I woke up with a tiny groan before realizing that there were arms around my waist, and I was in a bed. Oh god, what did I do last night? I almost panicked when Prince's voice spoke from beneath me, "Don't panic, Flame. It's just me."

I relaxed against his chest, feeling comforted by his presence before I remaindered what had happened last night. "Ice?" I asked, concerned for his well-being.

Prince was silent for a few seconds before he finally answered, "We heard from Kitty that he's going to wait outside the forest for us if we choose to continue after learning the truth." We remained quiet for a while before he added, "What do you make of everything your mother said yesterday?"

I hesitated before I finally answered, "I'm not for sure what to make of it, to be honest..."

"Yeah, same with the rest of us." Invent's voice came up from the direction of the door, so I looked toward it to see her and Volcan coming in.

"Sorry if we are disturbing something but we could barely hear you two talking and wanted to discuss everything as a group," Volcan said smirking at us. My face heated up, but I couldn't get up because Prince's arms were wrapped around my waist. Prince moved so he was no longer underneath me and sat on the edge of the bed, face slightly red around his cheeks.

"It was confusing..." Prince added.

I sat up, pulling a pillow over my lap as I spoke, "Ice caused mom's death by accident-causing father to despise him."

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Invent added, "And apparently Ice can't use his powers unless certain circumstances are met."

Volcan joined in, "That explains why he never tries to attack and is always quick to run or focus on supporting us from the back...and why he always carries a lot of healing items." We all were silent for a bit before he added, "No offense to your father, Flame, but it sounds more like your mother's death was partially his fault."

"How so?" I asked, confused.

Volcan hesitated for a few seconds before finally answering, "Well according to the story your mom told us...she and my mother are susceptible to Ice's type of power. They must have told our parents that when they were heroes otherwise my father wouldn't have covered my mother with his body when Ice lost control, but your father didn't think to cover your mother and you. Instead, your mother used her own body to block the attack from getting to you, so it seems to me that your father is partially to blame for her death. If he had covered the two of you, she wouldn't have died but at the same time if Ice hadn't lost control then the situation wouldn't have been there but according to your mother, he has no control over it so who's really at fault for it?"

Another span of silence engulfed us before Invent spoke, staring at one of the family photos hanging on my wall, "I don't think anyone was really at fault. I also don't think the past matters right now...no! The past matters so we don't make the same mistakes. Volcan and Flame are both half-succubus, meaning Ice's power can seriously hurt them. Now that we know that we can be better prepared if the same circumstance happens this time. Who caused her death doesn't matter right now because I know that I trust Ice, no matter what."

We all nodded in agreement to her words before Prince stood up, offering me his hand to help me up as well, "For now, let's just enjoy this reprieve we have and stock up on what we can. So, Flame...show us your home forest." I nodded and took his hand as I got off the bed, heading for the door out of my treehouse.