Tissaia broke from the group and ran straight to the males, catching an arm around each of their shoulders and pulling them into an embrace. Kaius just chuckled while Talarion's nimble hand traced her arm for any sign of injuries.

    She drew back after a moment to let him fully appraise her, and when he seemed content that she was unharmed, Talarion hugged her again, even tighter than her embrace had been. Tissaia frowned, shooting a questioning glance at Kaius, but the male just shrugged.

    She let her brother be the first to pull away, then turned to introduce them to their companions. Vael had shifted back into himself and Kahari stood at his shoulder, both of them observing the two males curiously.

    "This is Kahari and Vaeldan." Tissaia gestured to each of them in turn. "They found us after we escaped the Blood Fae and took us back to their village for the night."

    Talarion bowed his head to them. "Thank you for helping my sister."

    "We had to," Vael said, jabbing an elbow into Kahari's side. "She took one look at your sister and was instantly attached to her."

    Kahari batted his hand away, her freckled cheeks blushing red. "You make it sound like I'm in love with her."

    Tissaia grinned and flashed her a coy look while giving her hair a quick toss. "No one would blame you if you were, Darling." The female's blush deepened and Tissaia offered her a more sincere, and somewhat apologetic smile.

    "We should be moving on soon," Talarion called. "There's still a good amount of forest to cover if we want to avoid running into any stray warriors from Lochren."

    Vael's eyes narrowed with a thoughtful gleam. "You'll have to travel further west if you plan on leaving the forest near the foothills, but that also depends on your destination. If you're going to the mountains, why not follow the edge of the forest up to the Mouth of Hadeon and enter the range from there?"

    Wariness flooded her brother's features and Tissaia cleared her throat pointedly. Talarion ignored her, keeping his focus on the Shifter, but it was Kaius who answered. "We are going to the mountains, but we need to reach the easternmost part of the range. It'll be easier to cut across from the foothills and start climbing from there, rather than pick our way across the entire range."

    The news caught her off guard and Tissaia shot Kaius a questioning look. Last she'd heard, he hadn't known where exactly in the mountains the supposed temple would be. Perhaps he'd had another vision, or was able to infer more from his previous ones.

    Vael rubbed his stubbled jaw with one hand while his gaze flickered to Kahari's. "Even the foothills could be rough going," he said at last. "You won't find too many Blood Fae beyond the forest. Something seems to be...keeping them here. But many other Forest Dwellers have grown afraid because of that and left, and we've heard reports of an increase in bandits attacking those on their way to other settlements."

    Azael stepped forward, his lips parted in surprise. "How long has this been going on?"

    "A few months now. Some village Elders have sent requests for interference from the Cahirim and Lochren. If you were hoping to avoid their warriors, I'm afraid you'll find it difficult."

    "You mean Lochren's Lord answered their requests?" Talarion asked. Tissaia tensed, grateful for her brother's tact as neither she nor Azael had revealed their parentage to Vael or Kahari, and the pair had done nothing to imply that they knew the truth.

    Vael shook his head. "No, Lord Roshan refused. He claimed he would need his warriors for something else, but a few of them defied his orders and came to help anyway."

    A cold sense of dread wormed itself into the pit of her stomach as Tissaia exchanged a pensive look with her twin. "Did Lord Roshan offer any details about why he would need his warriors?" She asked. If he was sending his warriors out to find them... Talarion's hand settled on her shoulder and she drew comfort from the familiar, gentle weight of it.

    "He was very vague. The only impressions I got were that he was going to be searching for something, but again, that was months ago. I suppose whatever he's looking for has yet to be found."

    Months. Tissaia's mind snagged on the word. They hadn't been gone for months, which meant their father was looking for something else. Talarion's hand tightened on her shoulder, and she knew he'd come to the same conclusion. "Have you informed anyone in Arcan about what's been happening?" Azael asked.

