Vice watched Pyre go through paperwork in one of his remote, off-the-grid offices. To Shan's relief, the old grand mage had left the Sol castles for a bit, but Pyre would return for Helia eventually. Skimming through mage connections and ties, Pyre searched for any allies he could use to piece the Cinders back together.

Just because Pyre couldn't lead didn't mean he wouldn't help Helia in any way that he could, and it warmed Vice's heart as he watched the man so diligently devote himself to the life and happiness of his children. Stubborn, vampire-hating, and strict as he was, Pyre was a man worthy of his family and the love and admiration his people once gave him. Seeing him reduced to a supporting role pained Vice, but Pyre seemed less bothered by the demotion. Just focused. Always prepared for anything.

Wren was just outside the little complex, breathing deeply and composing himself to stand strong as the leader of the Songs despite just breaking down in Forest's arms. This was the third Cinder hideout Wren had checked, all three of them quite close to Talamayas' territory. Wren had assumed Pyre would be close to where Blaze had attacked, and he wasn't wrong. Pyre was just hanging around for different reasons.

Vice had been following Wren since a little after he'd arrived at the Copse complex. Talamayas had frightened the hell out of Helia when he'd burst through her door and collapsed on the ground in tears. He'd been barely making coherent sound, but Vice had known immediately that it was about Wren. No one else could uplift or break Talamayas quite like his mate. By the time Helia had found a robe to cover herself, Talamayas had already wept most of what had happened onto Stone's lap. Wren had allowed Talamayas to take him as a mate would, but after, Wren had been upset and fled.

Consent was of stronger importance to vampires than even humans, their moral code leaving no room for interpretation. Love and affection from one's mate was earned not given, and only the truly vile would take someone unwilling. Such an act would end them shunned or killed soon enough, even if the offender was a house head. It was disgraceful to the entire line, to use force to take that which was most precious between mates.

Talamayas was extremely skilled in the art of misinterpretation though, so Stone stayed to soothe Talamayas while Ghost went after Wren. Vice's mage master knew few safe places without his memories and he was prudent with his actions, so Wren predictably had gone to the Copses. To where Talamayas had told him was safe. That meant Wren wasn't avoiding Talamayas if he really wanted to chase after him, just getting some space. Wren also didn't look like he was upset about what Talamayas had done to him intimately, not after Forest had laughed at him. It seemed Wren was just upset about his memories, and though Stone conveyed that to Talamayas it did not help much.

Talamayas had always been a direct man, unable to believe what others said unless he could see and touch it. Until Wren returned and held Talamayas to calm him down, he would remain in shambles. If Wren had his memories, he would have never left Talamayas like this, broken, frightened, and desperate. It was so bad that Talamayas could not pry himself off of the floor to rest in his own room.

So Talamayas was in Helia's bed now, which was as awkward as it got.

Stone could not leave his master, not with the way he was trembling and holding himself instead of someone else for comfort. Truly, Stone had never seen Talamayas this bad, but he'd also never seen Talamayas without Wren. The day Vice had met Tala, he'd also met Wren, though in the dungeons and in chains, but he'd been there always. Sure there had been a brief interlude where Wren had been with the mages, but he'd never been out of reach like this.

Helia was standing on the side of the bed watching them, not at all disgusted by his master nor appearedly even bothered after she realized how upset he was. Watching Talamayas with how much he was hurting was difficult though, and Stone peeked up at Helia pacing back and forth in silence. Something was on her mind, but she was silent and contemplative as any grand mage, assessing, calculating, and coming to a conclusion on her own.

What she decided had Stone arching an eyebrow as she left his side of the bed and walked around to Talamayas' back. The bed dipped as Helia slid onto it, and she approached his master with the utmost caution, moving slowly, stopping every few inches to see if he might snap at her, and finally settling at his side.

And just like that, Talamayas' hands loosened from clutching himself, and he turned, still trembling, to where Helia was sliding to lie down on the bed at his back. Without words, she extended a hand and touched his face as he turned, using the other one to nudge him into completing the flip until he was facing her.

"Will light magic help?" Helia asked, so close to his master's face that their foreheads almost touched.

And then they did, Helia leaning in to close the gap Talamayas was too terrified to cross. Helia took Talamayas' hand in hers, and delicately cradled it to her chest as she waited for Talamayas to accept her presence. She did not entirely know what she was offering though, and Stone stiffened as Talamayas laid his hands on her. As clingy as his master was, he pulled Helia against his body with a crushing embrace and ducked his face into her chest to breath against her skin. It put Helia's hands and head above Talamayas' and his face dangerously close to her breasts.

Helia couldn't get any redder as she looked to where Stone was for some sort of undo button, but he was invisible for Wren's sake, so his apologetic smile did little. With a deep, slow breath, Helia settled into the position she'd unwittingly accepted. Helia had interacted with Talamayas enough to know that she could push him away and he would go, but she had no intention of doing so as she rested her arms on his master's shoulders and wound her hands into his hair to cradle his head to her chest.

