Threads of Fate

Chapter 59 ~ Attempts at Comfort

    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."