Rex pouted at the fact that Angela was onto him, but he didn’t argue. It was impossible to argue with a goddess who knew so much about the trade. When he finally let go of Lucas, he started to sway. The exertion had gotten to him, and he wasn’t feeling great after it.

Lucas took one look at the concoction that he was given, and immediately paled. “I…I need to take this?” He gulped, and he swore the solution winked at him. As Rex finally gave in and was put down by Angela, Lucas took a glass of water from one of the helpers, and took another terrified look at the soup. “Gods help me…” He downed it in one go, and immediately his eyes bulged as he tried to keep it down.

Xeik was there, rubbing the poor kid’s back as he swallowed it. Immediately he chugged the water behind it. And started to cough and sputter. With that out of the way, the leviathan was left to watch the rest of them as Xeik and Lewis headed upstairs with Angela in the lead.

As Lady Angela started to pelt questions, Lewis gave Xeik a side eye, but rattled the answers off without hesitation. “About three days ago. About five days ago she started to want more, not less. Appetite was nonexistent around the same time, but she does that often.”

Xeik blushed at the mention of Lewis and Simone’s sex life, but he knew that it mattered in the long run, and took mental notes. “Does it always correlate?” the thief asked as they entered Simone’s room. This had been the first time that he had ever seen it, and his mouth dropped. “This is huge…and pretty…”

“I’m here Simon,” Lewis said as he came over and gripped her hand lightly. “Brought Lady Angela and….Xeik. Answer any questions if they ask.” He looked to them. “Well…?”

Angela thought about, “She’s always been a weird one but it’s hard when she also feeds off your energy.” Looking at Xeik she thought about it, “You would be surprised a lot how often sex drive is linked to things like this. Simone is an odd case because she can pull from Lewis and she is older so in her case she might actually want it more naturally even if her body is newer. Her mind is still designed to want it. Typical with older women. Especially women Simone’s advanced age,” Angela made a face and snorted.

Taking a look around the room Angela nodded, “Simone has good taste.” Coming over Angela put her hand to Simone’s forehead. “Come here Xeik.” She took his hand and put it on her forehead. “See how hot she is? Because of what she is this could be a false flag. Some races burn hot regardless. Like my nieces and nephews on Toya’s side. They are half lycans so they burn hotter. Someone like Ezili might be cooler to the touch because of her association with water. It would be best to start keeping a log so you can draw the parallels. If you are going to stay with me and work with me… It’s best you draw conclusions fast. It could save someone’s life in a split second if you can identify the issue.”

Simone gripped at Lewis’s hand and gave him a smile. “I haven’t felt this bad in a long time.” It was at no one in particular. “I would I would rather be tortured to death.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Angela smiled and checked her pulse over. “It’s weaker than normal and she is way hotter than normal as well. She’s on the verge of cold sweats too. Lewis, do you think you can make sure she eats. Make sure she eats at the scheduled times you normally do. Her body is going to run out of energy at this rate. I can tell she skipped breakfast and lunch today.”

Looking at Xeik she made a face, “Xeik, go fetch me my bag real quick please.” Once she had it she took a few red herbs out. They were almost glowing. “In this case, with Simone because she is naturally hotter we will be using ingredients from hot climates with fire attributes. This is sun weed. It grows at the base of the Apoy Volcano.” She showed it to him. “The stem is useless so we’ll get all the leaves off and we’ll steep it in a tea. We’ll need a pot of hot water.”

She prepared the tea and handed it to Lewis. “You’ll need to drink this too. I think if we approach this as treating you as one individual we can treat Simone way faster than the children. Your condition directly impacts her since she is your life-force. It’s important you stay even healthier than she does. Please make sure Simone drinks the tea. I can make sachets for you so she drinks it.” Looking at Xeik again she sighed, “The next thing we’ll do is rub an ointment on her where her mana vessels are. It will help her body’s natural healing. After Simone had the tea Angela rolled her over and pulled off her dress where the tattoo was glowing but not as brightly as it should have been.

