was closed behind them and the room insulated from the outside world.

She had noticed that Lith was upset but had said nothing until that moment not to

ruin his efforts.

"Yes." He said with a voice too tense and cold to be believable.

He kept his back turned to her and Kamila kept her distance, giving him the time and

space to decompress his emotions after holding them in for hours.

"No." Lith said after a while, slumping on the nearest chair. "But I will be."

"Did you get flashbacks about Carl?" She asked.

He looked up at her in surprise, his mouth agape but no word came out.

"Do you still think this is all your fault?" More silence ensued.

Kamila walked up to Lith and sat on his lap, holding him tight.

"I'm so sorry." She gently stroked his hair and back. "Is there anything I can do to make

you feel better?"

"You can take your shirt off." He said with a dry chuckle, in a failed attempt to make a

joke.

"Okay" The Featherwalker armor slipped off her, leaving her chest exposed.

"Wow. I must look terrible if you are taking everything I say seriously." Lith sighed, returning the embrace. "Thanks anyway, I appreciate the view,"

"You better." She slapped the back of his head in mock-indignance, to give him a semblance of normalcy in the chaos of his head. "Anything else?"

"No. Just keep holding me like this, please."