"A pet?" Lith's voice was a barely intelligible growl of fury.

The memory of Kamila's tenderness on the night of Lark's death, of the injuries she had sustained just to stay close to him, made Qisal's words unforgivable.

"Yes, a pet." The Wyvern nodded and sipped his wine as if they were having a pleasant conversation. "Something you're fond of but that you're bound to outlive so once they die you grieve them for a couple of days and then move on to the next one.

"Don't tell me that you're actually planning to use it for more than fun?" Qisal chuckled at Lith's furious expression and at his five eyes brimming with five different colors, wondering what their secret was.

Lith tried to remain calm, but fire gurgled from his throat with every word he spoke and the energy within his eyes made them shine like precious gems as it begged to be released.

"That I'm not sure of. What I know, however, is that all of my pets are worthier than a lizzie." Lith said in a small burst of flames that evaporated his drink and glass alike.

"What did you say?" Now it was Qisal's turn to lose his cool. That word was a taboo for the Wyvern's species.

"You heard me, lizzie. Your brother Gadorf had the gall to call himself a Dragon and filled his slave house with gold, but he was nothing more than an overgrown lizard with an inferiority complex." Lith reveled in the fury twisting Qisal's and Xedros's faces.

'Dealing low blows is a game two can play.' He thought.

"How dare you!" Qisal tried to assault Lith, but the members of both the Dragon and the Phoenix bloodline easily restrained him, forcing him on his knees.

"You think you can insult others and then you can't take a taste of your own medicine? How pathetic." Lith clicked his tongue, looking down on his opponent.

Qisal had envisioned exactly for that scenario, but their roles had been reversed. He was supposed to be the one looking down to a humiliated opponent.

"You arrogant whelp. You didn't just offend me with your words, but the entire Wyvern species. You spat on your own family." Qisal chuckled as another plan took form in his mind.

He regained his calm and ceased struggling until the other Emperor Beasts released him. Now that he was back on his feet, the Wyvern towered over the puny Wyrmling.

"Cry me a river." Lith shrugged. "As I already said, I have plenty of relatives whose death would make me happy. I'll just add Wyverns to the list."

"That's not so easy, you fool. I demand satisfaction and invoke my right to a Spirit Duel!" Qisal said as his body suddenly brimmed with emerald green energy.

"Bring it on, sucker." War appeared between Lith's hands in a burst of emerald flames, twisting and pulling its blood sheath like a man trying to get rid of a straightjacket.

There was no point hiding the existence of his omni pocket since Xedros knew about it and he was likely to spread the word now that their relationship had gone sour.

"Make me feel it. Make me feel alive again!" War's seals and latches clicked furiously, forming intelligible words that made silence befall the entire Council Hall.

Even the old monsters who had been commenting on the children's squabble and making bets on it were now too surprised to keep talking.

"Here we go again." Leegaain sighed. He was the only one knowing the whole story and he was certain that one way or another, people would find a way to pin the blame on him.

An omni pocket was the only kind of dimensional storage that could bypass sealing arrays and everyone knew that there were very few people still alive capable of making them on Garlen. Salaark and Leegaain were among them.

During her last visit, Xenagrosh had revealed to have one and Leegaain had told everyone that she didn't steal it. Omni pockets were usually his coming-of-age gift for his most promising children.

Everyone assumed that Lith's omni pocket came from Leegaain as well and he couldn't explain the truth without revealing Solus's existence. Many Dragons who didn't have an omni pocket glared at the innocent Leegaain, but no fury could compare with that of the Wyverns.

'F.u.c.k you, Father.' They all thought in unison. 'You never bestowed one even on the Father of all Wyverns yet you gave it to a half-blood?'

The talking blade, instead, made several glasses slip from the hands of their owners in surprise, Faluel included. A symphony of shattering glass spread throughout the Hall as the eyes moved from War to Salaark.

According to logic, if the omni pocket was a gift from the father, the blade had to come from the mother. It wasn't a cursed object yet it was semi-sentient, something that only the god of Forgemasters was supposed to be able to do.

Salaark's eyes lingered on War for a while, smiling in reply to all those who stared at her, without confirming nor denying their silent allegations.

'Find everything about Orion Ernas, Sinmara. I want it yesterday.' Salaark said to her right-hand woman, a stunning redhead in a scarlet dress.

Sinmara nodded and used the Call of the Blood to go back to the Desert despite the dimensional sealing arrays.

"Put that away before someone gets hurt." Salaark stood between the Wyrmling and the Wyvern, holding Lith's arm while being careful to not touch the hilt of the blade.

'Interesting. This thing only has pseudo cores, yet it has learned how to handle them as a power core would, exceeding the abilities its maker has infused the artifact with. This Orion guy is someone I definitely want on my side.' She thought.

Despite all the cloaking seals Orion had covered the blade with and the use of an original Forgemastering technique exclusive to him, Salaark needed but a glance to recognize his handiwork.

"Why should I if that lizzie wants a duel?" Lith asked with fury.

"First, stop saying that. It's a racial slur and it's very rude of you to say that in front of your family. Second, no weapons are allowed in a Spirit Duel." Salaark said.

"Let me get this straight. He can talk shit on my people and piss on the grave of my friend while I can't return the favor?"

"No matter how much you cared for him, Lark was a non-Awakened human and you are a beast who's insulting his own bloodline. There's a big difference. As for Captain Yehval, unless you bring her into your nest and she gives you children, she's irrelevant as well." Salaark shook her head.

"If she ever bears one of my grandchildren, however, and something were to happen to her, I will exterminate the entire Wyvern bloodline for your words. Are we clear?" She looked at Qisal now, her voice unchanged yet terrifying nonetheless.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Lith seemed even more scared than Qisal.

"Wait. Are you telling me that if I get my girlfriend pregnant, you would protect her?" Lith asked, fearing the consequences that either answer would have.

"How could I possibly ignore the bearer of my blood? Of the first member of a new bloodline at that?"