Reality felt like cracked porcelain.

Bits and pieces of the world crumbled to the earth beneath his knees. Crumbling chips of moments that should have registered in his mind, but felt too fractured to truly stick.

The gods muttering amongst themselves as knights and soldiers watched from beyond the glimmering, golden barrier. The strings falling from their fingers, slipping back into invisibility as the gods seemed to finish whatever they were doing to remake the bond.

Callias between them--his face as pale and still as death.

Isidor at the merman's side, ignoring any suggestion that he should move elsewhere as he checked his pulse.

Rhode staring at them, expression as blank as a sheet of parchment, yet somehow as tremulous as a raging sea.

Mara kneeling next to Kain, murmuring words he couldn't comprehend. It was as if the moment the world had pitched back into motion his ability to follow it had vanished. All he could do was tighten his arms around the figure crumpled against him, as if that could stop her warmth from drifting towards the inevitable chill. One of his hands reached for her eyelids, closing them to block the emptiness that laid beyond.

Seconds shuttered into minutes. Natia whined, pressing her flank against his back. It hurt--her solid body irritating his still lingering wound--and somehow, that helped reassemble his shattered mind into something almost functional.

An arm dragged him to his feet, heaving him up as his own grip tightened around her. Voices washed over his ears.

"We need to move. It's dangerous to stay here, Your Highness."

The barrier was gone, dissipated in a disconnected second. The knowledge of its disappearance clicked the moment he realized the voice at his side was the knight who had scolded Eleni. Kain wanted to laugh.

Just a short time ago, the man had threatened their entire party. What a difference a few gods and an assassination made.

"The assassin could still be nearby. My men are searching for them, but an attack like this speaks of skill. There's every chance they could slip our guard twice."

"Did you see their face?"

Mara's question dragged Kain's mind from the muck miring his thoughts. His eyes fell to Melitta's blood-caked throat, zeroing in on the weapon he hadn't removed. The blue tinged metal settled in his gut like a brick. 'The face...'

"No," the knight replied. "Everything happened so quickly. And, given...well, the attack must have come from behind your party."

"Natia," Kain muttered.

The buzzing conversation around him paused as Natia whined. His gaze shifted to the wolf. Hesitation settled along his numbed thoughts. Was he making the right choice? What if his request got her killed?

What if they missed something because he was too worried to use her?

"Can you sense other nightmares?" he asked.

Her ears folded back as she bared her teeth in a growl. Agreement?

"What about metal made with their venom? Does it feel the same?"

If witches couldn't heal past a nightmare's ability, didn't that mean it was something more than a simple venom? It had to be their own form of magic. Which meant it would have an aura.

Understanding seemed to shine in Natia's eyes. She yipped and pressed her flank to his legs. Kain drew in a deep breath.

"Rhode."

"I'll go with her," the siren agreed.

"Search the palace," he told them. "Be careful. Take some of the guards as well. I doubt they'll argue after Taisol's warning."

"We won't," the knight confirmed.

Hairline fractures slivered through his fragile mind the moment the others departed, numbing the moments that followed into an unsettling haze. Without a focus for his thoughts, he could only watch her still face, fingers curling along her cheek.

How was it that blood continued to seep around the metal despite the stillness of her chest?

Someone cleared their throat. "Your Highness--"

"If you stay here, you will collapse," Isidor interrupted. "I have done all that I can, but most of the healing came from your own energy store. You may not feel it yet, but your body is running on empty."

When had he moved?

Kain shifted his eyes away from Melitta once again to meet his gaze. The witch grimaced.

"The infirmary isn't far inside the palace," the knight suggested. "His Majesty keep--kept a witch on call. They should be rested and able to assist with any lingering injury His Highness may have suffered."

An infirmary.

The living were treated in an infirmary.

His grip on Melitta tightened even as the world seemed to sway. Kain gritted his teeth, forcing everything back into focus.

"I want to go to the temple." She wouldn't want to remain in the palace.

Isidor sighed, carding an irritable hand through his hair. Despite the jerkiness of his actions, there was understanding in his eyes. "You won't make it, Kain."

"We will handle her," Taisol interrupted.

Kain shifted his eyes past the witch, to where all three gods stood, watching them. Taisol's gaze was soft. Her wings--to the best of their ability--were curled over the shoulders of the other gods in an almost protective manner. As he watched, Aion grasped her hand, interlacing their fingers. Their position made the god of love's small, slender frame starkly obvious when set against Koun and Taisol's tall, athletic builds.

Koun's golden eyes appeared to be seeing every inch of him, and yet nothing, at the same time. It sent a shiver down his spine.

"I--"

"Your witch likely knows your state better than you do, young prince," Taisol interrupted. Her attempt at a soothing tone only set Kain's nerves further on edge. "With the ringing of the bells, the city will be in a precarious state. Attempting to take the girl to the temple yourself will only worsen matters--especially if you collapse, or run into the assassin.

"Release her body to us and we will ensure she is well cared for until your party has recovered."

The faint embers of fight burning his veins faded as Kain's eyes fell to where Callias still laid in the grass. Their party. Somehow, it was those words that reminded him that it wasn't his right to choose what came next. That was all on the man who had nearly died alongside her.

