"Dawn?" Nalrond cut her short. "The Horseman? That Dawn?"

"Yes." Solus nodded. "She already knows about the tower, is a skilled Forgemaster, and it’s thanks to her teachings that Aran and Leria are okay. If she trusts our kids with her secrets, we can trust her with ours."

"What about Acala?" Nalrond barely repressed a snarl. "He doesn’t know anything and doesn’t deserve your trust."

"I’m sorry, Nalrond, but at this point in their bond, they are one." Solus shook her head. "Dawn can’t tell him because of the seal she asked Malyshka to put on her, but Dawn trusts Acala with her life, and he trusts her.

"Besides, they have a tower just like Malyshka and can contribute to the project better than anyone else."

"Still, I strongly disagree." The Agni crossed his arms in outrage.

"That’s why we told you in advance." Lith replied. "We were just informing you, not asking your permission. If you don’t like it, feel free to stay in the Mansion until we are done. Solus?"

"As I was saying, Dawn will replace Protector and Malyshka Nalrond. Tista, Friya, Quylla, and Faluel will participate as usual. Fyrwal will take the seventh and last spot."

"That’s quite the lineup." Quylla whistled in approval. "I have more or less fully recovered, but I’m not sure I can keep up with you on something so important and difficult. What if I fumble the ball?"

"I am sure you can do it, Quylla." Solus patted her friend’s shoulders. "You just need to get your mana pumping a bit, and you’ll be back in tip-top shape in no time."

"And I am not worried because we’ll keep your replacement at the ready." Lith gave her a thumbs up. "I don’t like Silverwing much, but I can’t afford to delay this in case you have yet to recover your full strength."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Quylla grunted.

"You don’t need to worry about her." Morok said. "Quylla has been diligently practicing magic ever since she got back on her feet after giving birth. Also, the constant exercise from chasing after our twins gave us the reflexes of a Shyf."

"Thank you." Quylla said, this time for real.

"Still, I’m calling Silverwing anyway." Solus shrugged as he pulled out her communication amulet. "Better safe than sorry."

***

"Thanks for this opportunity, Solus." Dawn said once the substitute team was assembled. "Are you sure you want to let Zepho know about your true identity and the tower? He has already agreed to stay asleep until we are done."

"He agreed to it?" Lith echoed.

"Yes." The Horseman nodded. "Zepho knows there’s a part of my mind he can’t access, even during a mind fusion. I explained to him that I promised Solus to keep her secrets, and after what Night did to Dusk, he never asked me a single question.

"So, when I told Zepho that Solus needed my help, he volunteered to remain dormant for as long as I needed." She spoke about her husband with such pride and a radiant smile that Lith had a hard time recognizing Dawn.

"Thank you for what you did for Aran and Leria, by the way." Lith gave her a polite bow. "Your teachings saved them, if not even my entire family. I’ve caught a glimpse of them when Aran and Leria showed me what happened with a mind link, but rest assured, I won’t try to imitate those techniques without your permission."

"Well, thank you for being upfront about that." Dawn furrowed her brows. "Did the kids explain the principles behind my version of Light Mastery to you?"

"No, Aran and Leria didn’t mean to betray your trust. They just showed me the fight with a mind link. You can’t expect me not to notice something as big as an ice crystal." Lith replied.

"Then it’s fine." The Horseman shrugged. "Sooner or later, you were bound to see it. I didn’t teach that technique to the kids just for practice, but to use it in actual combat and increase their chances of survival against stronger opponents.

"I would never ask Aran and Leria to die rather than employing my Light Mastery in public. If you can figure out how to use the crystals by yourself, then be my guest."

"Thanks, Dawn." Solus bowed as well, feeling reassured about her choice.

Along with their many glaring differences, the two women also had many things in common.

’If Acala is even one-hundredth like Lith, he would never risk hurting Dawn by betraying her trust.’ She thought.

"You can wake Acala up and share everything with him." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I can only wake him up." Dawn shook her head. "I still carry the seal, remember?"

"I see." Solus replied, not knowing what to say.

"Where are we and what is this place?" Zepho Acala felt the waves of mana all around him and instinctively brought his hand to the sword at his hip. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but this place looks like a mage tower."

"Because it is a mage tower." Lith said. "Now give me your hand."

A mind link brought Acala up to speed, and then he needed a few minutes to discuss the revelation with Dawn telepathically.

’Yep, there it is.’ Lith thought as he looked at the Horseman’s and her host’s eyes flaring up during their telepathic conversation. ’The definitive proof that Solus and I are creepy when we do our thing.’

"There’s a lot to take in, but that can wait." Acala said. "Lady Yaga, I’d like to carry the same seal as Dawn."

"Wait, what?" Baba Yaga said. "And how many times do I have to tell you to drop the lady part and call me mother?"

"We can’t be sure that I won’t end up like Kelia or worse." Acala ignored the second half of her question. "If someone split us with a removal unit or gets access to my consciousness, things would go from bad to awful for too many people.

"The only way to prevent that from happening is to seal my mind as well."

"No argument from me." Lith nodded as Nalrond picked up his jaw from the floor.

"Fine." Baba Yaga sighed. "Clench your teeth, child. This is going to hurt a lot."

The Mother placed her hand on Acala’s chest and used Body Sculpting to alter his life force permanently. The mark she left was akin to a slave spell, but with only one command. Never discuss Solus’ secrets.

Acala sweated and panted from the pain, but he didn’t make a sound.

"Thanks for the opportunity, Solus, but why keep me as backup?" Silverwing said the moment the procedure was over. "No offense to your friend, but I’m much more skilled and stronger than she is."

"Because I don’t trust you that much, Aunt Loka, and I’d rather keep you away from sensitive information unless it’s strictly necessary." Solus’ words hit the First Magus like a slap.

"When I asked you for help in the past, you always refused due to your mistrust of Lith, and you’ve stepped forward only when you had something to gain. Dawn, instead, helped us unconditionally on multiple occasions to apologize for the way she treated us the first time we met."