Talamayas was the one person who could get away with touching so much of the woman Vice loved without jealousy. That was because despite the brutal and powerful man Talamayas was, there was an innocence about Talamayas that didn't even register what he was doing as too forward. All Talamayas had wanted was comfort, and Helia had offered it. Stone questioned if Talamayas even understood that women had breasts as his master's trembling ceased and he squeezed Helia just a bit.

Talamayas was gentle, so stressed or not, he wouldn't hurt Helia.

As Helia closed her eyes, Stone angled the covers to encompass them both and sank down to press his face to Talamayas' back. That was where his master was most used to having him, and it would ease Talamayas just as much as Helia holding him to know he was near. With both of them, his master finally settled into sleep, and Stone couldn't fall deeper in love with the Helia.

Listening to her go on about how there was nothing special about her had dug deep into Vice's heart. Right here, she was a goddess, unafraid to comfort the man most important to him and willing to endure discomfort so that Talamayas would not pass out afraid and lonely. Though Helia may not have sought Stone out in the void, their meeting had been fated. Helia was meant to be his mate, and despite the issues at hand and their eventual split, he would find a way to make it work.

Wren entered Pyre's office and his expression curdling in the same manner Wren's did when he saw one of the Sol generals approaching him. All they did was greet or talk to him, but just being around vampires made Wren sick without his memories. The Sols were very understanding though, treating him with respect and eagerly awaiting his return to his rightful place.

From what Vice knew, Pyre and Wren had been acquainted prior to his imprisonment by Talamayas, and on good diplomatic terms. That meant Pyre didn't dislike him personally so much as he didn't want to deal with Talamayas. No one wanted anything to do with the unhinged leader of the Sols. No one except Vice's goddess of a future mate.

"What, Wren?" Pyre said in a stiff tone, leaning back in his desk chair and sliding what he was working on to the side. It pushed older papers right onto the floor, but Pyre paid them no mind as he keep his eyes locked on the intruder.

"I was hoping to enlist your aid," Wren said, pulling up a chair to the side of Pyre's desk and plopping down. Sitting across for him would be too far, and Pyre would not calm if Wren was standing at the ready to fight. Though Wren was a mage, he was a Sol as well, so a threat.

"I won't do anything to put my house at odds with the Sols, Wren. I realize you think we're still back in the dark ages with mages slaughtering vampires and dancing in their blood for the fun of it, but my house depends upon my actions."

"Because you'd be such a great help in that endeavor," Wren replied with an antagonistic nod to Pyre's arm sling, singeing his burning gaze darker. "You can relax, Pyre. If I want to kill Talamayas, I won't need your help."

"Well, if not that, then what do you need from me that Kopje cannot functionally do?"

Wren grimaced on that name. "I'm surprised every time Kopje doesn't spit in my face, Pyre. He was closest to me as a friend, I'm told, and he does not like my returning to the mage general I used to be. Without my memories, Kopje can't stand me, and he certainly wouldn't do what I'm about to ask you for."

"Which is?" Pyre looked like he wanted to stab Wren for beating around he bush, and he very well just might. There was no reservation to such actions where Vice was concerned.

"Blaze and Riff cast a warped Recall spell on me, and I need to weight the present heavier than my past as a Song general to recover my memories. The most influential part of my current life, to both my dismay and fear, is my time in the Sol dungeons. I need someone to chain and torture me as Talamayas did so that I can remember who I am supposed to be."

"Are you mad?" Pyre hissed, sitting up in his chair and thumping his one good hand on the wood of his desk. "Talamayas Sol would kill me without question if he found me doing such to you."

"Talamayas is currently indisposed, so you may do as you please for the time being, but this opportunity will not present itself again. By the morning, I imagine he will fetch me, so I only have the night to do what it takes to return to him as I should be.

"I do not ask this lightly, Pyre Cinder. I am tired of being a shell of the man I am meant to be, filled with hatred that destroyed my people from within, and so unable to pull away from it that everything crumbles beneath my feet. I beg you, Pyre. Please help me."

Wren dropped from his chair and knelt with his head hanging so low that Pyre grunted.

"I'll help you. Just stop the damn bowing. I'm sick of it. For a house of psychos, you sure do a lot of groveling." Vice knew Pyre's comment was pointed at him, and he stuffed himself closer to the wall to avoid the pulse of Pyre's frustrated magic.

Wren followed Pyre down to the lower level of his hidden lair. It was just like the Cinders to have a multitude of hideouts for when they needed to escape pursuit or hide with a valuable captive to torture. Pyre wasn't much for the latter, but this place outdated him by a few generations. The animosity between mages and vampires had pervaded, yet for the first time, everyone was trying for peace.

