Under the sweltering heat of the Sun, the sands violently shifted. A huge rock slowly rose out of the sand, but a closer look would allow anyone to see that it was something more organic. A shale-colored spike that didn’t belong in the desert at all.

Underneath the thousands of pounds of sand, the creature that could be called a Behemoth stirred. Its rage that grew with each passing moment was threatening to erupt as he moved closer and closer to the surface. The sword that put it into dire straits was still in its chest and the pain it felt hadn’t diminished. It’s x-shaped black pupils dilated as it thought of the woman and its anger increased.

The Earthquakes plaguing the Eastern corner of the continent once again grew in intensity.

…

Ira, Rhys, and Harper were walking up a hill outside of the town. For what purpose? Rhys was oddly silent about it but insisted that they climb the hill before he began the ritual prepared. Still, Ira didn’t complain and seeing as he didn’t Harper didn’t either. They quickly arrived at the top of the hill and a stone monument was placed. Fresh flowers were planted around it and it was clear that someone tended to its daily upkeep.

Rhys’ breathing became unsteady, but she still walked toward the monument and placed her palm on it.

Ira watched her and could see that it read, ‘Dorian Milbourne, beloved son, and brother. May he find eternal peace.’

Rhys pulled a wooden horse out of her pocket and a placed it in front of the monument. The wooden toy had clearly seen better days and looked as if it weathered countless years which was true. It was the object she and her brother argued over when they were young and one of the contributing factors to his death.

She closed her eyes and let the wooden horse go before standing up and facing Ira.

“Are you ready?” Ira asked.

Rhys nodded her head firmly with no sign of hesitation.

“This is a good hill to do it, but we should move away so we don’t damage anything.” Ira spotted a clearing that was far enough away and pointed to it.

They moved to it and Ira waved his hand before a seven-foot metal rod appeared in his hands. He lifted it up and planted it into the soil and at the same time, the clouds in the area began to slowly drift toward them.

Ira raised his hand and it became a sharp black claw. He pressed his fingers against the metal and began to inscribe small symbols into it.

“Don’t try to read these.” He peered over his shoulder to warn the both of them before resuming his activity.

Ira had figured out that most of the symbols and words he had to speak for rituals were of a language from the Divine Realm which was strange considering mortals only spoke one language. What he didn’t know was that almost none of the current Gods knew any words of power and they considered them to be archaic, but that didn’t mean they were weak at all.

As Ira continued the process which he found boring, the clouds darkened and the low rumble of thunder could be heard nearby. The occasional faint streak of lightning would appear and travel across the clouds.

Ira finished and sliced the top of the metal rod exposing a hollow inside filled with mana crystals. The symbols on the rod lit up before they returned to normal.

Ira nodded in satisfaction before turning to speak to Rhys, “As soon as you make contact with it, the process will start.”

She took a deep breath before she and Ira traded places. He stood next to Harper and she instinctively raised a spectral barrier to protect herself as she knew he would be fine either way.

Rhys slowly reached her hand out and as soon as she touched the lightning rod, a powerful wave of electricity gathered in the sky. At first, it looked like hundreds of small threads of lightning were traveling through the clouds, but after a few moments, they turned to thousands.

“Don’t let go!” Ira shouted over the thunderous rumbles.

Rhys could barely hear him but had no way to respond. She decided to keep his words in mind as she watched the thousands of small threads converge into a singular point. They combined into a single mass of electricity and flew toward her. Her vision went white and she felt as if her mind disconnected from her body, but the entire time she repeated Ira’s voice in her head and hoped her body would comply.

Rhys waited and wait, but nothing happened. No, something was happening, she would see incredibly short flashes of scenery and each time it was different. It continued on dozens of times until she realized something. Her point of view was that of lightning, the brief image of scenery she saw from time to time was when it struck and reached its stopping point.

Once she understood it, a massive amount of pain surged through her body and she could see again.

She opened her eyes and saw Ira crouched beside moving his lips, but she couldn’t hear anything but a low buzzing.

“...Are...ok...Rhys…” She slowly regained her sense of hearing.

“Are you ok, Rhys?” Ira asked once again.

She could finally hear him but felt a sharp sensation of all over her body. It was her nervous system adjusting to its new speed, but she wouldn't be able to realize that by the pain alone.

“Don’t panic, but your scars are glowing,” Ira said as he lifted her up.

She squinted her eyes in confusion before looking at the faint white glow of the lightning scars that trailed along both of her arms.

“I like it,” Ira smiled.

Rhys smiled and wanted to say, ‘That’s all that matters to me,’ but she had no way to voice it. While fighting the overwhelming sense of fatigue she was carried down the hill by Ira. All of a sudden, an idea formed in her mind. Her heart began racing as she placed a hand around his neck and moved closer to him.

Ira turned to look at her due to her actions and when he did, she kissed him. He pulled back and looked at her with surprise only to see that she had passed out. She used the last of her strength to kiss him and avoided anything that came after. It was quite a sly move that her sister Ophelia would commend her on.

