The pyre was lit towards the middle of the morning. All the wood that could be spared had been neatly arranged around and beneath Kaius's body upon the altar. When that was done, Gaelen and his Cahirim warriors positioned themselves around the room at a respectful distance. Only Azael, Kahari, and Vael joined Tissaia and Talarion before the altar, and they made sure to place themselves away from Talarion.

    Azael had taken the risk of standing behind Tissaia, his desire to be there for her should she need him overpowering the way his instincts warned against being near Talarion. Vael and Kahari remained on the other side of the altar with their heads bowed and eyes lowered.

    Azael had only watched quietly as Talarion sparked a flame above his finger and held it to the wood around his mate. His breaths were uneven, his jaw trembling faintly, but those were the only signs of emotion he displayed. Tissaia's tears had begun to fall when the fire spread to Kaius's body.

    Azael had seen her gaze dart to her brother, and knew she was longing to reach for him, but Talarion hadn't seemed to notice her or her grief. His clouded gaze remained transfixed by the flames. So when Azael stepped closer and touched a hand to her back, Tissaia hadn't pulled away.

    She'd leaned into him and hugged herself tightly, silent tears sliding down her face while she watched the smoke from Kaius's pyre be drafted out of the hole in the ceiling by Kahari's magic. They had all stood there in silence for several hours, crackling flames the only noise that dared to make itself heard.

    And gradually, the remains of Kaius Kaellar, the Phoenix and Heir of Hadeon, crumbled into ash, leaving behind only the strange dark shackles that had held him.

•༻☽☾༺•

    Tissaia stood near the entrance of the temple, staring out into the swirling void of snow and ice that held them captive in the mountains. Gaelen already estimated the storm to last another three or four days at least, which left none of them thrilled. The longer the storm held out, the longer it would take them to track down her father.

    A part of Tissaia hoped they would find him frozen to death when they were finally able to leave, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Nothing had ever been that easy for them, and it wouldn't change now. Footsteps reached her pointed ears, but she didn't bother looking to see who it was.

    She could already tell by the steady, yet perceptible gait. Too Fae to be Human, and too Human to be Fae. "Azael was going to help Gaelen and some of the other warriors set shields around the temple to help keep us warm," Kahari said. "He asked me to tell you, so you'd know where he was."

    Tissaia barely turned her head and bowed her chin. "Thank you."

    Kahari's boots scuffled as she turned to leave, but then she paused. "Talarion hasn't been seen in a few hours. I saw him go deeper into the temple, towards the part built into the mountain, but that was after..."

    Her heart lurched with fear, but Tissaia drew a steadying breath in an effort to quell it. "He wants to be alone. I tried to speak with him afterwards, but he told me to stay away. I imagine he went further into the temple to avoid the same happening with the others."

    "That seems unlike him to turn you away."

    "It is," she agreed. "But forcing him to be around us when he doesn't want to be will only make things worse. I think he just wants me to stay away so he won't accidentally lash out at me."

    Kahari's footsteps returned until the female was standing beside her. She shivered against the wind and pulled her cloak tighter around herself, auburn hair whipping across her face with another gust. "My sister was the same for a while after her husband died, but she didn't isolate herself completely."

    "Talarion has never liked others to see his pain. He barely let me see it, and I know it took a long time for him to even open up to Kaius like that. And now..." Tissaia closed her eyes against a bitter dryness.

    Her tears had ceased to fall hours ago, and though she still felt the tell-tale stinging and pressure, it seemed as though they had finally dried up. "I think death is different for Fae, because of our life spans. We tend to take it lightly. We never truly consider that it could happen to any of us because it seems so far away. Kaius's life had barely begun. He should've lived for thousands of years, but he's gone."

    "I don't take it lightly," Kahari murmured, and Tissaia peered at her from the corner of her eye. "I'm reminded about the differences of my reality every time I look at my mother and sister. Mother is already towards the end of her life and fading. My sister is in the middle of her years."

    "I'll only live half the life span of a full blooded Fae, but I'll still outlive my only family by at least two-thousand years, and Vael will outlive me by that much too. Can you imagine living that much longer than those you love?"

    Tissaia only shook her head. She had already pushed from her mind the fact that someday, Kaius will have been gone more years than she'd known him for. She couldn't even consider if that reality also included her brother, or Azael. "What will you do when you find your father?" Kahari asked.

    "Kill him," Tissaia spat in response. "And let him rot."

