Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

Silence.

I peeked with one eye so I could look at everyone. I'd seen Aelin stunned before, but this had really shocked her.

Not just her. Ren and Oz were both frozen with stunned faces. Gesai's eyes were wider than I'd ever seen before. And Jenne's mouth was open.

I opened my other eye when I saw Jenne. She was the same height as Aelin but not as well endowed. That didn't stop her from looking stunning in a blue dress that was split on the left side up to her thigh. I would have guessed that she'd wear something short like Aelin, but the dress fell almost to her ankles.

I blinked to try to focus, but Aelin recovered first.

"You're what?!?" The blonde playfully punched me in the arm.

"Ether and I are still trying to figure it out." I winced. "We only found out last night."

"That's what she meant earlier!" Ren chuckled. "That makes so much sense."

"What does?" I looked at the other blonde.

"Her wanting to call Mister Vowler daddy." Ren started laughing.

Which was apparently contagious because everyone else joined in. Except me, because I didn't get what was so funny.

"Okay, you've had your fun at my expense." I motioned for them to calm down. I looked at Gesai. "Should we go now that everyone is ready?"

The silver woman looked at her CB. "Miel has the car waiting for us." She adjusted her elbow-length black gloves. "Anyone have any questions?"

"Check it out!" Aelin stood up on her toes and tapped her heels together. A two-inch heel folded out of each sole, turning her slippers into high heels.

"How well are you going to be able to walk in those things?" Oz raised an eyebrow as she looked at the two other women's very similar slippers.

"They're actually really sturdy." Ren tapped her heels, transforming hers into much smaller heeled sippers. She tapped them again to turn them back.

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Aelin returned to her regular height. "I still think we should have made Oz wear a dress." She danced her finger along the back of the taller woman's shoulders. "You'd look so sexy with those long legs."

"Last time Oz wore a dress, she was seven." Gesai started walking towards the exit. "Aunt Zazel's wedding?" She smirked as she opened the door.

"I seem to remember a group of teenagers that locked us out of the kitchen." Oz growled.

Gesai held up her hands. "Yeah, that was mean. Sorry about that."

"I'm missing a part of the story." I looked between Oz and Gesai to see which one of them was going to explain.

"Uncle Farsch would encourage us to play pranks on Oz and Justia." Gesai grimaced. "Most of them weren't nice."

We walked down the hall in silence for a while.

"What happened?" Aelin wasn't able to leave the story unfinished.

"Justia, Ren, and I were locked in the kitchen garden." Oz glared at the older woman. "I tried to climb the fence to open the gate from the other side. I made it, but the dress didn't."

"You didn't like wearing dresses before that." Gesai looked at the younger woman. "That just gave you an excuse to justify it."

"Yes, you gave me what every girl wants. To be humiliated in front of the entire family and have an aunt wailing about how you ruined her special day." Oz scowled.

"Aunt Zazel is a drama queen." Gesai rolled her eyes. "She would have had a meltdown about you wearing the wrong color if she thought it'd get her more attention."

"Sounds horrible." Aelin gave Oz a hug.

"She was." The woman in the suit sighed. "She's at least tolerable now."

Gesai started to say something, but stopped herself and moved ahead of us.

From what I knew about the older woman, she had a deep desire to please others. If she had been doing everything she could to gain her uncle's approval, then I could only imagine the lengths that she would have gone. Considering that the Alards were the most favored family in Harror, the list of things that she could have gotten away with would have probably crossed into unforgivable territory if I'd been the target.

I thought about that as I watched the woman walk ahead of us. She'd been a product of her family's superiority, and even though she'd had one of the best teachers, she'd still been able to justify what she'd been doing. It hadn't been until it was obvious that she'd been thrown away that she'd finally turned her back on her uncle.

For some reason, I thought about Savyn and Andes and how they had tormented Aelin. I wondered how much of their actions were driven by their parent's prejudices. Maybe once we got back to the Cathedral, I would have a chance to talk to them. Maybe I could bring Gesai with me and see what she thought.

I pushed those thoughts away for now. There was a mission in front of me, and I needed to focus on it.

I grabbed Oz's arm and linked it in mine. "You good?"

"As long as you're here." The raven-haired woman smiled as she bumped into me.

I squeezed her arm. "All right, then let's do this!"