For now, it was better to listen.

So, when Koun stepped away from the others and tugged Melitta from Kain's arms, he let him. Emptiness took his mind, sending tremors through his body, as the god stepped back.

She looked so fragile.

Claws of pain sunk through the numbness, tearing invisible gashes in his chest as her head lolled to the side. Koun readjusted his arms, before meeting Kain's eyes with a sad smile.

"Until next time, little hero."

Then, the god was gone. Aion lifted his interlaced fingers, holding Taisol's hand above the god's heart as his eyes shifted to where Callias laid.

"With the new bond, the merfolk will live," Aion said. His red eyes seemed to bore holes into Callias' face. "Not that he will be pleased about that.

"His body will need time to recover. It is best if he is moved to the infirmary, or his own quarters, in the meanwhile. I am unsure how long it will take--I haven't attempted such a thing before--combining threads of fate with the sea's power."

Questions burned in Kain's mind, but the numbness held his tongue. So, he nodded. Like Koun, the god smiled in response, before vanishing. Taisol's wings folded against her back with her partners' absence.

"Rest well, Kain, and deep. I will be watching--no harm will come to you while you recover, lest they answer to me and mine."

As Taisol vanished like the others, Kain couldn't help the spike of anger that spiraled his thoughts. They twisted and burned even as the others urged him back into palace grounds. Afterall.

What good would Taisol's protection do for them?

It hadn't saved Melitta.

┈♔◦𓇣◦☽◦❤◦☾◦𓇣◦♔┈

The next several hours passed in a haze.

The moment they reached the infirmary, the palace witch was summoned. Isidor pushed Kain onto a bed in the back of the room and shooed the others back to their quarters. He didn't protest if only because his head had continued to spin to the point of dark spots through their entire trek across the palace grounds. It helped that the bed Isidor selected gave him a clear view of the rest of the room--Callias included.

He didn't appear to wake once. The only indication he was living at all was the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Kain didn't think he'd ever had such a moment to study Callias. The merman was always so guarded, so distant. Melitta was the only one allowed to lay her sleeping roll near his at night, and even then Kain couldn't recall actually seeing Callias sleep while they traveled. He must have, otherwise the man would have collapsed from exhaustion, but the when of it all was lost on him.

Gods, what were they going to do?

As the numbness fell away alongside the treatment of his wound, Kain couldn't help but continue to stare. If he felt like this--torn open and bleeding from invisible gashes--what would Callias feel when he woke up and realized his sister was gone? What would he do? Would he blame Kain? Mara?

Himself?

They couldn't leave him here. Or let him leave alone. Melitta's fears flickered through his mind, alongside memories of fiercely protective she was of her seemingly steadfast brother. If she was to be believed--and he believed her without question--Callias wasn't as put together as he came off. Which meant a drastic reaction was possible.

Someone would need to be with him when he woke.

If he woke.

Fates, he had to wake up. If they both died, Kain wasn't sure what he would do.

His hands curled into the thin sheets he sat on, prompting a startled question from the healer. Kain murmured a dismissive noise--reassuring the woman she hadn't done anything wrong, he was just thinking--and released one hand so he could card it through his hair, tugging at the strands. The faint pain helped distract his mind from the spiral it was falling into.

Callias would wake up. And they would handle it. And Kain would somehow loosen the vice in his chest that threatened to strangle him with every breath.

And then what?

His thoughts stuttered.

Where did they go from here? Reality was staring him in the face, but he couldn't seem to pull it into place amongst his twisting emotions. Moving from this moment would make it real, which was something that wasn't possible. It was all too sudden. Too much.

Melitta flashed through his mind again and he drew his legs to his chest, burying his head in them as looking away from Callias and everything else could shove the image of the blade from his mind. The healer said something again, the words lost on him, followed by Isidor muttering a response. Then, he cleared his throat.

"That's enough for now. I think he needs to be left alone more than anything else."

Did he want to be alone?

Before all of this began, the only times Kain had truly been alone were the moments when the others went ashore.

When he was younger, it had driven him crazy. He would climb to the highest point of the ship and watch the bustling at port heavily aware he could never join them. That if there were nightmares nearby, they would attack and people would die. Being alone left him with too many thoughts and he'd always greet the others with an enthusiasm they couldn't understand.

As he grew older, he'd taken to loving those moments he would be left behind aboard the Airlea. It gave him time to think without being seen or questioned. He would wallow in self-pity on occasion, but mostly he practiced. He would use the entire deck as his ballroom as he swept through sword dances to keep his useless skills sharp.

No, he didn't want to be alone.

But, he couldn't seem to find his voice. So, moments after kicking out the palace witch, Isidor told him he was going to go check on the others before leaving as well.

So, Kain forcibly uncurled his limbs, found a chair, and dragged it over to Callias' bedside.

He might not have been able to think about what came next--or to settle his numbed, churning mind, but he could do this much. He could watch over Callias until the merman woke. He could be the one to share what had happened, to be hated as the world Callias knew shattered to pieces.

Then, maybe, they could find a way to glue it back together.