There was only a single cell in the stone under level, and the cold had Wren shivering, but it did not seem to trigger any memories as he stood over a metal chair nailed to the floor for torture. The Sol dungeons rotated from hot as hell to freezing as the abyss, so either temperature would suffice here. Shackles hung from the wall by chains that would give him no space to move from the chair once he was secured, and Wren turned to Pyre's shadowed eyes.

Pyre did not want to do this, and neither did Wren as he grimaced.

But it must be done.

Wren's hands trembled as he removed his upper mage wear, dropping the wide sleeves of the Songs to the dirt as he bared his chest. The movement had Wren cringing from deep punctures in his shoulders, and he jumped when light magic glided across and sealed them. Touching the area, Wren rubbed his smooth skin and looked to Pyre.

"Song blood was regarded as poison back then. It was always spilled on the ground. Never drank. Bite marks would detract from what you must have experienced," Pyre said, and Wren nodded as he sat in the chair with only his pants on. They were so thin that the cold cut right through and bit at his skin, but Pyre payed him no mind as he closed the constraints over his ankles and dragged the manacles closer. They didn't lock his hands in place on the chair, but they didn't give him room enough to reach behind him to where his torturer might stand.

Vice stood outside the cell, arms crossed and teeth clenched as Pyre cast his robes aside as well. It took some maneuvering to get his arm out and back into the sling, but he settled with nothing but the under armor and his loose pants. No matter his injuries, Pyre was still built as any grand mage and leader of his house.

"I'm not a torturer," Pyre said, and Wren lifted his face from his slumped position to find his eyes.

"Nor do I like torture," Wren said with a tired and fearful chuckle. "I can't tell you how I was tortured, clearly, but I hope that the flames will be enough. Not a lot of men burn their captives as well as Talamayas toasts them."

For a moment, Pyre hesitated, his hands shaking, but he managed to lift one up to touch Wren's chest on the left side, away from his heart. Flames crawled his fingers, sizzled Wren's skin, and he jerked in his constraints with a gasp of breath that had Pyre snapping his hand back.

"You have to use more power than that, Pyre," Wren managed through gasps of breath. "I have Talamayas' blood within me now, so slight injuries heal instantly. It has to be a lot, enough to kill a regular mage."

"And if I do kill you?" Pyre growled.

"You won't, Pyre."

Pyre huffed a breath with his frustration and distaste, but he flushed his power into his hands for what must be done. Pyre called enough flames to fill the chamber before he condensed and thrust them straight into Wren's chest. The smell of burnt skin made Vice sick, and Wren's scream of pain had him standing rom the wall in his master's defense. There was no one to defend though as Pyre backed away, Wren slumping forward with tears in his eyes and slowly healing charred skin.

"I can't do this," Pyre whispered, backing away and heading out of the cell to get space. There was nothing Vice could do for Wren as he wept in his constraints, and so he followed Pyre to where he sat on the ground around the corner, a hand in his hair. No matter what Pyre did, it wouldn't work. Pyre didn't want to hurt Wren, so he would not be enough.

The reality had Vice sighing loud enough that Pyre yanked his face up with flames on his fingers. Though Talamayas had forbidden Vice from revealing his ability to become invisible, Stone had already given that away to Helia and Pyre was not just anyone. Vice shimmered into view ahead of Pyre, and just his presence had Pyre stuffing his back against the wall with the scent of fear permeating.

"It's not what it looks like..." Pyre started but Vice pulled down his face mask and waved a hand to calm him.

"I know, Pyre. I've been here the entire time," Vice said with a small sigh. "Do you have any pants here?"

The question had Pyre lifting an eyebrow, but he gestured to a small metal closet to the side of the cell but out of sight from Wren. Vice found a pair of mage pants and slid his assassin garb off so that he was bare-chested and returned to where Pyre still sat.

"I'll do it," Vice said, a shiver running down his spine with the words.

"You're going to torture your master?" Pyre asked, the doubt of his abilities not at all surprising considering what Pyre knew of him.

"That is my responsibility, to cater to my master's wishes regardless of the cost, Pyre. That is what it is to serve. You can heal him when this is finished?" Vice asked, and Pyre nodded, standing up to join him. "It's still me, all right?"

Pyre didn't understand what Vice was saying until the magic lit up down Vice's arms and chest. There was not enough of Talamayas' blood within him to reach as far as his mind, but he could harness his body and magic, and that was all he needed. Vice's body stretched and bulked as Talamayas' form took him over, and he settled with a small breath of steam that had Pyre looking him up and down wide-eyed.

"What are you?" Pyre asked with a hiss of breath.

"Whatever I need to be to assure my master's happiness." Vice headed toward the cell with an inner dread. Part of him knew it was better this way, without Talamayas' mind, but it made torture more difficult. Talamayas was in no state for Vice to control his consciousness either way.

Vice needed no guidance nor instruction for the task at hand. For decades, he had stood at Talamayas' side as a silent observer as he went down into those dungeons. Every scream from Wren's mouth or cackle of Talamayas' pleasure was carved into his mind. It was not something easily forgettable.

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