Tissaia could almost see Azael's mind turning over this new information as his eyes remained wide and his mouth moved, but struggled to form words. The corner of her lips curled into a smirk when she saw the pointed tips of his ears turn red. She didn't even have to ask for the specifics of what he might have seen. His face told her enough. But her amusement at his embarrassment wasn't enough to erase her anger and indignation from earlier.

    At last, Azael found his voice. "They're not just together...they're mates?"

    She understood his astonishment at the revelation. Mates weren't unheard of, but they also weren't common. A mating bond could only be formed by one with god-blood. It was a gift that was carried through the bloodlines, first given by Nepenthe to her four wards so they could bind themselves to their loved ones forever.

    The bond transcended even death, keeping the pairs' souls bound together from the mortal realm to the Eternal Haven, or even to Hel. And its power was visible in life as well. She had heard that a bond could even be formed with Humans, and the binding of a Human's blood with a Fae's could extend their life by centuries, although it also drastically shortened the Fae's.

    But she had seen the bond firsthand between Kaius and Talarion. Their overwhelming need to protect each other and be near the other. The way they seemed to know what the other was thinking or feeling without them having to say anything. But it had always been like that for them, even before Kaius used his god-blood birthright to bind them.

    "They've been mated for about two centuries," Tissaia said. "They've kept it a secret from everyone but me."

    "Why?"

    "Why do you think?"

    Azael just watched her blankly, so she sighed and began a much more detailed account of the past than she thought he was owed, but if he was going to know, he might as well understand. At least if he comprehended the seriousness of why their relationship had to be a secret, maybe she could trust him not to reveal them to their father.

    She began with her brother's history before they had met Kaius, as it had shaped her brother's dire need for secrecy, and to protect him. Talarion had been with a few different females before meeting the only person he claimed to have actually been in love with before Kaius. A golden-haired male named Erel. He had been a Shifter employed by their family to work in the stable, as he was exceptionally gifted with animals.

    It was in the stables that they had met, when Talarion hid there after a particularly brutal training session, in which he had done something to upset their father. As she understood it, Erel had found him there and he had agreed to the male's insistence to help him clean himself up and treat his wounds. That had led to them confessing their mutual attraction to one another, and they began seeing each other in secret.

    Not even she had known about it for the months that their relationship carried on, but she later learned when she stumbled across her father speaking with Talarion's mentors. He had discovered the truth about him and Erel, and was preparing to take measures to teach his son a lesson, as Roshan had said himself.

    Tissaia hadn't heard what his full plans were, but she gathered enough. She had gone straight to her brother to warn him and was present when Talarion had pleaded with Erel to leave Lochren. It was one of the rare times she had seen her brother cry, and that display of emotion was what had persuaded his lover to obey.

    When they returned home after making sure Erel successfully got out of the city, they had been met with their father's fury. Tissaia left out the gory details, not wanting Azael to ask any more difficult questions she didn't care to explain, but she saw the memories with vivid clarity.

    Her father had demanded to know where Erel had gone, demanded to know how long Talarion had been defying him and going behind his back, and when her brother refused to answer...

    She could still hear the cracking of multiple bones. See the blood that had poured from her brother's mouth and nose even as he fought against their father with everything he had. Hear his retching coughs when Roshan locked his massive hands around her brother's throat, squeezing and squeezing, until Talarion's eyes had rolled back, his face turning purple.

    Tissaia had been held by guards up until that point, fighting to break free all the while, and finally, she'd managed to wrench herself loose. She'd flung herself at their father, catching him off guard just enough to knock him backwards off of Talarion.

    She'd gained her own bruises and a broken arm in the fight that ensued, but at last, Roshan had left them, ordering her to make sure her worthless brother hadn't died. Talarion had still been unconscious when Tissaia crawled over to him, and she'd spent two days healing him enough to coax him back to consciousness.

    Azael didn't get to hear those vulnerable memories. Not after what had just transpired between them. So although they played through her own mind, she carried on with Talarion and Kaius's story as though the tales merged seamlessly together.

    Her brother hadn't taken another lover for many years after that, especially after he learned Erel had found another male and married him only a few months after they forced him to leave Lochren. It almost broke Talarion, knowing he had nearly given his life for loving the male and protecting him, all for him to move on after a matter of months.

    But her brother never had been one to wallow in emotions, and that had been no different. They had soon been distracted by a summons to Arcan anyway. The Phoenix had been found and was to be presented to the King and his court. That was their first time meeting Kaius, and Tissaia had known from that very first day that something about him caught her brother's interest.

