"I-" Tista’s mouth remained open, but no words came out. As much as it bothered her to admit it, Rena was right. Her brother was her hero, so she had always taken Lith’s words at face value and assumed he was the best of the best.
Doubting either thing would have been heresy for her younger self, so she had never connected the dots.
"What does be an Awakened imply?" Kamila asked. She didn’t believe in free meals and suspected there was a reason why not every single being on Mogar was an Awakened. There had to be a catch.
Protector explained how becoming an Awakened worked and revealed the existence of the Council to them, going into detail of the internal power struggles that now involved Lith.
He told them how despite their small numbers, Awakened could greatly affect politics and that they obeyed no law but that of the Council.
"Let me get this straight." Between the rollercoaster of emotions and the long explanations, she was getting a headache." You must keep the fact that you are an Awakened from the Kingdom and the fact that you’re a hybrid from everyone, correct?"
"Correct." Lith nodded.
"Also, after meeting other Awakened, you got dragged into their squabbles and now you need Faluel’s help to withstand the pressure they will apply on you through their connections with the upper echelons of the Kingdom."
"Correct again." Lith said.
"Oh, I’m an Awakened as well, if anyone cares." Tista grumbled while releasing her cyan aura, hoping to get a reaction.
"I’m so proud of you, pumpkin." Raaz kissed her head before ruffling her hair, making Tista feel like a kid who had mastered the multiplication tables rather than the secrets of magic.
"Is there anything else we should know?" Elina asked.
Lith looked at Solus’s ring for a split second before answering:
"I’d say it is more than enough for one birthday."
’I’m sorry, but I don’t want to introduce you as a thing. I want them to meet you as a person.’ Lith thought.
’There’s no need to apologize. I feel the same.’ Solus enveloped his mind in the only embrace she could offer him. ’Besides, if they see your ring come to life, they’ll never wear any of the jewelry you’ve gifted them again.’
The thought made them both chuckle.
"Actually, there is." Selia said, making everyone turn toward her.
"I was wondering if I could come to visit you from time to time. Maybe I could bring my children along to play with yours. Lilia and Leran would love to make some friends of their age. They are respectively six and four years old."
"Of course you can. You’ll always be welcome here. Feel free to come whenever you like." Elina smiled at her old friend, glad to have her back. The fact that Selia had named her kids after Lith was a big plus in her book.
"Thank you so much. I’ll make sure to bring their nanny along. He’s great with damage control."
Everyone laughed at what they assumed was a joke, unaware of how serious Selia was.
After getting the kids back from Zinya and saying goodbye to the Fastarrow couple, Lith entered his bedroom feeling like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Everything looked more vivid and beautiful.
The only sour note was that Kamila had been silent most of the time since she had learned about Awakening.
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