Threads of Fate

Chapter 9 ~ The First Night Together

The first few hours of their journey passed in relative silence. Azael maintained his position at the back of the group and Talarion stayed at the head. There was some conversation between Tissaia and Kaius, but very little pertaining to him and Talarion. They hadn't gone off course except when they veered from the main road at the edge of the Vidar and entered the shadow of the trees.

Kaius seemed to relax then and Talarion didn't protest him taking the lead. Azael had to admit he was impressed by the male's skills at guiding them through the forest. It all looked the same to him, just a jumble of moss-covered tree trunks, thick brush, and damp trails covered in rotting foliage.

Kaius's skills made sense, of course. Everyone knew the Phoenix lived as a wanderer. He had no permanent residence. Kaius claimed to travel wherever the land willed him, and had done so since the slaughter of his parents when he was seventeen. That was why the Phoenix's identity had been a mystery for fifty years after his birth.

Kaius had explained the whole tale when he was brought to the palace. He had never been told who or what he was, and he wasn't sure his parents even knew. The day they died, all three of them had been out hunting for their village.

No one had known there were Blood Fae in the area. Strange, abnormal Fae with fanged canines who preyed upon the blood of Humans and Fae, especially those descended of god-blood lines. No one really knew how they came to be or why they craved blood, only that it seemed to make them stronger, and exceptionally so if they had consumed god-blood.

After understanding his identity, Kaius had realized that it was his and his parents' god-blood that had drawn the Blood Fae to them. His parents had not survived, and it was that attack that had claimed the tip of his right ear and left him with other scars all over.

Rather than risking leading the Blood Fae back to his village, Kaius had fled into the wild and remained there for years until he was discovered by an Elder gifted with Drenusha's Sight. The Elder had brought Kaius to Arcan, believing him to be the Phoenix, and he was proven right.

That day had been Azael's first time meeting the male, and Talarion and Tissaia's too. It had always been clear to him that the bonds forged that day were strong ones, and watching the male interact with the Twins now, free of other prying eyes, Azael saw just how true that was.

He envied it for several reasons. Primarily, he longed to have the same type of companionship he saw between the three of them. Friends he could rely on and simply exist alongside, free of all other expectations.

He'd never had much luck in that area of life, even as a young male training with the Cahirim. It had been his mother's hopes that he'd make a few friends while completing his training with the legendary fighting unit, but Azael had been more focused on succeeding that anything else.

Gaelen was the only lasting friendship he'd taken from the Isle, and even that was overshadowed by rank and protocol. The other few who tried to befriend him either did so in the hopes of gaining a foothold in the royal court for their families, or with the intention of using him for some other purpose.

His time on the Isle had been years before his betrothal to Tissaia, and was the only time in his life he'd taken a few lovers. None of them had been genuine in their affection for him. They'd only bragged afterwards about sleeping with the Prince, and Azael had put a swift end to that.

When he returned home, there was simply no time to pursue other romantic relationships. He was engaged to Tissaia soon after, and even if he'd found someone then, he would have refused them out of respect to her.

But it was clear why Kaius didn't have the same struggles, despite being the Phoenix. It would take someone truly heartless to not be drawn to his friendly nature. There was just a look in his young, warm features that boasted of the male's kind heart. Kaius's features were much softer in comparison to his and the Twin's.