'What those blockheads fail to understand is that I'm not leaving Verhen last out of mercy but as a precaution. He's my contingency plan and the only way I have to fulfill Jormun's dying wish.' Just thinking that name brought tears to her eyes. "Do you feel well enough to talk?" Thrud asked and Phloria nodded. "Then tell me everything I should know in order to win the War of the Griffons. Start from the most important secrets you know." "As you command, my Queen." Phloria fell onto her right knee, appreciating the soft fabric of her new uniform that fit her like a glove. "Back when Magus Verhen was four years old, he found a stone in the Trawn woods-" "That's what you consider a secret worthy of winning a war?" Thrud cut her short in disbelief, finding the anecdote as boring as it was stupid. "Hystar, is the array working properly?" "Yes, my Liege. Everything is in order." The Headmaster scratched his head in embarrassment while Phloria inwardly screamed and struggled with all of her strength. "If you let me continue, you'll soon understand I'm right, Your Highness." Yet her body ignored her, the slave spell overriding her body and feelings. Her lips curled up in a smile, happy at the idea of being useful to the person she loved the most and for whom she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice her life. No matter what Phloria wanted, her body and mind considered Thrud their everything. Every feeling of love, loyalty, friendship, and admiration she had ever had was now focused solely on the Mad Queen. To Phloria, Thrud was her parents, her lover, her best friend, and her mentor. There was nothing she wouldn't do to make Thrud happy. "Then continue." Phloria nodded and resumed her story, skipping to the part where the stone turned out to be Solus and then to the part where Solus turned out to be both Menadion's tower and her daughter. At that point. Thrud stopped Phloria, remaining in a daze for a few minutes until she digested the full implications of such news. The Mad Queen ordered Phloria to start over from the beginning without leaving out anything, no matter how irrelevant it might seem. Hours and several glasses of water later, Phloria's throat was parched and raspy from all that talking. Thrud now knew as much as Phloria about Lith and her happiness was Phloria's happiness. "That explains who that girl was and why I've never heard about the fourth Horseman." Hystar was flabbergasted by the revelations about Solus. "Screw Moonlight. That crap is good for my Generals, but for my son, I want something on par with Menadion's tower." Thrud said. "The Eyes, the Mouth, and the Hands will make him invincible once he reaches the white core, let alone if we get our hands on the Ears as well." "Don't forget about the Mines and the Crucible." The Headmaster said. "With them, you'll never again lack resources and your army would always be properly equipped." "Indeed, but let's not count our chickens before they hatch." Thrud nodded. "I don't want anyone to learn about any of this outside the three of us. Valeron's safety comes first. "On top of that, greed makes people unpredictable. I don't want to risk one of my Generals taking a shot at the tower the moment I release them from the Unwavering Loyalty. Our bond of trust come f-" Only then did Thrud notice that even though Phloria's face and mouth were smiling, her eyes were crying. People under the effects of a slave spell could still shed a tear or twitch an involuntary muscle if they had a will strong enough. Such a reaction was unheard of. "Again? Is the Unwavering Loyalty array malfunctioning or what?" Thrud asked. "Again, everything is in order, my Liege." Hystar stared at Phloria in annoyance but his orders kept him from disciplining her for making him lose face in front of Arthan's heir. "Why are you crying?" Thrud turned to her newest General, hoping to learn another juicy secret. "I don't know, my Queen." Phloria wiped off the tears just for new ones to come out. "I've never been happier in my life. Serving you fills me with joy yet after telling everything Magus Verhen confided to me, I also feel as if someone is ripping my heart from my chest." "Do you love him?" Thrud knew the feeling all too well and knew the pain it brought. "Yes." The Unwavering Loyalty arrays compelled Phloria to tell the truth, no matter how deep she buried it or how long she had ignored it. No one was most shocked than her when she heard those words coming out of her mouth. She had always assumed to have moved on with her life and to have burned that bridge. "After all this time since your break up? Even though he's now married to another woman who carries his child?" The Mad Queen could almost feel Phloria's pain resonating with her own, bringing her to tears as well. "Yes." Even though the slave array forced Phloria to experience only bliss while obeying her master, Phloria's voice cracked up. "I don't regret breaking up with him, though. What I really regret is not having the courage to step up again once he was single again. "I was so scared at the idea of what might have happened were things going to go bad while I was his disciple that I wasted every opportunity I had. Now it's too late and there's no more space for me in his life." "Shush, child. It's never too late." Thrud hugged Phloria who started to sob uncontrollably. "You have my word that once I win this war, I'll make sure that you two will be together forever." *** Blood Desert, Heavenly Plume Palace, Lith's tower. Lith had spent the rest of the day informing his wife and family of his decision and the rest of the time fine-tuning his equipment. Everything he had, had been crafted with Phloria's help and he was afraid that they would also be the last things he would have left of her. Friya and Quylla were both worried sick, but only Friya could take part in the search and rescue mission. As the Royal Healer and aspiring god of healing, Quylla couldn't leave the Royal palace without a good reason. Meron's health was still shaky and it was her duty to make sure that his condition remained stable. That hadn't stopped her from calling Lith as soon as she heard the news and beg him to do everything he could to bring Phloria back alive. "Are you sure this is the best course of action?" Kamila asked once the only thing left to do was sleep for eight hours straight and reset Invigoration's effects. "I'm sure." Lith turned his head to look at her. "This will kick the mother of all hornets' nests. A lot of people will be angry, while as many will be curious. All of them will be terrified and I need you to be ready for the worse." She was laying on her left side, her hand under her head. Lith could see her eyes full of love and worry moving non-stop from him to the golden lily pendant on his bedstand.