    The Shifter scoffed at that. "Who is there to inform? Everyone knows the King is losing his mind, and I'm not sure there's much the Prince could do without his father's say so."

    Azael winced at the claim. "Maybe not, but he could try."

    Tissaia could already see his mind working, trying to figure out how he could do so the minute they returned to Arcan. That was one quality she had always admired about him. He had a genuine desire to help his people. That was why he took over his father's role, regardless of the way the King and the court treated him. No one else was going to try to help.

    For a moment, she wondered what he would say if he knew the truth about her father. Would he be so quick to leap to her defense, as he was with the other citizens of his kingdom? Would he actually be able to do anything?

    Her father had served the Royal Family for over a thousand years. Trying to remove him from the court would cause outrage with some of the older counselors, not to mention how impossible it would be to persuade them of his true abusive nature.

    Tissaia shoved the thoughts aside. There was no point in dwelling on them now, and besides, she thought she knew the true answer. If she had ever revealed the truth to him in the past, he might have actually married her, but only out of pity, and as a favor to her.

    Perhaps accepting his pity would've been a better alternative to the years that had passed, but she knew that in a way, Azael would have come to resent her for it. He would've begun to feel trapped in their marriage. Forced into it to protect her, not because he wished to be married to her, and she would've felt the same.

    She blinked her attention back to her companions and found Kaius offering a very brief and vaguely detailed explanation of their quest. From the looks on Vael and Kahari's faces, they were aware that facts were being withheld, but they didn't push for more information. They were silent until Kaius began to explain his dreams, leaving out the fact that he believed he was seeing Drenusha and the dreams were actually visions.

    In a single breath, Kahari's expression changed from passive attentiveness to sudden rapture, but she was no longer looking at Kaius. Her green gaze had been pulled beyond him, and was widely transfixed on something within the trees. Tissaia followed her stare but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Only the river, Oriana's Pavilion, and the forest stretching into the distance.

    The others had noticed her strange behavior as well. Azael and Talarion were immediately on edge, their hands falling to their weapons, but Kaius tracked the female's gaze and his own became locked on something unseen as well. A dazed look crawled across his features and Tissaia jumped as a hint of light glimmered within his eyes.

    "Shit, not now," Talarion groaned. "I thought this was only supposed to happen when he's sleeping." He ducked in front of the male, but Kaius seemed oblivious to his presence.

    Tissaia looked back at Kahari as Vael stepped closer to her. "What do you see, Leaf?" He urged. Tissaia cocked her head. Was the female having a vision? It didn't seem so...

    Her eyes remained clear and full of awe, not glazed like an Elder's or gleaming with white light like Kaius's. Kahari's lips peeled into a brilliant smile and she blinked, then shook her head. Whatever spell had captivated Kaius faded too Tissaia realized when she heard the male quietly assuring her brother that he was fine.

    "What the Hel just happened?" Azael demanded, his head whipping back and forth between the pair.

    It was Kahari who answered. "Well, I'm not sure you'll believe me, but..." She trailed off, glancing at Vael, who offered her an encouraging nod. "Since I was a child, I've been able to see Drenusha. Not in visions or dreams, but as her Doe form, here in the physical world. Very fleeting glimpses, but there's no mistaking that it's her."

    "How can you be sure?"

    Kahari bit her lip, her eyes falling to her boots. "She knows it's her and that's all you need to understand," Vael replied in her stead, his tone carrying a tight warning not to press the matter.

    "And you saw her, just now?" Tissaia asked. Kahari nodded.

    "I saw the Doe too," Kaius confirmed. "She's not lying. It recognized her."

    "And you," Kahari said, her gaze finding him. "You've been touched by Drenusha, haven't you? The dreams you mentioned are not just dreams."

    "They're visions," Kaius confirmed. "I've only had a few, but they..."

    "Kai," her brother hissed.

