Shortly past midday, Tissaia chose to dismount and walk, both to stretch the soreness from her legs, and also to give her mare a rest. The others had followed her example. Azael and Talarion were moving at a slightly slower pace than her and Kaius. Their horses were even more worn out than theirs owed to their intervals of scouting ahead.

    That now fell to her and Kaius as they were in the lead. Currently, her companion was crouching near the base of a tree and examining something that must've caught his eye. Tissaia peered past his shoulder curiously, but all she could see was tangled roots and moss with mushrooms springing out of it.

    Kaius let his hands fall between his knees and cocked his head. His hair tumbled past his face, hiding it from view. Tissaia grinned, spying a few stray leaves stuck in the male's locks. She'd seen him flicking them off throughout the day, but even more took their place, like the forest's way of claiming him.

    Kaius smoothed his hair back and stood, a pensive frown tugging at his full lips. "What is it?" Tissaia prompted.

    "See how the mushrooms are broken?" He pointed to a few of the squashed capless stems and she nodded. "Something stepped on them, but it wasn't an animal. If it had been, the trail would continue and we'd see more signs of breakage on the other plants. Maybe catch some fur in the tree bark or a few claw marks here and there."

    "So what do you think did it?"

    He crossed his arms and his brow creased in thought. "It could be scouts or hunters from one of the hidden villages. We're close to the one I was born in, but if it was them, why wouldn't they have foraged these? These mushrooms are edible, and people from the hidden villages gather all food available to them."

    "Maybe it was Humans," Tissaia offered. "You know how they are. They just go about their business without much notice of the mess they leave behind them."

    Kaius shook his head. "Not likely. Most Humans are afraid of the forest and won't move through here without a Fae guide." His gaze slid to hers and she understood the thoughts reflecting in his gaze.

    "You think there are Blood Fae nearby," she murmured. The air around them turned still and thick, pressing against her body uncomfortably. Her skin prickled and beside her, her mare let out a snort.

    "The breakage isn't fresh. I estimate they must've passed through last night, but yes, they could still be in the area."

    "What's the likelihood we'll run into them?"

    "Blood Fae need water too," he answered simply. Tissaia's mouth ran dry.

    If they were also headed towards the river, there might not be any avoiding the bloodthirsty devils. Especially since their entire group possessed magic, and two of them were of god-bloodlines. The mere scent of their blood would draw the creatures close.

    "We're behind them for now, and with luck, we can keep it that way," Kaius added. "As long as the wind doesn't change and they don't double back, they won't catch our scents."

    They both turned as footsteps and heavy hoofbeats drew closer. Azael and Talarion eyed them with wary interest. "Don't tell me you two were tired already," Talarion remarked, though there was little humor in his voice. His gaze had already met Kaius's, and she knew her brother hadn't missed the anxiety within it. "You found something."

    "Blood Fae. They passed through last night," he confirmed.

    "Shit," her brother growled. "That'll throw us off course a few days. Do you think they'll be able to catch our scent if we move east and cross closer to Oriana's Pavilion?"

    "No, they wouldn't be that far down the river. They never go close to the holy sites. But crossing by the Pavilion places us close to Lochren. Maybe too close, if your father sends his own people to look for you."

    Talarion rubbed his forehead with a frustrated groan. Tissaia racked her mind for any possible solutions, running over the layout of the land and the few routes she knew beyond her father's lands.

    But before any of them could voice a suggestion, Azael spoke. "We can cross by the Pavilion, then move back north through the forest until it breaks near the foothills. That lets us cross the river in a safe location, but brings us out of the Vidar somewhere that offers difficult terrain for any who might be looking for us."

    Tissaia's eyes widened and she cast a subtle glance at the Prince, not wanting him to see that his knowledge of the area impressed her. Having been raised in a palace and living in the capital city his whole life, it rather surprised her that he was so well acquainted with the rest of the country. She knew he traveled occasionally, of course.

    There were important traditions that were carried out in locations such as Drenusha's Library and Oriana's Pavilion, and he'd been to her own home at Lochren Manor once, accompanied by his mother. But those journeys were always accompanied by an escort. Guards, servants, a designated guide. Nothing like what they were doing now.

        "Kai? What do you think?" Talarion asked, drawing her attention back to him. If her brother wasn't openly disagreeing with Azael's suggestion, that meant it must have some merit.

Kaius's shoulders remained tense though he nodded. "I'm not thrilled about how much that's going to set us back, but it sounds like our safest bet."

    "Then let's get moving." Talarion mounted once more and started off in their chosen direction, but Tissaia lingered when she noticed Kaius hesitating.

    He was back beside his horse, hands braced against the creature's shoulders, and though his mouth moved with gentle words for the creature, his eyes had taken on a distant, glazed appearance. Tissaia nudged him with an elbow and he blinked rapidly, gave his head a quick shake, and looked at her.

