"Of course, Solus would help me and she'd spend much more time with our daughter than you, but who keeps count of stuff like that?" "Son of a Dragon!" She replied in mock outrage. "I walked straight into that. By the way, where's Solus? After everything you guys went through today, I expected her to spend some time with us before going to bed." *** Solus's room, at the same time. "Thanks for keeping me company, Tista." Solus said. "I really didn't want to stay alone but at the same time, I don't want to bother Lith and Kami." "Don't mention it." Tista sighed. "I need company too, but with Bodya still on the frontlines to recapture Thrud's cities you are the best I got." "Wow! So kind of you. You are making me blush." Solus replied with a sneer. "As I said, don't mention it." Tista yawned, too tired from the long day to care about sarcasm between friends. "By the way, you never answered Kamila when she asked you how you feel." "Because I was waiting for this moment. I need to speak with both you and Nyka." Solus replied. "Nyka!" Tista sat up abruptly. "How could I forget about her until now? She fused with Dawn to help us. What if now the Horseman knows everything about you?" "Only one way to find out." Solus pushed the rune of the Vampire on her communication amulet. "Solus!" Nyka answered immediately. "You sure took your sweet time. I was starting to get worried sick." "I'm sorry, Nyka, but first things first." Solus raised her palm out to stop the barrage of questions about her side of the fight. "Is Dawn still with you?" "Yes." Nyka slightly opened her shirt, revealing a white crystal amid her bosom. "How much does she know about me?" "Only that you and Lith are bonded like a Horseman and her host. She also knows you are some kind of powerful relic, of course." Nyka replied. "Before bonding with her, I asked Baba Yaga to seal off the mind fusion. "Neither of us can access the other's mind without explicit consent. When Dawn wants to know something, she has to ask me and I have to agree. We still have both our free will and personality. "Like this, we can both see and hear what's around me." She pointed at the exposed crystal. "Now, instead, Dawn is locked inside her real body." The crystal disappeared under Nyka's skin and then her entire body shapeshifted into Dawn's. "This is the way I can protect my secrets." Her voice was melodious and sweet, but also much wiser and detached than the Vampire's. "I'm glad to make your acquaintance, Solus Verhen, but I don't plan on sharing much with any of you." "And neither do I with you." Solus replied. "Do you mind bringing Nyka back? There's something I have to say to both of you." The white crystal emerged from Dawn's flesh, making her snowy skin sparkle like silver. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 "I meant to switch bodies. No offense, you still creep me out." Solus said. Dawn curled her lips in annoyance but shapeshifted without saying a word. "As you know, I have a special relationship with my host, but not as deep as the one between Dawn and Acala." Solus said and the other two women nodded. "I often wondered about taking my time and space to understand how much of my feelings for him are due to our bond. Until now, there's always been a crisis or another that kept me from leaving Lith's side. "With the end of the War of the Griffons, however, I can finally travel Mogar on my own. To be honest, I'm scared and excited at the same time. I've never stayed away from Lith for long, yet if I don't do this before the baby is born, I'll just be swallowed in our relationship. "I want him out of my head and sight until I'm sure of what I want and what I like. I need to discover my place in this world without worrying about what he thinks." "A wise decision indeed." A white light appeared in Nyka's eyes and she spoke with Dawn's voice while nodding. "Your situation is no different from Zepho's. I sent him away for the same reasons you are taking this journey." "Thank you." Solus gave her a small bow. "Yet to do that, I need both Tista and Nyka. I've never been alone and I know I couldn't make it on my own. As for you, Dawn, I haven't forgotten about how we met. "Yet I would appreciate if we could be civil toward each other and compare notes about living with our respective hosts." "Can I ask you a question?" It was Dawn's voice coming out of Nyka's mouth and Solus nodded for her to continue. "How did you get your own body so quickly? I lived for over a millennium, yet the only way I found to not be in the backseat was to take over my host. Until Acala, there was no us, either me or them." "It was far from quick but it's thanks to my nature being similar to that of a Horseman." Solus lied through her teeth. "Why? How was your life before Acala?" "I could talk with my hosts, of course. I could share their senses, but the food never tasted as good as when I used my own mouth. A flower didn't have the same fragrance, and even daylight felt dull." Dawn replied. "Couldn't you just switch bodies?" Solus asked. "Who would give their body away freely? Who would let someone else wear their skin and live their life?" Dawn said with a snort. "I had hundreds of hosts and every single one of them only looked at me like a source of power and knowledge. "I was a thing. Their thing. They felt entitled to tell me what to do or not. To shut me up whenever they found my thoughts noisy or my advice unwanted. After a while, I learned to just return the favor and turn them into my things. "Why do you think Mother made sure that only I could conjure my true form and only a bond like the one I had with Acala could give me a body of my own? Otherwise taking a male host would have meant being taken in more than one way." Solus shuddered at the thought of someone looking at her just like a piece of meat. Someone who despite knowing all of her most intimate thoughts and fears would only consider her as a plaything. "My senses have been dulled too until I got my own body so I understand what you mean." Solus nodded. "I hope that the two of us will get along. Lith is my first host so I could use your experience on the matter." "The first? How lucky of you." Dawn didn't bother to hide her envy. Solus' eyes were too clear and her way of thinking too innocent to have experienced much about the cruelty of human nature. "If your type is tall, dark, and workaholic, I could introduce you to Dusk. Too bad that he's too busy with school or he could join us. His host needs friends and badly."