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

Fray pulled her shirt so she could look down at her own mark.

Justia released the magic and the mark vanished.

"Do I get one of those?" Fray grabbed Justia's hand and started looking for the seal.

"No." Justia and I said together.

Fray looked up from her search. "Why?" Her face got red. "Does Ether have one like that?"

"Why..?" I sighed. "No, Ether does not have a mark on her hand or her heart or anywhere." Now that I said it out loud, I probably should talk to her about that. Not that I didn't trust her, but accidents happened and if one happened with this in the wrong place, I'd be dead.

"ETHER DOESN'T HAVE A MARK?!?" Fray looked up at me. "Who else does? Oz? Ren?" She looked at Justia. "Aelin?"

"No. No. And no." I motioned at the booth. "Now could you please sit down. I've got a lot to talk with Justia about and not a lot of time before they get back."

Fray took a seat across from Justia, while I leaned against the cabinet across the booth so that I could see both of them.

"What are your thoughts about the secondary team so far?" I waved my hand at her reaction. "Minus Oz and Ren."

"Jen is fitting in too well, but Trent vouched for her, so I'm not going to try to blow her cover." Justia tapped her fingers on the table.

"Could your feeling about her be jealousy?" I held up my hands to ward away the glare I received. "Just making sure."

"That's just it." The blue-eyed woman sighed. "If I was into it, she'd be down to join us." Her icy glare dared my mind to envision what she'd described. "But I'm not and I'm pretty sure neither is she."

"How do you..?"

"It's just a feeling." Justia shrugged. "But she hasn't tried to jump you yet like all the other women you're around."

"Rix and Fray haven't." I tried to defend myself.

"Both of which are severely damaged." Justia reached across the table to put her hand over Fray's. "Which is okay." She turned back to me. "But we both know that if that wasn't there, then they'd be all over you."

"What about Aelin?" I felt dirty for bringing it up. "She didn't. And until I let it slip you liked her, she hadn't even considered that possibility."

"You rejected her." Justia said it like it was a fact I should have already been aware of. She held up a finger to silence me. "Not vocally, but mentally. Which means that your magnetism is something that you can turn off."

I didn't have a defense for that. "So either I nixed the idea of her as a romantic partner subconsciously, or..?"

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"Or she is bound to something else." Justia held up her right hand.

"Oh…" I closed my eyes. Of course Trent would bring a spy onto the team. I sighed and looked between the two green women. "At least we can trust that she's on our side."

Fray was blinking as she tried to absorb everything we were saying. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to pause.

"What are your thoughts about Mitchel? Do you know about his situation?"

"Shelly?" Justia shook her head. "He already knows that's what Aelin calls him. He'd probably feel more like you were accepting him if you used it." She waved her hand, "But that's not the issue. All I know is that he has an older sister who has already graduated, so I can imagine what his situation is."

I nodded, "So how close do we let him get?"

"I think he's honest enough not to push off the team." Justia scooted back in the booth so that she was facing me as she hugged her right knee against her chest. "But definitely limit what he sees. He could be a strong ally in the future, but right now, he's a pawn in his sister's game."

I hated that I was having to learn how to navigate all the plots and schemes. Life would be so much simpler if the Nobles would just adhere to Noblesse Oblige.

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree." I shrugged. "What about the two candidates?"

"Zel's already tried to throw herself at you." Justia's eyes narrowed, "What do you think?"

"She sounded desperate." I rubbed the side of my face, "I don't know why though. But not even Bridget came on that strong."

"The blonde?" Fray looked at Justia.

My Healer just nodded. "I agree. So as much as I hate to say it, until we figure out what that is, Astrid is the frontrunner."

"Why?" I looked at Fray for a hint, then back at Justia. "I know she's Rals twin, but he didn't seem that bad. Maybe a jerk for not stepping in when Savyn, Andes, and Gileon were bullying Aelin, but not risking himself to protect someone he doesn't know doesn't make him a bad person. It actually makes him a normal person."

"It's not that." Justia shook her head. "I mean, yes, I'm upset that he didn't step in, but that's not it." She looked at Fray, then moved to me. "She's angry, neglected, eager to please and has something to prove." She raised an eyebrow. "Sound familiar?"

"She's also defiant, which we know how Gesai feels about that."

"That brings us to the last one." Justia sighed.

"Last one?" I was confused. "Trent said that there was only one potential in Klix, but he wouldn't tell me who it was. Do you know?"

"I'm not talking about the last member of the team." Justia shook her head. "I'm talking about Jovena."

"Vena?" I shrugged. "What about her? She's not on the team."

"And neither were Mom, Uncle Paul, or Aunt Dacine…" She let the implication hang between us.

"Okay, what about her?" I shrugged. "I'm not going to kick her out. Plus she's headstrong and a fighter. AND she takes the fight to people in charge, which will be a great help considering what we're up against."

"It will." Justia nodded. "Until YOU'RE the one in charge. Then the question becomes, was she fighting against oppressive rule or ALL rule?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. She had a point and I didn't have an answer for her.

"So we have to watch ourselves around the new teammates…" I shook my head. "I was hoping things would get simpler once we got back."

Justia laughed, "That all went out the window once you outed yourself as Trent's son. And he went from being a folk hero hermit to a legend with an heir overnight. Things are never going to be simple again."