Threads of Fate

Chapter 29 ~ A New Theory

    Tissaia hadn't returned to camp for a while after their miserable parting the night before, and when she arrived, there was no sign of Azael either. She didn't wonder at it though, as she'd heard the male following behind her after she left the pool. He had waited for her somewhere in the forest, either to make sure she got back safely, or more likely, to save his own skin from her brother's wrath if he had returned without her.

    Tissaia hadn't spared him a single glance last night, and was relieved to wake up and find him and Vaeldan already gone scouting. When they inevitably returned, he was being just as careful to avoid her gaze. After they discussed their findings with Talarion, the group had set out.

    By midmorning, the trees were beginning to thin. Tissaia rode in the back of the group alone with Kaius. Vael was a few paces in front of them, walking on foot this time while Kahari rode at his side. Azael and Talarion were missing as they'd pulled ahead of the group to check the border of the forest again, but she had barely noticed their absence.

    Her senses were stretched thin today, her surroundings blurring together and every noise overlapping into a dull hum. On top of her bad evening, she'd had a nightmare of her own to contend with, which she knew had been brought about by her current mental state.

    In the dream, she was back in her bedroom at Lochren, curled into a ball beneath her covers as she always did. As though if she were out of sight, if she were small and insignificant, her father would leave her alone. But she'd heard his pounding footsteps, then her locked doorknob rattling. The repeated thud of his shoulder driving into the wooden panes keeping him out.

    She had clutched her bedsheets tighter and heard the first board break. Then the next. Her door was broken down and rough hands grabbed her through the sheets. She had kicked and screamed then, gnashing at him with bared teeth and flinging glowing hands into his face. She never succeeded.

    The dream played out exactly as it did in reality. She was dragged from her bed, her arms pinned down by her father's boots, and then his foot slammed into her palm again and again, until her fingers were twisted and cracked. But in the dream, there was no Talarion next door. No brother to help her fight him off, or to sit with her and painstakingly heal her hand once more.

    "Hey." She jumped as a hand nudged her shoulder. "You all right, Tiss?" Kaius asked, worry shining in his gaze when she met it.

    "Yes, I'm fine," Tissaia answered. "I just didn't sleep well."

    "You can ride with me if you need to rest for a while." She smiled at the offer, but shook her head. Kaius's mouth curved into a teasing grin. "Azael has been keeping his glares to himself now that he knows the truth so you don't have to worry about that, you know."

    Her smile faded at once and she pried her gaze away, letting it stretch to the edge of the forest and the rising hills beyond. "I'm sorry," Kaius apologized. "I shouldn't tease you. I know it's still complicated."

    You don't know the half of it, Tissaia thought to herself. "It's fine. But I don't want to talk about him," she said.

    "Then I won't. Besides, there's something else I wanted to tell you."

    Tissaia forced a smile onto her lips when she looked back at him. "Are you and Talarion finally going to adopt a child?"

    Kaius balked, then shook his head. "Gods no. Do we look like we'd be good parents right now? We're both anxious and uptight wrecks." He laughed a bit. "And we'd need a decent home first. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

    Tissaia arched a brow. "A home?"

    "Yes. For us, and for you. I promised Talarion that I wasn't letting him go back to Lochren after we're done here, and I know he won't leave without you. I know he's afraid of living a life on the run from your father, but I'm more worried about what Roshan will do to you if you go back."