Chapter 4042: Child of Fire (Part 1)

"I was supposed to take care of you and protect you from all danger. Instead, I fell for the Dead King’s ploy and left you at the mercy of his thralls. Every dead merfolk is an indelible stain on my honor, and I won’t rest until I’ll make it up to your tribe."

"Please, there’s no need for apologies, Overlord." Rem said. "You’ve done everything you could to ensure our safety. Our village is protected by powerful arrays, and we had two Divine Beasts with us.

"With your land under attack from multiple fronts, it was only natural for you to deal with the invaders. Lord Verhen, his sister, and his friends did everything they could for us.

"The only merfolk they failed to save are those killed by the merchants turned Upyrs, and only because we had come to trust them so much over time that we lowered our guard around them.

"The other two Upyrs didn’t so much as come close to the Starry Lagoon oasis."

Almost all the Desert tribes had endured a similar outcome.

The traitor merchants had killed a few people before being neutralized by the local Feathers. The number of casualties never reached the two digits, but every corpse was one too many for the Overlord.

"Thank you for your kind words, representative Rem, but they change nothing. I’ve failed in my duties as host." Salaark replied. "I wouldn’t blame you if you want to move your village to another oasis or even relocate to a different country."

"That’s out of the question, Overlord." Zhur the Songster said. "We’ve already crafted the Desert Heart for the Starry Lagoon oasis, and this is our home now. We won’t leave unless you order us to.

"Besides, no matter where we go, danger will always follow. We feel much safer here with such a graceful host than anywhere else on Garlen."

"You honor me with your words, Songster Zhur." Salaark gave him a polite nod. "As for you, Featherlings, I’m sorry about what happened to Lutia and ruining your vacation. If there’s anything I can do for you, all you need is ask."

"Thanks for the offer, Grandma, but it’s not necessary." Lith said. "We’ll go back to Lutia first thing in the morning. I can’t afford to be so far away with Meln still at large."

The problem was actually another. Lith might have Tower Warped straight to the Trawn Woods right after killing the Upyrs, if only he hadn’t had to explain to his friends why the house would disappear along with him.

Once he brought Ryla and Garrik back to the Mansion and the rest of his guests to Lutia, instead, the tower would be free to move again.

"The doors of my palace are always open for you and your family, Featherling." She nodded. "Feel free to return whenever you like or need."

***

At dinner, everyone had regained their cool with one exception.

"I can’t wait to go back home." Garrik shuddered at the memory of the attack. "This place is terrifying."

"He means no disrespect, Overlord." Ryla bowed so deeply that her long, dark-blue hair touched the floor. "Garrik never witnessed a real fight. His condition kept him sheltered from the real world, and he has little knowledge of its dangers."

"I’m not offended, and you shouldn’t apologize." Salaark replied. "A child has every right to be scared when someone breaks the safety of his house. Garrik would be foolish otherwise.

"It’s how he behaves next that matters. Teach him well and grow him into a wolf who can keep his turf safe, or he’ll become a turtle who hides in his shell."

"Was that scary?" Fenrir asked in honest confusion.

She wasn’t trying to belittle Garrik. It was just that between the stories her sibling told her and seeing her parents always cold and collected, she had assumed being attacked by Upyrs was something normal.

"Nah, that’s small stuff, furball." Leran shrugged. "The Undead Courts attacking us in the middle of the night, that was scary."

"Or that time a bunch of assassins ambushed us while we were playing in front of our house." Lilia nodded. "Those Upyrs were amateurs. They didn’t even get close to us."

"Lilia! Leran!" Selia blushed up to her ears. "You are making it sound like you live in a warzone!"

"But, Mom, not even Solkar is afraid!" Leran pointed at the youngest Skoll, who barked at his mother with pride, demanding a feast worthy of a warrior of his caliber.

"I swear to the gods, one day you guys are going to drive me crazy." Selia sighed, forcing the pup to shapeshift into a baby boy before feeding him.

"No offense, Auntie, but they are right." Aran stirred his stew with a spoon, not knowing how to feel. "Also, it’s kind of sad that we got used to this kind of thing."

"And we are the lucky ones." Leria said. "Filia and Frey have been kidnapped so many times that now they close their eyes and ears before Uncle Tezka can say anything."

"Are you serious?" Kamila jumped from her seat.

"It’s not a big deal, Sis Kami." Aran shrugged. "Uncle Tezka is always with them. The average kidnapping lasts about three seconds."

"Yeah, and he lets them eat all the ice cream they want once they get back home." Leria nodded. "Filia and Frey kind of look forward to it."

"They do what?" Kamila asked in disbelief. "Does Zin know about this?"

"I guess." Aran cleared his throat, exchanging a quick glance with Leria.

"When is our turn, Mommy?" Lenart tugged Rena’s arm.

"With a bit of luck, never!" Seeing their children so unfazed made Elina and Rena inwardly wonder if they were doing their job as parents properly.

"But, Mom, I want to stuff myself with ice cream!" Falco said.

"At Grandma’s, sure. At home, I want steaming fries!" Teryon said, and her siblings nodded. "It’s cold there already."

"Ho, ho, ho." Zekell and Sirma had followed Lith to the Desert. "Seeing you so happy and calm is a balm for my old heart. After what I went through today, I think I deserve a lot of ice cream. Can I share it with them, Lith?"

"Sure." Lith nodded, always keeping an eye on his parents.

Unlike the children, they knew of Bromann’s and Lisa’s deaths. Orpal had killed two of their oldest and dearest friends, and that alone would have been enough to deal a heavy blow to his parents’ hearts.

Yet Orpal had also ravaged Lutia, the Griffon Kingdom, and the Blood Desert. Elina and Raaz felt responsible for every crime their son committed and every person he murdered, wondering what they could have done differently.

’Was disowning Meln the right thing to do, or should I have tried harder to make him see reason?’ Raaz thought. ’Yet if I didn’t send him away after he almost killed his five years old brother, wouldn’t that have reassured Meln that he had nothing to fear?

’Talking never worked. He listened to me because he had to, but didn’t care about one word I said and went back to his old behavior as soon as he thought he had gotten away with it.’

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