It didn't take long to get Vael and Kahari to stir. Tissaia had woken them both immediately while Azael and Talarion checked outside the barn to make sure there was no one around, and shielded it once they came inside. Kaius was merely waiting, working his hand together in an effort to quell their trembling.

    What he and Talarion had pieced together...it changed everything. His past, his present, maybe even his future. A soothing sensation filtered into his chest and the scent of night air and dust surrounded him once more. Talarion touched his lower back and guided him over to the hay bales, where the others had just sat down.

    His mate sat too, but Kaius couldn't bring himself to. Every nerve in his body was fraught with static tension and the repeated claps of thunder from outside threatened to startle him every few minutes.

    "What's this about?" Kahari asked presently. "Did the difference in the tea work?"

    Kaius drew a steadying breath and nodded. "I dreamed again." His stomach was still queasy from the blood that had dripped down his throat. "I think I learned the name of Hadeon's god-spawn. Astaroth."

    Not even the crackling flames beside him could cut through the chill that clutched his body as soon as the name left his mouth. "And the side effects stayed the same. I had no control over my body. Talarion said I...that I had..."

    The male's hand slipped into his own, almost imperceptibly. "His convulsions began too quickly for me to pin him down right away, and he managed to rip the corner of his mouth open with his nails."

    Kaius's gaze snapped to the fireplace as everyone's eyes turned to him. Crawling across his skin, his face, searching for any sign of the injury. "I experienced another symptom too," he murmured when it was clear that Talarion had said all he was going to.

    "I've had it since the first vision, but it was so short-lived initially that I forgot about it, and then it seemed too absurd to mention. But my scars from when Blood Fae attacked my family felt like they were burning." His free hand wandered to his right ear and traced the scarred tissue where his ear tip should've been.

    "I've never heard of that happening before, and I've helped heal many wounds inflicted by Blood Fae," Kahari remarked, her brows knitting together. "The only thing that would make sense would be if they were infected, but they're scars, right?" Kaius nodded. "How old are they?"

    "Two-hundred and eighty-three years," he replied. "We were attacked and my parents killed when I was seventeen. And you're not wrong. That's what we thought of too. An infection, but what if they're infected in some other way?"

    Tissaia's eyes narrowed, flickering to Talarion's, and Kahari motioned for him to continue while Azael and Vael watched with visible intrigue. Kaius drew another measured breath, biting down on his tongue to draw moisture back into his mouth, and explained the conclusion he and Talarion had come to.

    If Astaroth really was the one creating the Blood Fae, and if for some reason he was still hunting the Phoenix as he had been during the lifetime of Hadeon's son, Janus, and his granddaughter, the first two Phoenixes, it was plausible that he had been tracking Kaius's family for some time leading up to the attack.

    He could recall their village Elder being wary to let their family go hunting that day, and his parents had been particularly on edge. He had just assumed it was because it had been close to winter, and Kairos and Irina well knew that returning home empty-handed meant many families might be left with less food than they had hoped.

    But perhaps it was because they knew they were being followed, even if they hadn't known why. Kaius was able to recall the attack with clarity, from the moment the Blood Fae first sprang upon them to his parents' last breaths. He remembered barely escaping the throng that had swarmed him and running into the forest, desperate to lead them away from his village.

    That was where his memory began to grow fuzzy. It had always been clouded in shadows, just a blur of dark faceless shapes leering over him. That had brought to mind his repeated vision of a dark, faceless person killing him. Talarion had been the first to realize it.

    "What if that isn't a vision, Kai?" His mate had asked. "What if it's a memory?" And deep within his bones, Kaius knew he was right.

    He remembered nothing but shadows from that point until he'd woken in the care of the Little Gods, and by the time he fully recovered, he had realized that several days had passed since the attack. Days in which he had been unconscious. The Blood Fae themselves had not wounded him so gravely. The creature lost to the shadows had.

    "I think," Kaius said, his voice falling lower as he neared the end of his tale, "that Astaroth himself might have attacked me, and somehow, he still has a connection to me. But the only way I can think that would be possible is if he had tried to turn me into a Blood Fae too."

    "That can't be possible," Tissaia protested. "How could you be here otherwise? We've...we've never heard of anything like that before. People vanish and Blood Fae appear. They don't come back." She glanced at each of their companions in turn.

    Kahari and Vael exchanged heavy looks. "They don't come back," Vael agreed. "But we've watched someone turn into one, and he fought the transformation all the way. It happened to Kahari's brother-in-law, two years ago. It's how he died."

    "He was a Half-Fae too," Kahari added. "He'd gone out with a scouting party and they missed the time they were supposed to return. We knew something had happened, so a second party went after them. Vael, myself, and my sister were among them. We found a gory scene. Several dead Blood Fae and only a few Fae from our party, and Kyden."

    "We thought he was only injured at first, but then it was like he began to fight something from within. He was screaming at us to leave, begging me to take my sister away, and before our very eyes, we saw his body changing. We saw his teeth elongate into fangs, his eyes turning as red as blood, and it was like he'd gone mad.

    "He attacked us immediately, and in the end, my sister was the one to kill him. But we knew he had been trying to fight off whatever was happening to him, and ever since, Vael's aunt has been trying to figure out if there is a way to help the Blood Fae back from whatever it is that happens to them."

    "Then it would be possible, if this happened to Kaius, for him to fight back against the transformation?" Azael speculated.

    "I don't think I had to fight back," Kaius replied. "I think the process must have been interrupted, and not forgetting the fact that I'm only alive because the Little Gods healed me."