Ira’s expression was unreadable as he looked at Rhys and exhaled a quiet breath before shaking his head.

After returning Rhys to her home and explaining to her family what occurred, Ira’s next destination was quite predictable.

…

Avery smiled as she heard a pair of footsteps land in the garden. Ira bypassed everything and teleported directly into the garden instead of going through the long winded process of entering from the front.

“...Avery” Ira called out to her and in response, she turned to him.

“Did you know about Rhys?” Ira asked.

“So she finally told you? In any case, It’s true that I was aware.” Avery approached him.

“She kissed me,” Ira answered while keeping his eyes on Avery.

“Did she? I wouldn’t have expected that from her.” Avery’s eyes showed indifference to his announcement.

“Is that it?” Ira narrowed his eyes in an attempt to understand what Avery was thinking.

“Do you plan on leaving me for her?” Avery questioned.

“Avery, don’t do that.” Ira stopped her from even continuing that line of thought.

“I apologize, but there is a need to tolerate her interaction with you,” Avery said as she placed a hand on his shoulder and moved closer to him.

She understood he wanted an explanation so she continued, “My Mother and Grandmother wanted you to take on a second wife to increase the spread of descendants. Our own children can’t marry their relatives nor would I want them to so that leaves your bloodline contained to just us. In honesty, I see Rhys as nothing more than a tool, she's a solution to a problem. Of course, that wouldn’t apply to children born from the two of you. Still, if you don’t wish to spread your bloodline then that is completely fine. While my family would be dissatisfied, in the end, I wouldn’t care. The real question is whether or not this is something you want?”

Ira placed his arms around Avery while looking at her swollen abdomen, “I have you and Raveria, Avery. I should be asking you if it’s something you want.”

“Aren’t you mine, Ira?” Avery whispered as she placed a hand on his cheek.

“Yes.” Ira was thoroughly entranced by her cold silver eyes that seemed to warm for him and him alone.

“Will you ever betray me?” Avery’s face moved closer to his.

“I’d die before that,” He answered with a rare expression of seriousness.

“Will you ever love anyone as much as me?” Avery was centimeters away from his lips as she spoke.

“Only our child,” Ira answered quietly.

“Then I can tolerate her because I have no reason to fear her taking you away from me.” As Avery finished she kissed him, “What I want is for our family to prosper, but I won’t ask you do anything you aren’t willing to.”

Ira opened his mouth to speak, but she placed a finger over his lips, “You figure out how you’re going to respond to her yourself, but if you choose to carry on, I have conditions. She has to see who you really are and if she displays any hint of rejection then I’ll kill her. We will never share the same bed with her and unless there is a reason, I don’t want you resting with her at night. Even if you end up developing strong feelings toward her, I don’t want to see it.”

Ira didn’t say anything, he just pressed his forehead against Avery’s and closed his eyes. How did he feel about Rhys? He certainly admired how she carried on given her circumstances, not knowing that he was a source of strength for her. Did he love her? His answer would be no. Ira and Avery shared a similar understanding of how they viewed the lives of others while Rhys was inclined to save more lives.

“I’ll be back soon.” Ira kissed Avery’s forehead before kissing her abdomen.

Did Rhys really love him? Ira decided he would find the answer to everything after she saw some of his memories. As to how she would see them? Harper had abilities that let her alter minds and create illusions so it wouldn’t be a problem.

…

Rhys opened her eyes and sat up before looking around the room. At her bedside was a glass of water which she began drinking but almost choked on it as she remembered what she did. It was unknown what possessed her to kiss Ira, but she did and it was too late to change it.

Rhys would scream into a pillow if she could actually scream in the first place. In her opinion, the worst part about the kiss wasn’t her own clumsiness and inexperience, but the fact she passed out right after. There was no way she looked graceful after falling unconscious and she knew it.

While Rhys was immersed in her thoughts someone knocked at the door before entering. It was the person she wanted to see yet at the same time she didn’t.

“So you’re up?” Ira entered the room while Harper followed behind him.

Rhys slowly nodded as she looked up at him searching for his response to her obvious confession.

“I know what you’re wondering about, but I have to show you something first.” Ira smiled as he moved to the edge of the bed.

Harper was right behind him and looked at Rhys with a strange expression. She saw Rhys’ actions firsthand and confirmed that it didn’t look romantic at all. All she remembered about the ordeal was Rhys sloppily pecking at Ira’s lips and then dropping her head in a limp manner.

“If you’re ok with it, I want to show you some of my memories,” Ira said while paying close attention to her.

Rhys had no reason to refuse and nodded which led to Harper channeling her power. The three closed their eyes and a phantom thread of spectral energy began to link their consciousness. There was a brief darkness and then, they arrived inside of an empty wooden building that looked like a church.

“Let’s get it over with.” Ira sighed as a stone altar appeared in his field of view.