    Kaius shot him a sharp look. "What do you think are the odds of us running into another unconventional person who sees Drenusha? She might be able to help." Talarion frowned, but didn't protest when Kaius began again, this time explaining how his visions came about and the effects they had on him. He didn't say more about their contents aside from the fact that Drenusha was the one guiding them to the mountains.

    When he finished, there was a puzzled look on Kahari's features. Her brows wedged together and her lips curled down on one side. "I've never heard of visions affecting someone like that. Vael, have you ever seen it happen with your aunt?" The male shook his head. "Hm."

    She massaged the center of her forehead, her fingers seeming to linger on that star-shaped freckle. "I think you're right about them having a trigger. Visions should come peacefully, not violently. There could be a biological answer, something different about you that causes it, though I can't imagine what."

    Kaius's throat bobbed and he appeared hesitant, before he admitted, "I'm descended of Hadeon's bloodline." Kahari's eyes widened and Vael stood straighter. Kaius tugged the neckline of his tunic down just enough to bare the mark on his sternum, then let the fabric cover it once more.

    "Gods above," Vael breathed. "You're the Phoenix. And all of you..." He looked at Tissaia and Talarion, then at Azael, before his eyes fell to the golden sword sheathed at Azael's hip. Recognition flashed across his features.

    "I don't think being the Phoenix would be enough to cause visions to affect you like this," Kahari surmised, interrupting Vael before he could continue. "I might be able to figure out what triggers your visions if I see one happen though. Or at the very least, I could ease your body's reaction and possibly wake you."

    "We're both healers and we can't do that," Tissaia said, pointing to Talarion and herself. She wasn't sure what good a magic-less Half-Fae would be, unless the female did have some power. But most Half-Fae, even if they did possess magic, weren't very powerful, and healing was a rare gift within Fae themselves.

    "You can't heal like Kahari can," Vael answered, touching the female's back briefly. "I've never seen anything like it."

    "Are you offering to come with us?" Kaius asked, ignoring the male's claim. Again, Talarion gave a grunt of protest, but Kaius silenced him with a look.

    Kahari and Vael looked at each other, something unspoken seeming to pass between them. "Yes," Kahari answered firmly. "That's what Drenusha seemed to be telling me. But we'll have to go back to the village and grab a few things. I need my conduit and I'm sure the village can spare another horse for the Phoenix."

    "Conduit?" Azael repeated.

    "So she can wield her magic," Tissaia whispered.

    Yet another thing she had read about and was now grateful to know. The few Half-Fae who were gifted with magic often found it difficult to control as a result of their Human blood, which simply was not designed with the ability to harness magic. To safely wield it, they all required a conduit to direct their magic through.

    She was a little surprised that Azael wasn't aware of it, given that he carried his own ancestor's conduit, although it was becoming forgotten that Oriana's mate was Human, making Asterria's first Queen Half-Fae. Orilight had served as Idalia's conduit in addition to being a symbol of power and a tool for prosperity.

    "I'm not sure that's a good idea," Talarion protested. "The larger our group, the more difficult it will be to pass through places without attracting attention. But," his gaze met Kaius's, "you're the one who's dealing with these visions. It's your decision."

    Kaius offered him a smile and turned to Kahari and Vael. "Then, if you're willing, I'd be glad for any help you can offer."

    Kahari beamed, her excitement evident. "We'll be back as quickly as possible. I'll have to say goodbye to my mother and sister, and of course Vael will have to explain our departure to his aunt."

    "I'll only tell her what she needs to know," Vael said, likely to reassure Talarion more than anyone else.

    "Let me come with you," Tissaia offered. "It'll go faster if there's someone to help you." The pair nodded and Tissaia pulled herself back onto her horse while Vael shifted into his bear.

    They headed back the way they had come without a moment's hesitation, though Tissaia could feel Talarion and Azael's gazes burning holes in the back of her head.

    She leaned closer to Kahari. "It's going to be so nice not being the only female around for a change." Vael gave a gruff snort and Kahari just giggled.