    "But perhaps through that interruption, Astaroth still has some connection to me, maybe even a bond similar to Talarion and I's mating bond, and if that's the case, who's to say he can't use it to try to siphon my visions from me if he knows I'm being led to something he seeks? "

    Vael and Kahari stiffened and Kaius flashed them a half-apologetic look. This wasn't exactly how he had intended to tell them the full truth about their quest, but it was too late now.

    To his relief, neither of the Forest Dwellers raised a complaint. Kahari seemed to mull over the prospect for a moment, then said, "You could be right. It would explain the excessive strain on your mind and body, if an exterior force is leaching the visions from you as you're receiving them.

    "So what are our options?" Azael asked. "Are you going to keep subjecting yourself to your visions, even at the risk of us being followed?"

    "No," Kaius replied. "If there's even a slight chance that our theory is right, I can't risk Astaroth seeing anything more. I'm going to keep taking the dose of tea that puts me out completely, and if that starts to not work, one of you can have the pleasure of knocking me unconscious every night."

    "Over my dead body," Talarion growled under his breath. Kaius only squeezed his hand.

    "Do you know enough to guide us to the temple you thought you saw?" Tissaia pressed. "How will we find our way if we don't have your visions to guide us?"

    The corner of Kaius's mouth tilted up, and he pointed to Kahari. The female's green eyes widened. "You have seen Drenusha your whole life, and I saw the same Doe as you. Perhaps we met you because you're going to help guide us the rest of the way if I no longer can."

    "Oh, Durga give me strength," the Half-Fae shuddered out. Kaius inclined his head. Fitting, he thought, to beseech the goddess of warriors, righteous battle, and fallen souls. He'd sooner pray to her than his own ancestor.

    "If that's what you think is best, I'm in support of it," Tissaia said, catching his eye. He offered her a smile in return. She rose and came to give him a swift, but hard embrace. "I don't want to see you go through more than you have to," she whispered. Kaius hugged her back with his free arm, but briefly, his gaze shifted to Azael. The Prince was watching her with guilt raging in his eyes.

    "Now that that's settled, I suggest we all get some rest," Vael said pointedly. "It'll make for a long day tomorrow if we're all still tired."

    Kahari cleared her throat, drawing the male's attention to her. "I think we should stay an additional day," she said. "The woman offered, after all, and now that there's a possibility we're being followed, I think we need to make sure this family is going to be as protected as they can be before we leave."

    "The longer we stay, the greater the risk of that will be," Vael reminded her.

    "Just one more day. Let us cast some shields over the house that will last them long enough for any danger to pass by. I might even be able to cast a small illusion to hide the house from sight until we've passed from the area."

    "What do you think?" Vael looked to Azael, Talarion, and Kaius in turn.

    Talarion sighed. "I don't like how long this is taking. It grants more time for Lochren warriors to find us."

    "What if someone travels ahead to keep an eye out and clear the way?" Azael suggested. "Two or three of us. I can go."

    Talarion's mouth quirked to one side, but he didn't disagree. "How far ahead would you ride?"

    "Maybe half a day. Far enough to get a good scope of the land, but close enough to ride back quickly if anything is amiss."

    "Who would go with you?"

    Azael looked to Vael, but the male shook his head. "If we're staying here another day, I'm going to the nearest hidden village to pass on your warning about Astaroth being in the forest. Our people need to be informed, and it'll take me the day to get there and back."

    "I can help Kahari with the shields," Kaius said. "The Wisps have taught me a few tricks when it comes to illusions." He looked down at Talarion, arching a brow, but before his mate could answer the question in his gaze, Tissaia spoke.

    "I'll go with you. Talarion is better at shielding than I am, and he wouldn't be of much use to you if he was just worrying about Kaius the whole time." She shot them both a teasing smirk and Talarion rolled his eyes. Azael's throat bobbed, but he nodded.

    "All right. Now I really, really, suggest we get some sleep," Vael cut in.

    Kahari laughed beside him. "That means he's tired and about to become grumpy. Let me be the one to assure you, a grumpy Vaeldan is more bear-like than his actual bear form."

    That coaxed laughter from all of them, and Talarion added, "I can keep my shield up throughout the night so those of you traveling tomorrow can rest without continuing to take watches."

    "Why can't you take watches instead?" Tissaia demanded. Her twin just gave a casual shrug and Kaius fought to hide his grin. He already knew exactly what his mate had in mind, and sleep was not involved. Which was good, because Kaius had no desire to return to sleep just yet, and he would need something to occupy his every sense.

    "Never mind. Consider my question answered," the female laughed. "Goodnight, everyone." Tissaia promptly rolled onto her side and curled herself beneath her cloak.

    The others took their cues and migrated to their own beds. Kaius stood as well, but paused beside the stairs to the loft when he noticed Talarion had not followed. The male had pulled Azael aside and was speaking to him gruffly, just loud enough for him to make out. "If she comes back with so much as a scratch," Talarion was threatening.

    "She won't," Azael interrupted. "She'll be fine. I swear." Talarion held his gaze, then barely lowered his chin and turned on his heel.

    Kaius started up the stairs when the male joined him. "He'll look after her, M'anam cor," he assured him as they reached the landing.

    "I know he will. I just had to make sure he knew it too." Talarion's arm caught him by the waist and the male pressed their lips together. "And now I'm going to take care of you, if that's all right."

    "It always is," Kaius chuckled, and kissed him once more.