A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Erik suddenly felt a little awkward. "There's… been no ceremonies or even celebrations yet, Mom. I've been waiting for you to be able to attend them. Plus, we've simply not had that much time."

"What?!" Runa exclaimed as loudly as her weakened body allowed her. "So, you've just been going up to these women, and saying 'lol, now we're married' and that's it?! I raised you better than that, Silvy!"

Erik felt a little exasperated as he shrugged, "Didn't you just say something about how they should feel privileged and how I should keep my guard up?"

"Don't confuse my words, boy," she growled with narrowed eyes. "I still expect you to treat your wives with respect!"

Next to him, Elora began to giggle a little. She loved Erik's difficult expression as he tried to weather the storm that was his mother.

Erik sighed and looked at Runa solemnly before removing his shirt and exposing his naked chest. His mother quickly lost her previous indignation and instead blinked a few times. "Uh…" she muttered in a bewildered state.

Rather than explain, Erik kissed Elora, who naturally realized what he wanted to do, and then flew up off his lap. Then he got up and kneeled next to the bed while he explained, "Perhaps I was a little hasty. We did have a kind of ceremony, just nothing traditional."

Leaning close so that Runa could see better, he pointed at the marks above his heart. "I'm bonded with each of them in a way that resembles my bond with Elora, Mom. I've been marked by them, as they were marked by me."

Finally understanding what was going on, Runa raised an eyebrow and extended her hand to touch the marks. One, a white light encased in greenery, one a dark star shining with crimson, and finally, a yellow sun behind crossed swords. "I see… I still think you should have a larger celebration, but this is a nice way to do it."

She looked up at him with a smirk, "So, Emma, Emily, and Astrid, huh? Based on what you've told me; I think I can already tell what kind of wives they are."

Erik chuckled softly. He wasn't surprised Runa could tell who they were based on the marks. They weren't subtle, after all, and his mother was intelligent enough.

Yet, before he could stand up, Runa grabbed his arm with surprising strength, and her fingers wandered over to the scar on his chest. "What happened here, Silvy…?" she asked sombrely. The scar's location made its danger obvious.

A complicated expression flickered over Erik's face. Suddenly, he regretted opening his shirt. "We'll get to that, Mom. It's part of the story."

The sombre look didn't leave his mother, but she finally let his arm go, and Erik stood up.

"So, what about the other three?" she then continued while Erik put his shirt back on and sat back on the chair, apparently willing to forget about the scar for now.

Erik shrugged as he welcomed Elora back on his lap, "Anne and Nora serve my family and I occasionally have some fun with them. Seraphina is serving as her punishment for endangering us, but she hasn't agreed to have sex yet."

"My, you've become quite the ladies' man," Runa smirked playfully, clearly unconcerned by the fact two of her students now served him in bed. She glanced at Elora, an eyebrow raised, "And you're okay with all this?"

Elora grinned, "I don't mind being first among many. Besides, I have my own reasons for encouraging it…"

Slowly, Runa's mouth curved upwards, "Huh, perhaps he 'is' equally lucky to have you."

"Glad you're realizing the truth, mother-in-law," Elora nodded smugly.

Runa narrowed her eyes, but in the end just scoffed and moved on. "Anyway, when do I meet these wives of yours?" she asked her son.

"Whenever you like," Erik said calmly. "Although we still have a little more story to go."

His mother sighed and settled back into the pillows, "Alright, finish your story first, then." Suddenly, she yawned and closed her eyes, "Although I think I need another nap soon, I also really want to know what exactly is going on with me… I hate feeling this weak."

Erik nodded solemnly, and quickly continued. The battle in the forest and meeting with Naeku came next, at which point Runa couldn't help but smirk at her son having found another target.

Then they came to Djibouti, and Runa became a little more solemn. She became curious at the knowledge that Naeku and her family apparently knew her, but for the most part, she listened quietly.

But then it came time to talk about his chest wound, and Erik hesitated. He knew she'd likely remember eventually anyway, but he wondered if he should allow her to live without this knowledge for a little longer…

Yet, Runa was quite intuitive, especially when it came to Erik, despite her changes. "Don't hesitate, Erik," she said softly. "I know there's something you've been tiptoeing around, something to do with me. So just spit it out." Experience exclusive tales on empire

A little wryly, Erik sighed, but then explained. "Fine… Edda had already gained some control over you, and she used that to force you into attacking me. That's… where the wound on my chest came from."

Instantly, Runa paled and she tightly gripped the sheets of her bed. Her body trembled slightly as silence fell.

"I know you know this," Erik continued softly. "But it's still important to say… that I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault. In the end we all, survived, and it even made Lilith let down her guard, allowing me to strike back. My wound is almost healed."

The silence continued. Finally, before Erik was able to say anything again, Runa finally stopped trembling. "You're right… I knew all that. But it still felt good to hear, thank you," she whispered hoarsely. "Just… give me a second to come to grips with it."

Slowly, Erik nodded and they became quiet again. Elora remained on his lap, also looking at Runa with sympathy. Her own mother was a callous researcher and a monster by most people's standards, but Elora couldn't imagine the pain Morganae would go through if she somehow hurt her daughter.

The same went for any children she might have with Erik in the future. Meanwhile, everyone in the dimension, including Alice, thought approximately the same thing.

After five minutes of silence, Runa finally opened her eyes again, a fierce, wrathful light shining withing. "We'll make Edda pay, right?" she asked Erik with a soft growl.

"Of course, Mom."