“Alright. Sounds good,” I replied. “I do hope he doesn’t have to put too many things aside for these repeated talks with me.”

“It’s a matter of prioritizing,” My father said calmly. “No doubt he trusts you, and you him. It’s more than clear that this matter is of the utmost importance, and whatever else he has to do can wait.”

Elira looked at him, seeming to have no idea what this was all about. It would be better for her if she didn’t, so I decided to cut the conversation here and turn my attention back to her.

“Did you help mom with dinner again?” I asked with a smile to put her more at ease.

“Yes! It’s much easier to light the stove with magic!” She happily exclaimed.

“And what did she make?”

“Fish and vegetables in the oven. I helped with the cutting.”

“Sounds delicious.” I patted her head while my mother went back inside.

“And it smells delicious too,” I remarked when the scents from inside reached us through the open door. Shadow seemed to think the same as he walked up to the steps and sat down with great expectations. “And I’m not the only one that thinks so.”

“Don’t be fooled,” My father said. “He’s already had dinner.” He then stood up and walked inside as well, only to return with plates and cutlery.

After that, my mom returned with dinner of which I only had a few bites, just to taste her amazing cooking. We talked a bit about how we started to work on the octagon of trees that surrounded the nest and what we could do with the excess lumber. My father said that if we could get that here when our furniture would be delivered, he was sure the carriers would happily take some wood back to be transformed into other items.

After dinner I took Elira for a quick run around the fields, just to fuel the little girl’s excitement, but after that, we were quickly off to our nest, resupplied with some bread and fruits for breakfast the next day, and eager to try to finish practice on the healing light spell tonight. On the way back I realized that I never got to see Elira’s candy, or taste it, so I made a promise to myself to ask about it tomorrow.

Once home, I stretched my legs across the web after unloading our cargo, looking around the edges to see where we’d place the newest additions to our silken cabin.

“You know,” I said while thinking. “You never did tell me what Nilene is like.”

“She was… rather serious. She seemed to be a bit frustrated to have been asked by Elysa, but from her posture, I could tell she doesn’t like Hograd much.”

“That does make sense I think. I mean, just what they both stand for are like polar opposites.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“Anyway,” I continued. “We went home early for a reason. Want to finish what we started?”

“Gladly,” Cellestra said, smiling briefly before she assumed a serious expression as she knelt in front of me, put her hand on my forehead, and send her magic flowing through me.

I forced the flow through the smallest gaps, overcoming all the traps previously laid out before us until we’d reached the point where we stopped the last time we did this. We broke barriers until Cellestra’s mana stream weakened, signaling the end of the channel. We were close, much closer than we’d ever been.

We tried again, and once more we progressed through the yet unknown areas of the spell, inching ever closer to a successful cast. Then, during the fourth time she channeled her mana through me, it was finally there — the completion of the spell.

Cellestra separate her hand from my head, closed her eyes and focused. She then put it on one of my shoulders, and within seconds, I felt a warmth enter my body and seek out wounds. There were none that I knew of, but the energy eventually settled in my head, where it attempted to fight against the darkness, and, while it did seem to help a bit just like my own spell, perhaps more than that due to the effect of my new skill, it couldn’t vanquish it.

“I can’t believe it,” Cellestra whispered after the successful cast of my healing light. “This so much exceeds any healing magic that I previously possessed. It’s unreal.”

She heaved a deep sigh of relief, her eyes still closed, and I took her in for a hug.

“Great job,” I said patting her back.

She returned the hug and finally opened her eyes, which were watery, and seemingly on the verge of crying.

“Thank you,” She whispered.

“No problem,” I said in an equally soft tone. “Happy I can help with this.”

When we broke the hug, she lay down on her back and stared at the ceiling for minutes before she spoke again.

“I still can’t believe it. This really would have taken months without the goddess’s help. I never thought it would be this complicated.”

“Elysa is very kind to us,” I said as I placed my lower head in the hole and lay down next to her. “But she said something else, just before I was pulled out of her realm.”

The brunette turned her head and looked at me, not saying any words, but her face said it all. ‘Why?’

“I asked her ‘why me?’ She clearly knew what I meant by that. I’ve been wondering for a while why she chose to give me specifically another chance, and not just me, but my parents too. I find it hard to believe that it’s just because of my actions before my death, as so many others died with me that day.” I paused for a moment and thought about what she’d said before I told Cellestra. “She said ‘I have my… reasons’ and now I’m wondering what she means by that.”

“That’s odd,” She admitted. “What other reasons could she have?”

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “And I don’t know if I should care about it either. I’m happy to be here, either way.”

“We will find out in time,” Cellestra said with a smile, offering me some peace of mind.

“No doubt. Do you want to head into the dungeon for practice tomorrow?”

“Sure. Did you have any spell in mind to teach me first?”

“I’ll leave the choice to you.”

“Hmmm,” She let out, putting a finger on her lips. “Hard choice. I’d love to learn that lightning arc spell first. Think that’s a good idea?”

“I’m fine with anything, but that spell, in particular, needs a target, so we’d probably have to paralyze one of the creatures on the first floor as a test subject.” I sighed after saying it. “Sometimes I can’t believe how cruel I have to be. At least the creatures in the dungeon don’t really seem to experience pain in the same way we do.”

“That’s true,” Cellestra whispered. “Don’t think too much of it. If you start doing that, you’ll never stop.”

“Yeah. you’re right.”

I looked up with the eyes behind my torso and noted that the world outside had barely started to lose its light. It was still early in the evening, prompting me to ask Cellestra if there was something else she wanted to look into.

“Why not try to make a new shirt? You haven’t done that for a while. I think I could also use a new bra.”

“I thought you brought those with you?”

She chuckled. “I did, but your silk is a lot softer, and far more comfortable.”

“True. It’s better than anything I’ve ever worn. Want me to make you a new one?”

“Yes please,” She said quietly as she started taking off her shirt, and then her bra.

“Arms up, please,” I said after she finished.

She did as I asked, raised her hands to the sky, and I started spinning silk around her chest using thread manipulation, making sure not to wrap it too tight. I needed a few minutes to get it done, but Cellestra didn’t seem to have issues having her arms stretched out for so long.

“Thank you,” She said as I finished with hers and then ripped open my own wraps and started replacing them.

Cellestra looked at me and blushed, before facing away, but my giggles at the sight caused her to look at me again, her eyes trailing off to my navel and then back up, a shy, yet curious glow in them.

I smiled warmly at her but didn’t say a word. I didn’t want her to feel more awkward than she already was.

“A new shirt, eh?” I said by the time I was finished. “Let me see if I still know how to do that.”