2491 Heavy Shadow (Part 3) The Proudhammer shop had now become a three stories building that kept getting new floors as the number of their regular clients grew. Also, father and son had opened a branch shop and bought a warehouse in Derios, Thanks to the public Warp Gate, their merchandise could now be sold in every city of the Kingdom connected to the dimensional network. Senton knew all too well that Lith had nothing to do with their latest success because expanding into the national market had been Senton's own idea and Zekell had supported the project despite the risks and the huge starting expenses. "If you understand the importance of our business. relationship with Lith, then stop barking like a mad dog and tell me what the heck is really troubling you!" Zekell grabbed his son by the shoulders and forced him to sit down. Senton was younger and stronger but his spirit was broken. Throwing his resentment in Zekell's face had felt good for a minute until he had listened to his own words and realized how foolish they were. Senton felt ashamed and dirty inside for disrespecting his father's sacrifices. "We are here because we care about you." Raaz had remained silent until that moment, knowing that he had no right to intrude between father and son. "I think I know what's bothering you, but it's up to you to say it. "Admitting it to yourself is the hardest part but also the first step to recovery. I can't take that from you! Senton didn't say a word for a while, raising his eyes from time to time only to make sure that Lith wasn't there. "I knew that Lith wasn't human since his eighteenth birthday so I didn't get angry at him when Night's goons broke into our house and tried to kill us. I had been warned about the risks and I accepted them. "When Orp- I mean, Meln exposed Lith's true nature and forced us to escape to the Desert, I didn't blame him either. We were all safe, sound, and together. What I can't tolerate is that sometimes I feel like Leria isn't my daughter anymore." He held his head between his hands, clenching it in frustration. "Her fascination for magic, the desire to Awaken, and all the attention she received in the Royal Court turned my little girl in a stranger that I can barely recognize. I have no authority nor influence over Leria and worst of all, there's nothing I can teach her. "At least Rena carries her same magical blood and gets respected because she's Lith's sister, but what am I? I'm just a nameless member of the family. A useless father who can't do anything for his daughter except entrust her to another man! "How am I supposed to live with that, Dad?" Senton turned toward Zekell. "How can I look my wife in the eyes and tell her that we've lost Leria?" "I don't know." The blacksmith lowered his eyes and sat down as well. "But I do and so does Kamila. Raaz said, drawing their attention. "When Lith was little, there was nothing I could do for him either. By the time he was four, he was out hunting with Selia. At six he spent most of his time at Nana's. "The more his powers grew, the more distant I felt him becoming. I'm a farmer, Senton. Almost twenty years have passed since Lith's birth and I'm still just a farmer. "While my son went to the academy, joined the military, and then became an Archmage after traveling throughout the Kingdom, I never left Lutia once. To this day, all I know how to do is tend my fields. "My greatest accomplishment as a father is spending an evening teaching Lith how to read and write when he was three and then carving for him his alphabetical ruler. That's it. For everything else, Lith needed someone else. "I felt helpless and useless just like you did, but the pride I felt for my son eclipsed my wounded ego. When Lith started to become famous, I had to entrust him to Lark first and then Mirim because no matter how much I wanted to support him, I was a liability. "Not finding faults in him, the nobles would point their powdered fingers at me, the country bumpkin with the silly accent who can't tell a salad fork from a fish's. It pained me to abandon my child whenever he went to a gala and miss the honors he received, but I did it gladly because it was the only way I could protect him. "Your relationship with your daughter is in danger not because of her powers or the attention she received in the Royal Court but because you are pushing her away. Sure, you can't teach her about magic, but you can still teach her how to be a good person. "You can show Leria the importance of hard work and honesty. Being a parent is more than authority and power. It's leading by example and protecting your children by themselves, "Without her father, Leria might become an entitled little monster who thinks that might makes right. Is that what you want? Raaz asked. "No, but-" "I understand how you feel." Kamila stepped forward. "Everywhere I go, I'm just 'Lith's wife, just like you are Rena's husband. People never bother remembering my name and some really think that Lady Magus is actually my title. "No matter how hard I work, everything I achieve is because of Lith' whereas every mistake I make is 'because she's an incompetent gold digger lucky enough to pick a winning horse." Her face expressed all the disgust and anger she felt for repeating those words. "My daughter is still in my womb and I've already met lots of hostility and been called the most obnoxious names. When Elysia will be born, I won't be able to help her with her hybrid nature. "I won't be able to protect her from the cruelty of people and I will have to work my ass off just to learn enough about magic to follow her around. I'm terrified, Senton. I'm afraid of not being able to be a parent to Elysia because we won't have much in common. "I'm afraid of Solus being a better mother than me thanks to her bond with Lith. Do you have any idea how it feels?" She asked. "Yes." Senton nodded. "It was the same for me when Lith took Leria and Aran to camp. I couldn't stop her from almost burning down the house, yet he did. He succeeded where I failed' "Really?" She knitted her eyebrows. "How did you deal with that?" "When she got back home, Leria was still my little girl. She spent the next few days showing me everything she had learned and trying to use her powers to help me with my work." Senton smiled at the memory. "Lith was her magic teacher, but I was still her dad. She learned from him but she did it for me. You should have seen how happy Leria was for igniting the coal or tempering the hot steel with her magic." "What's changed since then?" Zekell asked. "Why are you so angry now?"