Kaius kept a close eye on Tissaia the remainder of the day, and Talarion too. The former had been acting off since morning, and her odd behavior seemed to have latched on to his mate too following their conversation. Talarion was constantly looking back at him, as if to make sure he was still there, and feelings of fear and apprehension had pooled within his own chest from the bond stretching between them.

    He hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Talarion alone yet, as Tissaia was now riding with him and had lent her own horse to Vael so he could ride on ahead, but he was determined to do so the moment an opportunity presented itself. Kaius was drawn from his disgruntled musings when Kahari fell in step beside him.

    "The tea must be working well," she remarked. "You don't seem to wake up during the night."

    Kaius shook his head. "I haven't been dreaming at all either."

    He pursed his lips, his mouth running dry. He'd been considering this all day, but to open himself up to the possibility of being trapped in one of those visions again... But they were relying on him to guide them to what they sought, and he couldn't do that if he didn't learn more about what it was and where exactly they might find it.

    "What happens if we make the tea weaker?" He asked.

    "You will have a lighter sleep, I imagine."

    Kaius drew a steadying breath, stamping down the fear that threatened to flood his mind. "Let's try that tonight. Just to see if it helps before we test your theory about being able to wake me or soothe my reactions."

    "All right. We can start by reducing the number of leaves to two and steeping it less than we have been. That should keep you relaxed, but you will probably dream."

    Her tone was entirely too nonchalant and it set his teeth together, before he reminded himself that she had never witnessed him having a vision. This female had no idea what she was in for. And on second thought, maybe he wasn't ready for her to know yet.

    All too soon, the sky began to darken again, but it wasn't sunset. Kaius watched the clouds billowing together and a dull wind began to pick up. The first cracks of thunder were deep enough to pound against his chest. Another storm blowing in from the Mouth of Hadeon, he surmised. They would want shelter, but their options were bound to be limited here.

    He perked up as hoofbeats galloped towards them. Lightning arced overhead and Vael reined his mount in. "There's a house up ahead," he called. "The owner is an older Human woman and her children. She offered us shelter in their barn."

    "Thank Nepenthe," Tissaia sighed. "I was not looking forward to camping in this." A few light drops of rain pattered against Kaius's face, the first signs of the coming deluge.

    Vael took the lead and they all rode close together up the next rise. When they crested it, Kaius could make out the house he had mentioned. It was sagging under the strain of its years, and the barn didn't look to be in much better condition, but they were both surprisingly large.

    Perhaps the Humans had not been their original owners, or they had once been much better off than they were now. Rain stung against his eyes and he swiped a hand across them as he trailed the others down a slickened decline.

    A woman towards the middle years of her life was waiting outside the barn to greet them, along with a younger girl who Kaius guessed to be about seventeen. He dismounted when Tissaia and Talarion did, and watched as Vael approached the Humans, beckoning for Kahari to come with him.

    At the sight of the female's rounded ears, the Humans visibly relaxed, likely assuming her to be one of their own. They conversed in low tones, inaudible amidst the drumming rain and booming thunder, but it was clear that arrangements of some kind were being made.

    The girl scurried off to the house and returned with a second girl and a younger boy, each one doubled over and carrying several dry blankets. They vanished into the barn, then dashed back to the house, arms empty once more. The woman gestured to the barn and wedged the massive door open with her foot to allow them to guide their horses in. Kaius offered her a smile as he passed, though the woman's eyes were fixed on the ground.

    The young boy returned just as the last of their group, Azael, was entering the barn. He was carrying a basket of something and running again to avoid the rain. Kaius took Azael's mount by the reins and drew the stallion into an empty stall. Azael had just begun to follow him when the boy let out a shout, his feet slipping from beneath him in the puddle of mud forming around the barn doors.

    He tripped forward and landed hard against the stone walkway in the center of the barn, his basket flying out of his hands. Kaius winced at the unmistakable retching grunt of air being forced out of lungs before the boy began to cough. His mother took a step towards him, but Azael was already there.

    The Prince knelt, taking the boy by the shoulders and meeting his gaze as he helped him sit up. The boy trembled in his grasp, but Azael spoke calmly, keeping his voice low while he directed the child to steady himself and draw a deep breath. The boy's coughing subsided as he obeyed, but there were tears in his eyes, and when Azael asked if he was injured anywhere else, he held up his bleeding palms.

