Choosing to say out of the Alliance, the Cinders are isolated in their own conflicts, and when Helia Cinder reaches to the void for answers, she inadvertently draws a creature out. Expecting to be eaten alive, she is instead left with a man with no...
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Talamayas ground his teeth as he thought about Wren alone in that complex. Well not alone, but without his mate or people. As soon as Tala had sensed his magic, he'd flown through the walls and building to be with him, but when he'd met Wren's eyes, it had not been the man he loved. All that remained of their bond was the dark magic that flowed through Wren from the marks on his heart and neck. That parallel had calmed Wren to his touch and presence, but only as long as rationality wasn't part of the mix. As soon as their lips had parted, Tala had been the enemy, and though he'd sure give it a go, he was pretty certain he couldn't kiss Wren forever.
Without knowing what the Cinders and Songs had done to Wren, Tala couldn't snatch him. If he dragged Wren kicking and screaming back to the castle for the second time in their life and he never regained his memories, then Tala lost all hope at repairing their relationship. Wren would hate him, drift from him, and yet be bound for a life of misery. No, Wren had to come back to him on his own, or he had to figure out a way to restore his memories. Those were his only options.
Up on a two-story desert adobe, which this town had few of because of the reinforcement needed to build them, Tala wasn't exactly covert. A man up in a cloak with his chin glued to his hand where he leaned on an air vent exit wasn't dangerous looking either though. Tala looked like a bored laborer more than anything else, and with his magic calm and muted, no one would know he was a vampire unless they were looking for one. A town guard might hassle him, but for now, it was just him and the desert breeze.
And the scent of vanilla and cinders.
Helia Cinder went about her errands with grace and confidence, striding much too tall and showing her face to every store keep she interacted with. The girl wouldn't know how to blend in if someone painted her the color of sand and pressed her to a wall. She'd still greet people as they walked by, likely resulting in them pissing themselves in surprise. Tala chuckled as he watched Ghost's mate fill a small cart with food, bandages, containers of water, and other necessities.
Tala really shouldn't use that word. Mate.
Ghost had reiterated that they were in a very new and fragile relationship because of her caring for Stone, and that pushing anything like being his mate or heavens forbid moving in with Tala was a horrid idea. The woman was a grand mage, and Tala had just beaten her father down to bread dough, so the chances of her ever warming to him were shot. That and the Cinders would never live within walls shared by vampires. Talamayas hadn't the heart to tell Ghost that, nor did he want to think of it much himself.
If Ghost and Stone reconnected and Vice grew serious about Helia, Tala would lose him. Or at least half of him. Tala wondered just how much Helia would tolerate of his peculiar first general. When Tala had made the agreement with Vice for complete honestly between them decades ago, he hadn't meant to include what Vice might do in bed with women. At the time, with Vice's situation and suffering, Tala had doubted he'd be interested.
