Raaz was mad at the idea of his son’s double life outside of his family, doing things that no child should ever even attempt to do. What angered him the most weren’t all the lies Lith had told him, Raaz was already way beyond that point, but how he spoke about fighting to the death as if it was perfectly normal.

He took deep breathes to control himself from time to time. His son needed to vent the pain that was eating at him from the inside. Raaz could always scold him later. Alas, Tista wasn’t as strong as her father.

She started weeping together with Lith, needing Phloria’s help to be able to stand.

“Why did you do all those things?” She blurted out.

“I would have rather starved than allow you to take so many risks. A few meals and some extra coins will never be worth your life. What if something happened to you?”

Tista only spoke out of concern, the revelation had been too shocking for her to accept it quietly. Yet to Lith’s ears, her words sounded ungrateful like she was spitting on all the sacrifices he had made and the help Protector had given to him.

“Why do you ask?” He was already used to the cough, he kept his voice low and hissing so it didn’t interrupt him again. Not now that he found someone else to blame.