    In a heartbeat, Tissaia was at their side. She crouched too, giving the boy a kind smile, and held out her own hands. The boy hesitated, glancing at his mother, but when she nodded, he placed his hands into hers. Amethyst light sparkled at Tissaia's fingertips and spread to the boy's fingers.

    His eyes grew wide, all traces of tears vanishing in his awe, and when Tissaia finished healing him, he could only gape at her. The female grinned and patted his cheek with a laugh, assuring him that he was as good as new now. He beamed and whirled to show his mother his miraculously cured palms while Azael stood.

    The male offered his hand to Tissaia, but she didn't take it, instead rising on her own. Kaius cocked his head at the exchange, but didn't bother to question them. He helped unsaddle and wipe down the rest of the horses, and by the time he and Vael had finished, the makings of their camp were made.

    Blankets had been arranged on dry bales of hay to form cots for each of them towards the back of the barn, where a large stone fireplace was blazing with flames, but none of his companions had retired yet. They were following the woman out of the barn and back towards her house.

    "She said her girls have been preparing a meal for us," Talarion explained as he approached. Kaius wiped his hands off on his pants and combed partially dry hair back from his face. "I thought I'd stay here though. I'm...not very hungry, but you should go if you want."

    Kaius shook his head. "I'll stay with you." Talarion nodded and he followed him to the back of the barn.

    His lips tilted into a smile when he noticed how the hay bales had been arranged. Two were pushed together for him and Talarion to share, undoubtedly because they had been sleeping by each other ever since Vael and Kahari joined them.

    "Tissaia's doing," Talarion remarked, noticing his grin. "I saw her after she healed the boy."

    "She seems to be ignoring Azael again. Did something happen?"

    "If it did, she hasn't told me." Talarion was hurriedly changing out of his leather suit and into a dry pair of clothes. He set the suit near the fire to dry while Kaius sat on the edge of a bale. There was no need to change his own clothes. They were already almost dry. "It feels like there's something you need to tell me too," his mate said, meeting his gaze.

    "I'm taking a weaker dose of the tea tonight."

    Talarion only watched him for a moment. "Are you sure?"

    Kaius nodded. "But I don't want to do any experimenting yet. I just want to see if it affects me differently. I was discussing it with Kahari, but I...I don't want her to see that yet. Either of them." He closed his eyes, his heartbeat quickening. "I don't want them touching me if something happens. I don't know them well enough yet. I think it'll make it worse."

    "So you just want to see if you'll be lucid enough to dream or have a vision?" Kaius nodded once more. "All right. What do you need me to do?"

    Emotion washed through him as Talarion stepped closer and gently cupped his cheek in his scarred palm, then lowered himself so that their eyes met. "I just want it to be us," Kaius whispered. "I don't want to be around the others."

    He wasn't sure he could take another night of feeling so many pairs of eyes watching him. Something was always watching him, either in reality or in his head, and he just wanted to escape that prying feeling. If he was going to have to be reduced to such a vulnerable state again, he didn't want it to be in front of their new companions. Not yet.

    But he knew what he was asking would also be difficult for his mate. He was aware of Talarion's fear every time he was trapped in a vision. And he was asking for him to endure that alone tonight.

    Talarion bowed his dark head. "All right," he said again. "We'll sleep in the loft. The woman said there's a few leaks in the roof but the floor is sturdy."

    Kaius breathed a faint sigh of relief, then handed his waterskin to Talarion. The male carried it over to the fireplace and began to heat it while Kaius dug the stash of tea leaves Kahari had given him out of a pouch on his belt. When Talarion returned, he slipped two into the waterskin and allowed them to steep while they carried their blankets and cloaks up to the loft.

    They found a dry corner where they could still feel the warmth of the fire from below and there were a few hay bales lingering up there as well. Just as Tissaia had, they pushed two of them together and spread their bedding on top.

    Once prepared, Kaius drew a deep breath and drank the tea, then laid down and waited for sleep to come. Talarion filled the cold space beside him, forming a solid barrier between him and the open expanse of the loft. Kaius closed his eyes when his mate slipped an arm around his waist and drew him back against his chest.

    "You know you're incredibly brave for doing this, right?" Talarion murmured, his breath warm against the tipless curve of Kaius's ear.

    "I feel afraid," he admitted. "What kind of brave person is afraid of sleeping?"

    "The kind who does it anyway." Soft lips brushed the back of his neck. "I'll be here if anything happens, M'cor anam."

    "Thank you, M'anam cor." When sleep was pulling at him, Kaius didn't resist. He closed his eyes and let it carry him away.