<~> Chapter 197"Silva, is that still you?" Lorriene asked.

  Silva's attention shifted from me over to Lorriene. "Yes, I took the oath and my transformation is the firmation that Lilith's accepted it."

  Lorriene's eyes trailed up and down her body and her face hardened. "Prove it then."

  Silva gri her. "You have a scar on your ihigh that you hate. You get pissy anytime someone points it out."

  "Ugh, okay fine. No fair." She huffed and her eyes softened as she became more curious. "And this transformation, it made you more powerful? Like the stories say?"

  Silva's eyes g me for a moment before she refocused on Lorriene. "I am more powerful, I promise. But that's not my secret to share, it's something that should be kept between my sisters and anyone Lilith herself chooses to talk about it with."

  Lorriene's lips pursed but a moment ter her face rexed a out a breath. "I suppose I'll have to talk with Lilith about it myself down the line." She g me before looking around the room. "For now we'll o leave this pce. It's best if we aren't here in the m and we already have somewhere better to go. Cecilia, Lilith, you're certain the elves will take us in and protect us? Evewo pantharians that are runaway sves?" She o the two hooded figures.

  Cecilia stood up. "Again, yes. It shouldn't be a problem. We're losing night though, we should go as soon as possible."

  Lorriene nodded. "Let's raid the armory first then. Silva, Lilith, follow me."

  I looked at Man who still hadn't let go of my hand. "I'll be back soon, you stay with Bel for now."

  She nodded silently a go of my hand before rubbing her arm awkwardly. "I left my staff and bag upstairs..." She g Bel took the hint and soohree of them were headed up the stairs with Torien.

  "Mimi, e with me," I told her as I followed Silva after Lorriene.

  The three of us followed Lorriene and the two staff members dowairs to the pantry. The two staff members, or Order of Lilith cultists I suppose, worked together to move a shelf away from one of the walls that was hiding a door.

  "Armory?" I asked.

  Lorriene looked back at me while the two others started opening the secret door. "I mentiohis was a safe house right? Why wouldn't you think we would hide ons here?"

  One of the two that had opehe door lit a ntern on the wall ahe four of us pass through. It was a small room, more like a rge closet with a rack of a dozen swords, shields, spears, and daggers lined up. In one er was a handful of staves that I could tell were ented using my [Mana Sense].

  "Take anything you want or think would be useful to any of your friends. We're abandoning the rest," Lorrieold us. The two other inn staff members each took a spear and a shield befetting out of our way.

  Mimi perked up. " I eat anything we don't take?"

  Lorriene gave her a strange look. "Why'd y this crazy girl with you?"

  Mimi turned her head to the side in fusion before turning to me. "Do people think I'm crazy?"

  I ughed. "No Mimi, but you have to admit that was a weird thing to say about a bunch of ons if they don't know you. Most people 't eat things the way you ."

  She shrugged. "If you say so."

  I turo Lorriene. "Mimi has spatial magic, she take or make use of anything we don't need. She also eat things to make herself stronger."

  "Useful," the woman gruffly replied. "If none of your people need any of this, you have all of it. If someone es looking through here after we abandon the building it would be better if we didn't leave evidence of a ons cache."

  "Sure," I said. "Mimi, keep a few of each on just in case but go ahead a everything else you don't have room for. Bring those staves in the er to me though, they might be useful, everything else is yours. Eat the on racks too while you're at it, don't leave any evidence of this pce behind," I told her.

  Mimi's face lit up and she got to work. As she walked through, several ons of each type turo motes of magid flowed into her. Once she finished with that her shirt disappeared and she started feeding stuff into the giant mouth oorso.

  "Fuck, what the hell?!" Lorriene yelled while bag away.

  "Don't worry, you'll get used to her," Silva said with a grin. "She doesn't get to do this very often but it's always fun to watch."

  Mimi began to devour everything in the room that wasn't nailed down including the metal and wooden racks and what little furniture was in the small room. When she finished Lorriene was looking a little green. Mimi finished by putting her shirt ba and turning towards her. "Thanks, Auntie Lorriene!" she told her enthusiastically.

  I coughed. "Oh yeah, um. Mimi is one of mine and Man's lovers..." I told her. "I guess that kind of makes you our family too..."

  She just turo me with a mildly disgusted look on her face before she turned around. "Uh, no problem kid. Let's get out of here..."

  I couldn't help but grin a little at the reply. Lorriene is a really iing woman. While looking at the back of her head my eyes trailed over the spot on the back of her neck where her colr used to sit, there was a tan lihat made the ck of colr pretty obvious.

  "Lorriene..." I said quietly. "Man and Torien were pretty... disturbed by their colrs being removed. Why are you doing so much better than they are?"

  Her hand lightly gripped the doorframe as she stood there. There was a long pause there while we waited for her to say something or keep moving. After a while, she spoke.

  "In this kingdom, all pantharian childreaken to a small city north of the capital to be raised and traihe only way out of it is for a pantharian's master to leave this try while the mother is pregnant. Afterward, the child will still be taken to be colred and trained if they are ever brought back, even as an adult. Any master wealthy enough to buy a pantharian usually isn't willing or ied enough to stop the kingdom from taking the children and would need somewhere outside of the try to leave them even if they did want to keep them. Some people eve as a be of owning a pantharian, not having to worry about figuring out what to do with the children..."