    "Then I will help you and your brother find him." She met Kahari's gaze once more, and found remorse and resolve shining within it.

    "We did not betray you," Kahari insisted, "though I know Talarion believes otherwise. We joined you to help protect our people, and as long as your father is in possession of that book, none of us will be safe. If killing him is the only way to change that, then Vael and I will help you take that chance."

    Tissaia hesitated, then rested her hand on the female's shoulder. "I never believed you led our father to us," she murmured. "And Talarion will see it too, eventually. You don't have to prove yourself to us."

    "I'm not proving myself," Kahari replied. "I'm helping my friend claim her freedom, and her revenge."

    Tissaia stared at her in surprise, then pulled her into a tight embrace. "I am glad to still have a friend," she whispered.

•༻☽☾༺•

    Talarion remained cloistered in a dark chamber that he had found towards the back of the temple. It was hidden well enough that he doubted anyone aside from his sister would be able to track him there, and that was what he wanted. He didn't want anyone else to bear witness to his suffering, however silent it had become.

    He had screamed his voice raw, until he tasted blood and the only sounds he could make were hoarse whispers. When anger overwhelmed him, he had smashed his fists through stone walls until his knuckles were cracked and bleeding. Then he'd healed them and done it again. Over and over and over.

    When rage gave way to a grief so heavy he'd been unable to stand, he had simply let himself fall to the floor, and there he remained. He felt nothing now. Nothing but cascading pain and a yawning emptiness.

    The hole Kaius had ripped through his chest remained gaping and bleeding. He kept waiting for the pain to fade. For the icy bond to recede to the back of his mind. But every unbidden memory that rose stabbed knives through him all over again.

    He stared through the tangled threads of his hair at the wall opposite to him. His cheek was pressed against the freezing floor, his still bloodied knuckles lying in view next to his face. But it wasn't his hand or his hair or the wall that he was seeing.

    It was Kaius's hazel eyes. His warm, youthful features. His unruly leaf-strewn hair, now braided with his own around his wrist. Talarion drew a breath, and when there was no trace of his mate's scent, tears pricked at his eyes and began to pool beneath his face once more. Flames licked around the edges of Kaius's features and he watched them consume him all over again.

    A low, hoarse sob escaped his lips and he closed his eyes as if he could hide from his own memories. "Talarion!" Tissaia called from somewhere beyond the room.

    He didn't bother to answer. Her footsteps drew closer and paused outside the door. Talarion kept his eyes shut even when he heard the knob creak and the door grated open. Tissaia drew a sharp gasp and raced over to him.

    "Oh gods, tell me you haven't..." He looked at her when she grasped his shoulders with trembling hands. Tissaia held his gaze and let out a faint sigh of relief. "I thought you might've..." She shook her head without finishing the sentence.

    Gently, she lifted one of his hands and her fingers skimmed over his knuckles, healing the broken skin. "I know you want to be alone," she murmured, "but I was too afraid that you would do something drastic. Something worse than this."

    She began healing his other hand. Talarion remained silent, both because he had no voice, and because what good would come of telling her that her fears were well-founded?

    "Let me bring you something to eat," Tissaia said, releasing his hand. He only shook his head. "You've barely eaten since we left the inn. You'll let yourself waste away if you keep on like this."

    "Could you stomach food if you'd seen your love's skin burned away?" He rasped.

    Tissaia sighed and tucked some of his hair behind his ear. "All right. I'm sorry. I just..." emotion choked her words, "I don't want to lose you too. I still need you."

    Talarion closed his eyes and didn't answer, though his thoughts had already drifted to how she had leaned into Azael earlier. In spite of his own feelings towards the male, he was grateful she had someone she could lean on now, because it couldn't be him. Not now. Not when he couldn't even hold himself up. But for her sake, he could pretend a little while longer.

    He pushed himself into a seated position and swiped a hand across his face. Tissaia stared at him worriedly, placing a hand over his. "You know I'll always need you, Tiss," he whispered. "But right now, I just...don't care anymore. About anything. Or anyone."

    His sister just nodded. "I know, but I care about you, so let me."

    He didn't protest when she leaned closer and wrapped him in a sound embrace. It took a moment for him to return it though, and his heart twisted with regret and guilt. She had always tried to take care of him, just like he had always tried to take care of her.

    And now there was nothing either of them could do for the other. She was never going to be able to take away his pain, and he was only going to cause her more. So he forced himself to hug his sister tighter, and prayed that when the time came, she would be able to understand why.