“See what I mean? This should be a bright azure while they are in resonance. The illness in both Lewis and Simone is going to directly impact it.” She took Xeik’s hand and traced where the mana veins were in Simone’s body. Simone gave a wiggle whenever she got uncomfortable. “Sorry Simone, if he’s going to learn to treat people he’s going to have to get used to this. For right now, we’ll show Lewis how to do the ointment so he can do it later. It’s very important that we get the veins at the tattoo all the way. The rest we can gloss over. We’ll do Lewis’s tattoo as well.”

Xeik followed Angela’s lead, and felt Simone’s forehead, much to the discomfort of both him and Lewis. Surely enough, she was hot to the touch, but from what Xeik had been told, she was a phoenix. Based on the knowledge he had of humans, she could have been dead, or close to it at that temperature, but as Lady Angela had explained, with her species, it was hard to tell. LAdy Angela gave him the answer, though, that she was indeed higher than she should have been.

The thief nodded at her mention at taking notes and that his decisions could lead to life or death.

As Lady Angela mentioned making sure that she eats, Lewis nodded and crossed his arms. “Already have the staff making sure we have plenty of favorites on hand to make sure there’s motivation.” He smirked. “Of course, soup is laso high on that priority list as well.”

Xeik left the room for a moment to go get Angela’s bag, and Lewis took full advantage of this to give the goddess a stern look. “And why is he suddenly learning from you? I wanted you to fix him, not apprentice him…” The fact that he was openly admitting it was progress. Still, Xeik came back before Lady Angela could give a proper response, and the questions was dropped for the time being.

Lady Angela produced the herbs, and Xeik took mental notes at what they were, where to find them, and what they were for. With a hot pot of water retrieved, they made a tea to which Lewis took a sniff at, and begrudgingly sipped. By the look on his face, it wasn’t the most pleasant thing, but it was tolerable. He knelt down and helped Simone sip at the tea as well, and when she finally finished, they moved on to the next treatment.

When Simone rolled over, Lewis and Xeik both gave Angela a look, and both of them reacted when she removed Simone’s dress. Xeik turned red and spun around, and Lewis gave Angela a death glare. With surprising speed, Angela grabbed Xeik’s wrist as he spun, and yanked him over, forcing him to spin back and right in front of Simone’s exposed back, without missing a beat.

Still blushing, Xeik looked down, and noted that the tattoo on her back had the faint glow mentioned. “I…don’t have any frame of reference,” he said, starting out as a nervous whisper, “But…I assume it’s supposed to be brighter?” He looked at the intricate markings, and suddenly his bashfulness was gone. “These marks here though…they look different than in the middle.”

His blushes came back when Lady Angela traced the mana veins with him, but they weren’t in intimate areas thankfully, and Xeik was at least understanding where they were and how it flowed. He had a general idea of where they’d lead, and made another mental note to look up a book about it later.

Lewis, despite it all, was keeping relatively calm, but was nearing his limit. “Just show me what to do already…” The Goddess showed them both how to apply the ointment, and with some instruction, Xeik was given hands on experience with doing it to Lewis’, much to both of their surprise.

When it was all said and done, Lewis put his shirt back on, and tucked Simone in. He was quiet for a moment, and then looked to the goddess. “….thanks, for coming…”

“Good, if anyone is an expert on your wife it would be you. She tends to be a stubborn one.” There was a slight smirk.

Once Lewis confronted her all Angela could do was smile in response. There had been very little time to formulate a response on her end. It was a complicated question that needed a complicated answer. Soon though.

Soon.

Simone seemed to be more relaxed once she had the tea and even offered a small smile up at Lewis. He took good care of her and Angela decided she had made the right decision to bring her back for Lewis. Once the learning session began she looked at Xeik as she spun him, “You will have to get used to it Xeik. You wanted me to give you a purpose so you could grow. I am giving you one but you will have to get over this. Healing isn’t just gender-specific. There will be times where you will need to strip your patients or even help deliver children. There isn’t someone else who can step in for you and you need to get over it. Maybe not today or tomorrow but you must work on what makes you uncomfortable. Only then will you see true growth.” She looked at Lewis, “And stop glaring. It’s not like I’m making him work the mana vessels in her breasts. You can do that.”