  Her sharp nails trailed down the wood as she collected her thoughts. "I wasn't raised in this try as a child... My mother's master had kept me and my sister outside of Torlimal until we were adults but he also maneuvered things so that we could be colred a without having to be taken away from our mother or trained with the rest of the pantharians. Unfortunately, my sister got bred by his son and our master wasn't happy about it. He sold the two of us off to a trainer in that city to punish her for it, even though it wasn't even her choice. We were still allowed to visit and spend time with Torien and Man as they grew up but they were raised and trained separately from us. They've been trained as sves sihey were babes so it's not a surprise they wouldn't take it well after they had been told all their lives that they were worthless without a master. The other two are ag like ent, Kerling, is their master still... I think that's even worse."

  Without another word she stepped through the doorway and up the stairs, not leaving room for any further questions. A lump had settled in my throat. That was a lot more information than I thought I would get but it was a valuable glimpse into their past. I was still scared to ask them about their childhood. This firmed that my fears were founded. Mimi took my hand and I felt waves of fort and reassurance flow through the bond from her. She didn't say anything but she was there to e.

  Silva spoke up from behind me, "Since you've overheard some of my retionship with her anyway, I'll tell you that I've known her for a long time and she doesn't like to talk about the time she spent being 'traihere. I had thought that it was because she was tortured or something, but now I think it's because of her retionship with her nieces. She had told me about them a few times but other than the fact that she loved and missed them, I didn't know much about them. That's why I was so surprised to find out the twins were reted to her."

  I frowned. "I nning on telling everyone else about this ter but Sorsette told me that Fortuna, the goddess of lud fortune, has been pulling my strings from the beginning. There's too many ces arouhat point to manipution and this is another for the heap."

  "Fortuna huh? I would doubt that if it hadn't e from Sorsette. Fortuna has always been known to stay out of most people's affairs and other than granting boons of luck to people on occasion, all she's known for are her gambling dens. ...I feel your tension through the bond. What else aren't you telling me about her?" Silva asked.

  I sighed. Silva is a succubus now, she's ected to me the same way the others are and we feel each other's emotions in a way I hadn't before. My retionship with Silva was a little plicated right now and the bond was more revealing than I wa to be at the moment.

  I decided to tell her through the bond so I turo face her, -- "Sorsette is sure that Fortuna is one of three gods supp the Tamin church." --

  "Fuck," she whispered.

  "Keep it to yourself for now, I haven't had a ce to tell a and I know it'll turn into a long discussion."

  Silva cracked her neck. "Fine. We have other things to do anyway, let's get moving... also hearing your voiside my head was weird."

  The three of us who had bee alone in the armory finally came up the stairs and found everyone had more or less finished getting ready. Sibyl waved us over when she saw us e out from the ba.

  "Hey, Lorrieold me to ask Mimi about a sword?"

  Without asking Mimi stepped forward and one of the swords she had taken from the rack materialized in her hands. "Here you go! I also have a few shields and spears!"

  Sibyl took it and measured the weight in her hands. "Not bad. My current sword is rather old so I'll have to use this for now. Would you mind holding on to my old sword Mimi? It has seal value."

  "I don't mind, sure," Mimi replied with a smile.

  I left them alone a over to where Man and Torien were sittio Bel. They looked geared up and ready to go. Man was holding her clear staff that looked like it was made of gss. Torien was cheg her arrows and making sure everything was ly packed in her bag. They both still looked te something about cheg their equipment had brought them baewhere familiar.

  "How are you three doing?" I asked. The two twins flinched when I spoke even though I know they had seen me ing.

  "I'm doing... okay? I think," Man said quietly.

  Torien nodded. "Better..."

  "Good." I wasn't happy they were still ag skittish but at least preparing their ons and gear had tered them a little bit. I sat an and pced my hand on her leg. I was worried she would shy away from me but instead she rested her shoulder against mine and leaned against me. I ed one arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.

  "Thank you, Lilith," Man whispered.

  "For what?" I asked softly.

  "For... everything. There's too much to say right now but mostly... for making me feel waill. I... I'm not eveirely sure what it is I'm afraid of, but everything feels so uain now..." She started to tear up again so I pulled her against me and kissed her on the forehead.

  "It's okay Man... I love you. I won't let you go that easily."

  Torien sat o me and leaned against me from the other side. Her hand pyed with the crease of my pants. "You meant all that stuff you said right? Partners?"

  I ed an arm around Torien's waist and held her against me. "Yes. Partners, friends, and family."

  A small smile rose on Torien's face. It wasn't a beaming smile but it was something. "Partners, friends, and family. I trust you, Lilith. I don't need a colr to know that you wouldn't abandon us. I believe in you."

  Saine

  Hello! This chapter had some backstory owins and their situation growing up. This is a firmation that the two of them had been essentially brainwashed into believing that being sves was their natural p the world. It's why the two never seemed driven by being freed and never spoke or asked for it. Their world view was tainted sihey were young to believe it was where they belonged. It's one of the darker and unfortunate aspects of their character. We also got a bit of a peek at who Lorriene really is. Thank you for reading.

  Chey other story here: Umbral Feast

  Here's a link to the unity Discord: https://disc/XsNwYuZp6s

  If you would like to support my writing on Patreon, you read up to 10 chapters ahead there!

  Please leave a favorite so I get my story in front of more eyeballs! I would greatly appreciate it!