Chapter 4152  Future Plans (Part 1)

"It's nothing, sweetie." Tista wiped her face and smiled, forcing herself to focus on what was in front of her instead of what might be. "I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Now, whatever you imagined a moment ago, multiply it one thousand times because that's how painful it would be if someone really hurt Surin." Kamila said. "Once you do, ask yourself what you've asked us. You don't have to answer me or anyone else. Only to yourself."

Tista found her answer and didn't like it one bit.

"I need time to think." She said, yet what she actually needed was time to look herself in the mirror and see if she still liked the person returning her gaze. "I promise I won't talk about the Bleed with anyone. Is that enough?"

"It's all we ask." Lith patted her shoulders, a wan smile creasing his face. "I just want to add one more thing, Big Sis. I'm not proud of what I did. Nobody here is. But I'd shit on my pride and eat it before letting anything bad happen to you or anyone I love."

"I understand." Tista nodded.

"I'm sorry for keeping the Bleed a secret from you until now." Solus took one step forward. "I didn't want you to think less of Lith, my mother, or me. I'm just as guilty as he is because even though I didn't help him, I knew what he was going to do and did nothing to stop him.

"I only came clean now because you almost died because of me. You didn't know about the Bleed and put your life on the line to save ours. I can't stand the thought of letting you get hurt again just to keep being a good person in your eyes.

"I prefer living in a world where you live and despise me rather than a world where you died respecting me."

"Thank you." Tista nodded as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you to all of you. Now, I really have to go."

She Warped to the Doomslayer crib in the master bedroom, where the other toddlers waited for Surin's return.

"You ok, Auntie?" Valeron asked.

"Tita?" Elysia extended her little hand covered in Dragon Scales to understand the big words grown-ups always used.

"It's nothing, kids. I swear." Tista sniffled as she put Surin inside the crib.

She had seen the kids countless times, yet never before had she realized that the only thing standing between her principles and the practice of Forbidden Magic was a scratch on their little faces.

***

"Well, that went exactly as one could expect." Menadion sighed. "When are you going to tell the others?"

"What others?" Solus asked.

"Don't be silly, Solus. Are you really going to wait until another of your friends gets hurt to tell them about the Bleed?" Menadion said, making her daughter flinch. "Don't worry, I understand why you're doing it, and you have my blessing."

"You do?" Solus asked.

"These people are your family, Solus." Menadion shrugged. "They know about your condition and are willing to sacrifice their lives for you. They deserve to know the truth. Besides, you don't need to talk about the Bleed with everyone.

"Only those who know about the tower and are going to fight alongside you should know about it. There's nothing that people like Raaz or Aran can do, nor does the Bleed affect their choices."

"I know, but still…" Solus let her words trail off as she thought long and hard about what to do. "I too need time. I'd rather not ruin all my relationships in one go. Let's see how Tista reacts first."

"For what it's worth, I doubt Quylla is going to have any issue with the Bleed." Lith shrugged. "Orikan and Jirya are troublemakers on par with Manohar the Second, yet she would protect them with her life.

"The worst she can do is ask Ripha for the Bleed's blueprints."

"Are you serious?" Solus was flabbergasted.

"I am." Lith nodded. "And to be honest, I don't expect Friya to act much differently. She already thought she had seen Quylla die once, and then she lost Phloria for real. I don't think there's anyone among the Ernas who wouldn't do even worse than Ripha."

***

A few days later, Tista still had a hard time looking Solus in the eyes. Whether it was due to the shock of learning about the Bleed or because she couldn't accept being no different from Menadion, it was impossible to say.

Lith used that time to plan a short vacation with Kamila and arrange the details for his birthday gala.

"Thank you for your help, Jirni." Lith groaned as he looked at the growing list of guests and expenses. "The only thing that I hate more than participating in a Royal Gala is hosting one. Let alone three!"

"Don't mention it." She replied. "If you hate galas so much, then you shouldn't have become a Supreme Magus. Power and authority come with duties and responsibilities."

"I didn't have much choice." Lith replied. "Becoming a Magus was the only way to get pardoned, and once I shared Void Magic, I couldn't stand the idea of it being abused to create a new kind of Forbidden Magic."

"Hold that thought and let's go back to the galas." Jirni said. "I have an idea that should make everyone happy and save you a bit of money."

"You're speaking my language." He said. "I'm all ears."

"It's nothing major." She shrugged. "Since nobody knows the day when Kamila will give birth, preparing a gala for Raldarak is impossible. Not to mention that after your son is born, your wife will be as weak as Quylla, and the baby will scare easily.

"Since you need to give Kamila time to recover and Raldarak to get used to seeing strangers without sending a Guardian on a rampage, we could just make a single gala to celebrate both Elysia's birthday and Raldarak's birth."

"Sounds like a plan. We skip a gala altogether and get peace long enough to get used to the new member of the family." Lith nodded. "Do you think Ely might get angry for sharing her special day?"

"If she were twelve, sure, but one year old?" Jirni raised an eyebrow. "Your daughter is smart, even intelligent for her age, but she's still a baby. Every day is a holiday for her except for her birthday.

"She'll be paraded around people she doesn't like or care about and be forced to stay away from his friends and family for hours. You'll be lucky if she doesn't mistake the celebration for some kind of punishment."

"She's right, you know?" Orion said. "During their first years of life, our children never cried so much as during their birthdays. They couldn't stay together, they couldn't play, and they had to wear stiff clothes while surrounded by strangers."

"Really?" Quylla asked. "I never thought about it. Mostly because I never had a birthday until you adopted me, Dad."

"Don't remind me of that!" Orion clutched his chest, his pain almost physical.

"Don't worry, Dad. It's in the past." Quylla chuckled. "You can stop throwing me huge birthday parties to make up for the lost time. I'm too old for that."