Blessed by Night

The quarters inside of the gerated ons were rather nice.

Styled after traditional ryokan, the floor had tatami mats that were soft to the touch and had a unique grassy sct that was neither overpowering or unpleasant.

Malachi had ev crafted himself and the girls little kimonos to rest in so that they could fully joy the experice, much to the delight of Bianca and Sei.

Although Malachi, Joanne, and Anna were slightly less unthused, because the last thing that they wanted to do right now was have clothes on.

But it couldn't be helped, because right now they were hosting.

"What gives you all the right to spy on us!? W-We were having a very private momt!" Sei yelled with a red face.

"Yea, real private ev though you all were out in the op." Serana muttered.

At her side, Nyx, Keres, Aisha, and Aubrey nodded in unanimous agreemt.

"T-That is not the point! We are loving adults who are titled to our private time after not seeing each other for so long!"

"We get it, we get it, so can you hurry up and forgive us now? I have questions."

"Q-Questions?!"

"Uh-huh!" Serana pulled out a short notepad from her back pocket and flipped to the first page.

Immediately, Malachi and the girls looked like they wanted to go home.

"W-We don't have time for any of your-"

"Question , this one's for Bianca. Are you eating out my mom too or just Anna's?"

"""S-SERANA!"""

Bianca was only seconds away from answering before Sei suddly clasped her hands over her mouth and pulled her face into her breasts.

But ev though she didn't answer, Serana still pulled out a p and started writing something down.

Aubrey leaned over to look at her notepad with a curious eye.

"Question forty-six for Malachi, has Joanne let you eat her ass yet?"

"A-Aubrey!"

"Tsk..no." Malachi grumbled and folded his arms like this was a serious point of conttion in their relationship

Joanne was seated within his lap lovingly before this, and she took the liberty of elbowing Malachi in the ribs.

"I-I'm just not comfortable with it! I don't know why you're so adamant about doing that!"

"Just try it once, mom." Anna replied with a sage-like look.

"It takes a momt to get used to, but it really is quite nice." Bianca confirmed.

Sei didn't add anything, but her cheeks were really red.

Joanne was still reeling from the earlier evts of the night and she didn't know if she could take her horizons being expanded any further.

If any more strange things happed, she felt like she would devolve into some kind of oply lustful woman like Nadine and her daughter.

She had to preserve her pride!

"Aww, you're hurting my feelings, love..." Like the biblical sce of old, the serpt Malachi whispered delicate words into Joanne's ears and st shivers down her spine.

Her tire face wt red as she felt Malachi's forked tongue graze her skin and his pointed teeth nip her earlobe.

"Why won't you let me express my love for you in every way I can, huh?"

"T-This isn't about that... a-and stop trying to provoke me in front of everyone."

"You should get used to it love, since I'll be doing it for the rest of our lives."

"T-The rest of our lives, huh..? Hehe..Hehehehehe..."

A glimmer of madness shone in Joanne's eyes that was eerily familiar to one that all of the girls had on their faces at one point or another.

"Alright th!"

Aubrey suddly stood up and stretched before pulling Aisha into her arms. "I think I've se and heard ough traumatic things for one night. We're gonna turn in."

"W-Wait!" Aisha cried from within her arms. "I-I wanted to hear the answer to question sixty three!"

"Do you want to hear creepy interview questions, or do you want to have sex?"

"...Goodnight guys."

Aubrey carried Aisha out of the bedroom not long afterwards, leaving Malachi subjected to a taste of his own medicine.

'I can't believe I used to help put applesauce into that mouth...'

Once the loving couple was gone, Serana decided to head to her room next. "Alright th, I shouldn't keep Ryo waiting either. You Saint siblings ar't the only ones in happy relationships who can make your partners scream!"

Reaching the limit of her durance, Sei finally fainted and fell into Malachi and Joanne's lap.

Mal took the liberty of covering her with a blanket while Anna and Joanne straighted her hair.

Just like the perfect little family.

"I'm glad to see that this place never ceases to be lively in my absce."

Malachi watched his mother giggle but for the first time his eyes seemed to hard as he looked at her.

It wasn't a hateful look or a scornful one, but it did promise there would be no more beating a the bush.

"Ma...We need to talk, don't we?"

Needless to say, Nyx looked like she'd be caught off guard wh Malachi suddly made it a point to address their last meeting.

Her beautiful smile contained slight hints of nervousness as she looked back and forth betwe her son and her daughters-in-law.

"N-Now my son, do we have to talk about something like that right now? I hav't se you in such a long time and I would rather not-"

"Ma, I'm not one for uncomfortable conversations either but this is for me and for you.

It hurts me to see you look like you're afraid of my every reaction whever you tell me something bad.

I'm sure you know that I can't hurt you, and I wouldn't ev dream of trying. So why does it feel like you are prone to forgetting?"

Nyx bit her lip so hard that she could have made it bleed if she had any actual blood to spill.

"I-I'm sorry, I.."

Keres placed her hand on top of her mother's as a means of comfort.

In the short but impactful amount of time that Malachi had known his sister, he had never se her display such a wide range of emotion.

"Brother… you truly know not what you ask. Our mother is powerful, yes, but ev she has laws that she is bound by. Promises she cannot break.

Telling you would be an admission of her… deeds.

As you have already se, there are certain gods who would do anything to try and condemn her by whatever means they are able.

I am sorry… it isn't fair, and you should certainly have a right to know about more than you do, but there exists a strong possibility that she will never be able to tell you."

Nyx crawled onto all fours until she had practically tak Joanne's place in Mal's lap.

With his head still spinning, she touched him on the cheek tderly while tears fell from her eyes.

Mimicking him, her skin turned completely black and her hair a whitish grey while her eyes retained their profound cosmic luster.

"I… am so sorry, my boy. Since you have bonded with your other family they have be able to tell you full truths and share honesties with you in ways that I have not.

But I should like you to know this if nothing else; I have always loved you and will continue to do so. If I have ever giv you the impression that I am afraid of you, I am sorry.

I suppose that my behavior is just a by product of my own fears and shortcomings. Because I am so afraid to let your family down again that I can hardly stand it."

Keres winced as if Nyx had already said too much.

A feat that did not escape Mal and the girls' notice.

"My fam-"

Just before Mal could demand a further explanation, Nyx placed the pads of her fingertips over his lips to seal them.

"Please… no more, son. All that you need to know is that you are my precious inkanyamba. And you, Aubrey, and my grandchild will have everything that your hearts could possibly desire until the last light fades out of the cosmos."