Threads of Fate

Chapter 50 ~ The Next to Come

    Tissaia and Talarion rode at a hard pace for two days, pushing the horses she had managed to procure almost to their breaking point. They had passed by a farm earlier that afternoon and had persuaded the owner to trade them his two fresh horses for their exhausted mounts.

    Now Tissaia was beginning to feel equally exhausted, but Talarion showed no sign of stopping any time soon, despite the evening hours growing late. She couldn't blame him for his sense of urgency though. Just yesterday they had found a place where their father's scent lingered along with traces of Kaius's blood.

    They had found some additional patches of blood today, smeared across the trunks of trees and dripped onto the ground. A trail, they had quickly realized. Kaius was leaving them a trail to follow. But she knew he hadn't remained unharmed. Talarion's perpetual tension was proof of that.

    She had woken last night while he was on watch and saw him rubbing his fingers against his sternum, a twisted look of rage and desperation on his face, and had known what it meant. Whatever Kaius was feeling had been passed on to her brother through their bond.

    She hadn't protested when he roused her before dawn and they set off once more. Though they were riding in relative silence, Tissaia had managed to keep her thoughts focused on what lay ahead, rather than who she had left behind.

    She had avoided thinking about him since they left, knowing that it would only bring her more misery. With Talarion already half out of his mind, she knew she would have to be the more collected one in order for them to get through this, and she couldn't be that person if she was tearing herself apart over what had happened.

    But she hadn't been able to quell the aching pain that squeezed her heart last night when she'd shivered herself into a broken sleep, longing to feel Azael's warm, sturdy body beside her. They had forgone a fire, knowing their father would have scouts watching for any sign of someone following him.

    She wouldn't have minded so much if the temperature hadn't proceeded to grow cooler as they approached the base of the mountains. They would begin their ascent in two more days and there was no telling how high they would have to hike before they reached the temple Kaius had been seeing.

    Tissaia glanced at her brother as he let out a sharp breath, pain flickering across his features. She hesitated, granting him a moment to recollect himself, then asked, "Are you all right?"

    "I'm fine," came the quiet, gruff response.

    "You don't look fine."

    A muscle in his jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth. "I'm not the one held captive by our father."

    "Is Kaius..."

    "I haven't felt any physical pain from him. Just...terror." His grip tightened on the reins of his mount. "I think Father is using the Mindseeker against him."

    "Because Kaius wouldn't willingly tell him anything," Tissaia whispered. She raised her chin and squared her shoulders, shoving aside the worry that threatened to overwhelm her. "We'll get him back and make Father pay for everything he's done to us." Her confidence weakened at her next thought. "Do you think he kept all of his warriors with him or could he have sent some elsewhere?"

    "He likely has some of them placed in positions where they could intercept us if they manage to find us," Talarion replied. "And there will be a good number still with him. It will be a fight to get to him."

    "Maybe..." she trailed off as Talarion's dark gaze flickered towards her. Tissaia breathed a sigh, turning her face away. "Maybe we shouldn't have left the others behind. We don't know for sure that Kahari and Vael betrayed us, and I don't believe they would. As for Azael...his anger was justified, but he wouldn't have let it stop him from helping Kaius."