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

We headed back to the RV.

We were ready to go back to the house and go to bed, plus none of the three of us were browsers like Aelin and Jen. We were halfway through the parking lot when Fray started panicking.

"Atlas, I have enough All, I could pay you back for that. That was really too much to spend on me…" Her teeth started chattering as she spoke.

"Hey." I moved in front of her, so that I could look into her eyes. "It was something you wanted and it was going to be useful to the group. And who knows, maybe there is another dungeon in the Ward where you'll be able to use it…"

"Cere is the only other dedicated earth affinity dungeon." Justia shrugged when I looked at her. "I looked them all up while Oz was talking to Aelin."

Which was what I should do soon. I made a mental note to read up on all of them once we got done here.

"See? That's at least one more Dungeon where we'll need you to have this, so don't worry about it." I lifted her chin with my right hand so she'd have to look me in the eyes. "Okay?"

"Yes, but…"

I slid my hand around the side of her face and cupped her ear. Fray froze like she was a kitten and I'd just grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Her eyes were looking at me now, but they were full of panic. Which wasn't the reaction I was going for. When I did this to Ether, the ivory woman usually leaned into my hand and it calmed her down.

"Look. You're someone who is precious to me and doing this for you made you happy." I smiled and looked over at Justia, who was frowning and shaking her head. "What?"

"She thinks you're buying her." The other green woman nodded at my hand. "And that's what you do to Ether before you kiss her."

I yanked my hand away. "Sorry, that wasn't what I was trying to convey." I looked up at the night sky, "What I mean is that I haven't got to do much for you…" I looked over at Justia, "Either of you in a while and this seemed like something nice I could do."

"Having me go shopping with you instead of Aelin was something nice?" Justia raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that word means what you think it means."

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"I still have to figure something out for you." I shook my head, "But I really wanted to talk with you…" I looked around. There weren't many people in the parking lot, but we were still out in the open. "In the RV." I moved around so that I could look at Fray. "Are you okay?"

The green woman nodded slowly.

"Good. Let's get inside before anyone gets back." I turned and started walking. The RV was only a few spots away.

When I reached the RV, I noticed that while Justia had followed me, Fray was still standing where I'd left her, tapping the tip of her right boot on the parking lot.

"Fray." I motioned for her to follow. "Come on."

She started moving, but stopped an arm's length from the door.

"What's going on?" I was confused and starting to get a little frustrated.

"You said you wanted to talk with Justia." Fray nodded at the door. "You have those talks without me."

"That…" I groaned. Part of it was my fault for not explaining better, but we hadn't really had time. "Just get in here." I reached out and grabbed her arm. I didn't need anyone else overhearing what I was going to tell her. At least I knew that the RV was fairly secure. I closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Okay." I pinched my eyebrows together. "At the moment, you're one of the few people that I know I can talk to and around." I tapped on my chest. "Because of this."

It'd been an effort to put her mind at ease, so Trent had given both Fray and Gesai the same seal that Rix and I had that was hiding our true classes. The thing was that their seals also bound them to the pact that I'd made with Trent, Justia, and ArchBishop Mavery. Except their seals only bound them to the deal of not being able to bring harm to me and to protect my secret. I'd been a little uneasy when Trent had informed me of one-sidedness on their seals, which meant I would have to be careful not to abuse that power.

"But Justia doesn't have one of these. The only mark she has is on her left hip and it doesn't look anything like the one I was born with…"

"That's not what…" I looked over at Justia, "When were the two of you naked together?"

"There aren't any stalls in the showers." Justia thumped me on the head, "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Sorry." I rubbed my head. Honestly, I'd never had to shower with anyone else since Shelly was giving me a wide berth, so that possibility hadn't crossed my mind. I nodded at Justia's right hand. "Show her."

"Are you sure?" Justia rubbed the back of her hand.

"Her seal is linked to those as well. She's part of the pact."

"Okay…" Justia held up her right hand.

Sealing pacts with magic turned out to be fairly common, and it would be unsightly to have all of those icons all over a person's body. So a spell was developed that hid the mark until the person it was on ran magic through it.

Like Justia was doing.

A blue mark almost exactly like the one I had over my heart appeared on the back of her hand.

"See?" I sat down in the booth. "You're one of us."