The goddess tilted her head, “Yes, when we check back up on her we will see the difference once she is well. Then you can definitely see it.” Angela tilted her head, “The tattoo has grown since I first made it. This right here,” she traced the edges of it, “wasn’t in my original inscription. It means that Lewis and Simone are one and as time goes on the tattoo will grow until it covers most of their back if not all of it. This is a very good sign.”

Angela helped Xeik with the visuals, “Healers learn this from diagrams early on but you are super far behind in your age. I was learning this when I was ten. We have a lot to catch you up on.”

The goddess rubbed her neck once Lewis thanked her and she sighed a bit. Taking a moment she decided to have a bit of honesty, “I am responsible for her Lewis. In a way, she is my child now. I created her. I breathed life into her. Very much like how I am now responsible for you. We must all take responsibility for the things we do… Both the bad and the good.”

Taking a look at Xeik and then a look at Lewis she grabbed them both and dragged them to outside the room. She faced them. “Xeik, I want you to apologize to Lewis. Tell him what you told me. The fight you two had. The thing that started this nastiness. I want you to apologize for it. I’ve explained it to you now. I’ve let you sit on it. You understand a bit more now. The first step is understanding what I told you. The second step is admitting it. Congratulate him on his growth." The goddess was being sincere. "Lay it to rest." Angela would eye Lewis every once in a while. Clearly, he had played his own role in this but Xeik had been the main person.

"You should thank Xeik for the idea Lewis." The idea to save kids and the happiness that it had brought.

It all happened so fast. Lady Angela had blindsided both of them, and forced a confrontation that neither of them had prepared for or been ready for. It had taken Xeik so much to confront Lady Sirona, who he had blamed for the devastation that he had experienced, but in the end had done nothing. It was Lady Angela who had given him a path, and the thief felt he owed her enough to try.

Lewis, on the other hand, was about ready to just walk off. His entire family wasn’t well, and now he was being forced to sit here and listen to the whiny brat he once regarded as a friend and mentor, and he wasn’t going to have it. He tried to walk off, but one look from Lady Angela showed him that he didn’t have a choice but wait.

Xeik sighed, and closed his eyes. He wasn’t ready for this. “I can’t condone what you do,” he started. “But…I can see that you’ve done well here…that you’ve managed to save lives here…and help people. I…can’t stand that you kill, but I also understand now that….” He sighed. “I understand that sometimes death is…possibly the only outcome.” There was a sudden sternness in his voice as he looked at Lewis. “That doesn’t mean that I accept that you’re a cold hearted killer….it just means…that I….understand it.”

Lewis crossed his arms, and took a deep breath as he looked at Xeik. “You’re pathetic. It took a Goddess to even do this…you’re still weak. And you still don’t even know what you want.”

The thief gace Lewis a look, but shook his head in the end. “You’ve come a long way, Lewis…from when I met you. I…don’t approve of the path you took, but in the end, you still made something for yourself…and I…respect it.” He took another deep breath. “And I’ve decided…that I’m going to become a healer. No more thievery…”

The assassin raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” There was the faintest hint of a smirk. “Well then…good luck. You’ll need it.” He pointed at the goddess. “She’s the best there is, according to Leilah. But she’s also the worst.” There was a jab somewhere in there. “And since Angela mentioned it,” Lewis said as he turned to go back into the room. “It was your idea…this place. To help the kids…”

As Lewis shut the door, Xeik crumbled, shaking. “That innocent little kid…he grew up to be so scary…I thought he was going to kill me….”

Angela took a big sigh as Lewis went into the room. “He’s in a protective state right now. His family is sick and we did something he finds unnecessary, however, I think he is proud that you are finding a path. He won’t ever tell you that and he might insult you along the way but he is probably also relieved that you are going to be alright.”