    "Do you...want to stop in your old village?" She asked. "I'm sure if you don't want to go so far out of the way, Talarion will agree we can bide our time there and continue on our current path after the Blood Fae clear out."

    Kaius offered her a faint smile, but shook his head. "I tried going back there once. I wasn't welcome."

    "Why not?"

    "They favor the old ways. In their minds, I should have died with honor rather than running like a coward from that fight."

    "You were just a boy."

    "All the more reason why I should've died in my parents' stead."

    Tissaia bit her tongue against a harsh insult and instead, pulled Kaius into a brief, but tight, embrace. "That's not true, Darling, and never will be. After all, where would I be without you? Worse still, think of where Talarion might be."

    Kaius released her with a grimace. "I'd rather not picture that scenario." Then, a true smile graced his lips. "Don't worry about me, Tiss. I'm all right." His gaze darted over her shoulder. "Worry about the Prince whose eyes would be skinning me alive right now if they were daggers."

    Tissaia caught sight of Azael as Kaius swung onto his horse and trotted off after Talarion. Azael's mount stamped an impatient hoof, but he kept the stallion steady until she was seated and ready to move on. They set off at a brisk pace, and Tissaia ignored the Prince's lingering stare.

•༻☽☾༺•

    Azael knew he was being intentionally ignored, but he held his tongue, refusing to be the one to break the silence. He hadn't meant to glare at Kaius when Tissaia embraced him. Or at least, he hadn't meant for the male to see it, and he had wiped the expression from his face the moment Kaius caught his eye. Shame had left his skin feeling worlds too tight immediately after, and it remained that way now.

    Gods, why couldn't he get himself under control again? Ever since the ball, he'd had no grasp on his emotions and he couldn't find the stone walls that used to hold them back. He hated this. Feeling so out of control of himself. Feeling guilty for his own emotions. Knowing he was guilty for the way he was treating others.

    It just didn't seem fair. He was the one trying his hardest to keep himself under control, and he was the one failing most spectacularly. It seemed his foreseeable future would be one of perpetual calamities.

    He was drawn from his thoughts when Tissaia at last spoke. "You don't get to judge Kaius for what he might be going through out here. You don't have any idea about the kind of things he lives with as the Phoenix."

    "I wasn't judging him," Azael answered. "In fact, I probably understand what he's feeling better than you do." How could he not, after experiencing almost the exact same thing the Phoenix had been through?

    He and his father had been conferring with Kaius about the possibility of him tracking down Queen Elwyth himself after her disappearance, when they were interrupted by the news that she had been found. Some hopeful, naive part of Azael had believed she had been brought back alive. The part of him that longed to reconcile their last words to each other. The reason why his father's hurled accusations had stung him to his core.

    He had gone straight to his mother after he learned about his father's affair and found her already packing. He had pleaded with her to stay. To try to work things out. When that failed, he began insisting that he would accompany her wherever she was going, and persisted even when Elwyth had repeatedly told him that she didn't want him to go with her.

    She had given several excuses, that she needed time, needed space. That his father was going to need him more than she did. That he had his obligations to Tissaia to fulfill. And when none of those had convinced him, she delivered the final blow.

    "Azael, I don't want you to come with me. Don't you get it? I don't want to see you. I don't want to look at you, hear you, or even think of you! You look like him. You sound like him. You're beginning to turn into him! And he's the one I'm trying to escape." He hadn't argued after that. He let her leave. And when she returned...

    He could still see Kaius's calm, yet shaking approach to the body that had been brought before them. He had lifted the blood-stained cloth covering her face, breath turning ragged. Azael could hear his father's horrified shout. Tissaia's barely muffled retch and Talarion's sharp gasp. Their father's disgusted scoff. His own cry of disbelief.

    "Blood Fae," Kaius had whispered, then hurried out of the room on trembling legs. They'd all heard the male vomit two steps out the door.

    Azael knew what Kaius had to have seen under that cloth. His own parents' mutilated faces. The many scars still plastered to his body. Neither of them had spoken of that day with each other since. Maybe because they both knew the other couldn't bear to bring up those memories.

    "Well," Tissaia snapped, prying him from the depths of his mind, "try to keep your scowls to yourself. You told me yourself that you don't care what I do or who I do it with, so why don't you act like it and mind your own business? Or if you can't handle that, maybe you should go back to your palace."

    He squeezed his eyes shut with a sigh. "Tissaia," he began, "what I said that afternoon, I..."

    Azael opened his eyes again, turning his head to catch her gaze, but she had already pulled ahead. If she'd heard the beginning of his apology, she was choosing to ignore it. And gods, he wished he could ignore her too.