Across from him, Talamayas stood against a wall in one of the open bedrooms, blade in hand and that stupid smirk on his face, but his shoulders were no longer as sturdy as they were when this started. Wren had cut him a number of times, though the shallow wounds healed with his power quickly. A gash along his side had been deep enough that it would take some time, and the same could be said about one that rounded the side of his shoulder. Aside from the bite marks on his shoulder near his neck, Wren was uninjured.

And not because he was the better fighter.

Wren was as skilled as they came, so he'd seen Talamayas weaken his slashes to give him time enough to dodge, or shift his punches so they struck thicker muscle instead of his vital points. No matter how powerful Wren was, without his chains to puppet Talamayas, this was not an even match. All of the battle prowess and light magic mastery in the world didn't make a difference when the vampire had thirty pounds of muscle mass and warped magic that steamed his own flesh as he harnessed too much of it.

Talamayas Sol was like a wild beast.

One who wouldn't bite his pet.

"You're not fighting me in earnest." Wren spit the words with anger that had Talamayas' smirk dipping. No matter how he tried to pretend the vampire was just this bad, it was impossible, and the truth showed in Talamayas' crimson eyes as they sank to the sanded bricks instead of his opponent. "You were, at the start, but now you're just playing with me. Don't think I didn't notice. Are you a masochist or something? Is this fun to you? Watching me struggle with no hope of victory as I slowly wear myself down?"

"Not really fun," Talamayas muttered, lowering his blades of dark magic and rubbing the back of his short, ruffled hair. "You wanted to face me, and I accepted, but I can't find it in me to dominate you. It isn't an entirely fair fight, and you know that."Without your chains, you're not the general you used to be. I did not know they would be ineffective with our bond, so I feel poorly."

"No fun fighting a declawed wolf?" Wren scoffed, his own shoulders losing some of their tension, but not as much as Talamayas' did. At any moment, the man could spring at him, so Wren couldn't let down his guard. "Can I ask you something, in the spirit of fairness?" The anger of this whole situation dipped his voice to as near a hiss as he could manage.

"Ask anything, Wren." Talamayas was losing his threatening stance and demeanor, and Wren didn't know if he'd be able to fight him if he came at him with that adoration. Using the wall, Talamayas slipped to a cross-legged position on the floor. A taunt? Or was he really sitting to take a break?

"What did you do to my mind?" Wren's question was met with silence and a narrowing of Talamayas' eyes that said he did not understand. "What I mean is that I keep trying to kill you, striking for your weakest points, but I always veer away just before I land the blow. That gash on you shoulder should be your head on the floor and that cut to your side should have severed you through from the spine."

Despite doing his best to kill Talamayas and burning every ounce of hatred into the vampire now sitting on the ground a yard away but at his feet, Wren didn't get so much as a growl in return. No matter what he did to Talamayas, his eyes remained affectionate, reaching and searching Wren for something he didn't have to give.

"You wiped out my people, murdered Harper and his son, and tortured me so badly that I can't bear to look at myself in a mirror because all I see are the marks you carved into my flesh. So why can't I kill you?" Wren practically screamed the last sentence into Talamayas' Sol's face, yet he remained on the ground waiting for him to finish so patiently, like he hung on every word from his lips.

"Wren," Talamayas said after a short contemplative silence, maintaining eye contact even though Wren was panting from the exertion of screaming at him. It had Wren's hands shaking as he tried to will them to strangle the man. "It is true that I ended the Songs, but I did not harm Harper nor his son. Cadence is safe here, with my men, awaiting the end of this fight with his father so that we may live in peace. A notion you accepted years ago when we put our past behind us for a different future than war and hatred. I did not warp your mind in any way, but I am your soul bound. That bond connects us with magic and blood so deeply that even without your memories, you refuse to strike to kill."

"What is a soul bound?" Wren asked, his desperateness for answers hampering some of his rage, as he lowered his shaking hands to try and understand. "Harper is alive?" Wren asked before Talamayas had even answered his first question. The man had said so much that needed processing.

"A soul bound is a male mate, Wren."

That was impossible. There was no way he would bind himself to a vampire for any reason, least of all as a lover. Wren lifted his blade to stab Talamayas in the head to end this, but it froze between his eyes before hitting skin, and Wren threw the blade away with a curse.

"I killed your mother and hunted your people. I still want you dead, yet you can say we're mates? Couldn't find anyone else to use for physical pleasure so you settled on your prisoner? You can't possibly love me in any manner."

"Sure I can," Talamayas said with a laugh, a wide smile spreading Talamayas face, so calm and gentle that the expression couldn't possibly belong to a vampire. "Wren, with everything I have, I, just as my family, love you." A groan followed the words as Talamayas sank on the ground beneath Wren.

Between them, the vampire had taken more hits, and Wren ground his teeth. That was only because Talamayas wasn't willing to strike at him because they were what... lovers? What exactly did that entail? Kissing him was one thing. Wren couldn't forget how right it had felt to give himself to Talamayas' lips, but as soon as he'd realized what was happening, he'd sobered. It was hard to imagine himself in a compromising position with Talamayas over him, and he shuddered in both disgust and an edge of fear. What pleasure could Talamayas Sol gain from his body? How deranged was he?

"This fight is pointless."

Wren gave up, dropping his guard and backing a step with the full expectation that Talamayas would break his legs and slam him onto the brick. While Talamayas moved, he did so slowly, rolling back to his feet but keeping low to the ground in a crouch, perhaps attempting to appear smaller than he was. Talamayas didn't want to intimidate him? "If I do not end you here, will you kill Riff?" Wren asked in one last ditch effort to convince himself to end the man before him.

"Riff Song? No. We made the decision when I found Cadence in the desert that you would have final say on any judgment concerning your people. If my men manage to best Riff, he will be detained until such time as you regain your memories. No torture, just a cell until you are your old self."

"You mean until you have me back under your control," Wren amended.

"I do not control you, Wren. I never have, not even when you occupied the cells. You were always much too strong for that."

Wren had no idea what to do with the adoration pouring from Talamayas nor what to do with himself. All he knew was that he was unable to kill Talamayas, so he took a few steps toward the door.

"Ah, please don't leave." Talamayas was in his face so quickly that Wren had to crane his neck to find his eyes above his. Instinct had him forming a blade of light, but Talamayas took a quick step back with his hands lifted. "I won't force you, but you are welcome here, Wren. Our people have worried about and missed you, as I have. Please accept my hospitality. You may stay anywhere in the castle you desire, go anywhere you wish freely. Just please don't leave."

"You're asking," Wren said with doubt.

"Yes, Wren. I would never force you to stay with my people if you no longer loved them, but perhaps being among them and near me might restore some of your lost memory."

"Supposed lost memory," Wren countered with annoyance. Riff had said the Songs had tortured and warped him so badly that they'd had to seal those memories in order for him to function normally. This man wanted him to recall such mistreatment. To what benefit? Did he think he would fall under his thumb again?

"Perhaps you might like to see Harper and Cadence?"

The name of his general and his new son stopped Wren just when he'd finally committed to leaving. Talamayas knew just where to hit to manipulate him, and he sighed as he gave in to whatever the vampire had planned. The Songs had lost again because Wren was weak. The least he could do was face Harper and apologize for failing him.

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Word Count: 1628