She patted Xeik on the shoulder and smiled at him, “You did good and I’m proud of you for it. Let’s go take care of Ezili then we can do a few last-minute things before we go home for the day. I want to put you in a crash course.”

Once they were done healing Ezili they left for the day. The days that followed had the same routine. It was harder some days than others and Angela was very strict. She had even made a schedule that he had to keep to and it even had his sleep on it. Raine was in charge of being his alarm clock of sorts making sure he was where he needed to be at all times.

Finally, five days in they returned to the Terrowin Castle and checked in with Simone. She looked much better but Lewis still had her in bed. She was holding Everett and Alshaya who also looked much better. “My precious babies aren’t sniffling anymore. It’s all thanks to you both. Thank you. Because of you both… I wanted you to be here for this… So Xeik could relish that he did something good.”

Simone put Alshaya and Everett down. Taking Lewis’s hand she moved him over to the other side of the room. “Stay,” she held her hands out to show him she meant it as she went over and got Everett who was trying to pull himself up. “He had been working on it before and I was hiding it but then he got sick and lost interest.”

She stood little Everett up and let go. At first, Everett looked up at her but he was holding himself well. He was a little wobbly but he held his arms out and totted towards Lewis. About in the middle Everett fell and smacked his head but after five seconds of tears… He pulled himself back up and continued on his way to Lewis. “DA!”

When Xeik and Lady Angela returned, Xeik looked much worse for wear than when he left. His hair was a tousled mess, and he looked as though he had barely slept the last several days. Despite her rigid schedule, even for sleeping, the young man had decided to go with even less sleep, and had stayed up for extra studying. But that was his choice, and it was showing now.

Lewis wasn’t sure why they had all been summoned, but was confused when Simone set down the babies, and dragged him to the other side of the room. Much to his shock, Everett started to try and get up on his own, and was struggling. With a little help from Simone, the baby stood and took his time looking up at his mother, almost as if asking permission. With a smile from Simone, he looked at Lewis and held out his hands, and started to walk.

Lewis’ eyes grew wide with a mix of concern and adoration for his child, and he almost took a step. But he waited. Everett was coming to him slowly but surely, and when he fell, the assassin hissed, and almost leapt. Strangely, though, a look from Simone stopped him, the constant smile and assuredness that Everett would succeed. And surely enough, the boy got back up, and made his way over to Lewis, who swept the boy up in his arms with an uncharacteristic smile.

That woke Xeik up. He never thought he’d see the day where Lewis smiled. Not a smirk. An actual smile. “Lady Angela, am I dying?” he asked as he looked over to her. “Is this some elaborate prank?”

“Everett, you’re a brilliant little genius,” Lewis said as he held the boy close, cherishing the moment that he had just witnessed. “How long?” he asked Simone. “How did you even hide this?”

Lewis was ever protective of his son and it made Simone proud. It took her a few moments of shaking her head for Lewis to even back off from rushing to him. Angela leaned over to Xeik and smirked with a whisper, “I told you he had grown.”

Simone picked up Alshaya and kissed Lewis soundly, “I can shut off the resonance at will and shield you from my thoughts. I just choose not to because it is comforting to let you know everything and to feel you. I… may have hidden something else.” She set Alshaya down. They were close in age but Alshaya was a little bit behind. "As for how long… We've been working on it for a month." Everett clapped up at Lewis excitedly with Alshaya too.

The little girl squealed up at Lewis and took hold of his pant leg. It took her a moment but she pulled herself up. “Da! DA!” She was yelling excitedly and Everett was mimicking her yelling at Lewis.

“I wanted to surprise you and you can’t be surprised if you know everything I do.” Simone gave him a loving smile and hugged him. Alshaya held up her hands so she could be part of it and she fell on her butt. “Okay,” she picked Alshaya up and she snuggled in between Lewis and Simone.