    Their relationship began as a friendship, developed through the exchange of letters after they departed from Arcan once more. Talarion had been able to throw off their father's suspicion by claiming it would be important for him to be on good terms with those he would one day serve alongside when Tissaia was Queen, as she and Azael had already been betrothed for years by that time.

    They were again summoned when Queen Elwyth died. Tissaia kept the details of this segment brief as well, noting the cold gleam in Azael's eyes when she began. She knew the male recalled Kaius's reaction to the Queen's body, so there was no need to portray it. Instead, she told of how her brother had gone after Kaius while she was following Azael down to the training room.

    Kaius had opened up to Talarion about his own past regarding the Blood Fae and his parents' fate, as well as the guilt he harbored for it. As she understood it, that night had pushed them to confess their true feelings for each other, and they had been together ever since. Talarion had asked Kaius to form the mating bond between them shortly after he turned one-hundred and ten, and Kaius was an even one-hundred years.

    Tissaia had witnessed them slash their palms open and join them together, creating a blood bond while Kaius spoke the words that invoked the gift born from the bloodline of his ancestor, Hadeon. And they had been bonded ever since, stealing what moments they could to be together while continuing to hide their relationship from everyone around them.

    "Why would they hide it from me?" Azael asked when Tissaia finally finished speaking. "Now, I mean. I understand why they would before, but ever since we left Arcan? They've had all this time to openly be together, but they were hiding the truth from me."

    "I think Kaius wanted to tell you, but Talarion didn't trust you enough to," she answered honestly. "And Kaius trusts my brother's instincts, so he agreed. What do you intend to do now that you know?"

    "I...don't know. Nothing, I suppose. I don't want to bring them trouble, and this doesn't really change anything. It doesn't change my opinions of them, I mean."

    Tissaia arched a brow. "It doesn't?"

    "Why would it? I know my father was with a few males in his youth, before he was married to my mother. He's even asked me if I'm refusing to marry you because I would prefer a male instead."

    "Well, at least your father is better than mine in that regard." Tissaia slid off her perch and pointed to the door. "Now unless you've forgotten, I'm still angry at you. But I trust I won't see you needlessly glaring at Kaius anymore and falsely accusing me of sleeping with him?" Azael's ears turned red again and his mouth opened. "If you're about to apologize, don't. I don't want to hear it yet."

    Azael hesitated, but his mouth closed obediently and he inched back towards the door. "Were those scouts bringing Kaius and Talarion back here or are we still meeting them at Oriana's Pavilion?"

    "I suppose we'll find out when we learn whether or not the scouts are back in the morning. I'm too exhausted to travel any more tonight, and they can take care of themselves."

    Azael nodded and gripped the doorknob. He glanced back at her. "Thank you for telling me. Tomorrow, I'll wait for you."

    It took her a moment to grasp his meaning, but when she did, Tissaia inclined her chin and he slipped out the door. He would wait for her. He would wait for her to come to him, instead of forcing his presence upon her again. He would give her the time she had made clear that she needed. He might be an idiot, but at least he wasn't completely dense, she thought to herself.

•༻☽☾༺•

    Azael's mind spun with a mixture of confusion, embarrassment, and relief as he made his way back to his room. This whole time, it had been her twin with Kaius. Gods, he really was stupid. How had he not pieced it together before this? He'd seen their matching scars, on Kaius's left palm and Talarion's right. The braided band of hair that Kaius wore above his scar belonged to her twin, not to Tissaia.

    How had he never noticed that the scent surrounding it was that of night air and dust, which had always made him think of a winged shadow, not the dew and incense of Tissaia's scent, like a temple locked in eternal night. No wonder Talarion was so concerned and protective of Kaius when he was plagued by his strange visions. No wonder Azael had seen his fingers curled in the ends of the male's hair every night as they slept by the fire.

    But of course, the relief of knowing also heightened his guilt at the things he'd accused Tissaia of. She'd only ever been protecting her brother and his mate. Maybe she even knew about the names she was called and the rumors that abounded. Perhaps she allowed them because it had kept suspicion off of Talarion and Kaius, especially that of their father.

    Azael knew there had been pieces of the tale that Tissaia had left out, and he was beginning to understand something. He couldn't ask her to be more open with him. Not after the way he'd treated her for so long, and knowing that the secrets she kept were to protect herself and others, the same as him.

    The only way these arguments and this tension could stop would be if she understood why he couldn't marry her, but keeping that secret was what protected him. He wasn't sure he could tell her the truth of why they had never married. He still couldn't admit it to himself.

    But maybe, he could tell her other things to help her understand. It couldn't hurt, at least. But he wouldn't do so until she was ready. After what he'd said to her, it was her right to choose when she wanted to speak to him again, if ever. And if either of the Twins still decided to kill him for it, then that was their right too.