Angela grinned a bit, “They are precious. You two have done so well and they are very well rounded children. Lewis, you have turned out to be an ideal father and husband. I’m so proud of your growth.” She elbowed Xeik just a bit to chime in.

Xeik watched with a warm smile as the Terrowin family experienced this wondrous moment of joy and happiness. There was a moment, though, that Xeik realized that he had missed so much of life because of the way he had acted in the past few years, and a wave of sadness hit. Lewis and Simone had a family, and they were happy. The young thief still smiled for them, and for the babies who would grow up in a happy home.

“I’m happy for you both,” Xeik said as Lady Angela elbowed him. “You’ve come a long way, Lewis…and…I hope your children grow up to be happy.” The moment that Lewis and Simone’s focus went back to Alshaya and Everett, Xeik let his smile drop, if for a moment.

I really am envious of them, aren’t I? He clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. “Okay…Lady Angela. What’s next on the list today?” His determination was back. “If we’re done, I’d like to get back home to study. I’ve got a lot of work to do.” This coming from the young man who looked as if he was going to pass out at any moment.

Lewis, of course, was much more observant than Xeik gave him credit for. The assassin held Alshaya and Everett in each hand, and between their laughs and cries of joy, he kept his eye on Xeik, and noted that his once friend and mentor was in a good place. At least, for now.

Angela rubbed Xeik’s head, “You need a break. You will sleep then we will study more. If you sleep I will teach you something that I haven’t even shown Leilah how to do.” She winked at him. “She had to figure it out on her own.”

Leaving the young family Angela put her arm around Xeik’s shoulder, “You saved those kids. It’s important now that you see every advancement they make Xeik… because you are directly responsible for it. Not everyone makes it through what they had and you can take pride in the fact that they are alive. Every person you save outweighs those who die. Even if we have nightmares. Stay with me and I will teach you everything you need to know. I will hone your skills. It won’t be easy. I am a field teacher. It means you will actually be working on real people and not just reading books.”

Her eyes narrowed on him, “Are you ready? The road ahead is hard.”

It was like nothing to watch five years pass by. Under Angela, Xeik had learned how to treat people and mix medicines. He had even been there with Angela when she did operations. Today was a special day though. “Simone asked us to stop by. Not sure why but she asked us to bring something for Lewis.”

Apparently, according to Simone, it had been Alshaya and Everett’s idea so she went with it. Once they got to the house Simone was helping the kids decorate the family room. Alshaya was hanging up pictures, “Look at this one Mama!”

“Ohhhh, that is really pretty. What’s it supposed to be?”

“It’s meeee and youuu and daddyyyy,” Alshaya pointed out the scribbles.

“Oh, you are getting so good at this. I’m sure your daddy will just love it!” Simone smiled at Xeik and Angela. “Thank you so much for coming… Did you bring it?”

“Oh, I brought it. I didn’t realize we knew when Lewis’s birthday was… other than the season of course.”

“I just decided to pick a day. He should be coming back from his job today and soon. He’s been keeping in contact and he’s on his way back to the island right now.” Everett ran over with a pile of plates and put them on a table they had moved. Angela brought in a cake using magic. It was done in the same azure blue as the resonance.

“IT LOOKS SO PRETTY!” Alshaya came over and got up on her tippy toes.

“Careful, you don’t want to flip the table okay?” Everett was gentle with his little sister. “Mama, is daddy here?”

“Soon, he just gated in. Everyone hideeee.” Simone instructed the younger children. She had been hiding it from him but he could feel how giddy Simone was. Once Lewis came inside she instructed him to turn around and she blindfolded him. “Just trust me. This was the kids’ idea.” Ezili was just as excited as the little ones were.

Alshaya was on the couch in plain sight bouncing up and down excitedly. Her wild brown hair bouncing with her. She was barely containing herself.

“Okay,” Simone undid the blindfold and let it fall.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Once everyone yelled it Alshaya jumped off the couch and ran over to him hugging his leg. “I love you. I love you! I LOVE YOU!” She laughed up at him. “We picked today for your birthday daddy!”