They were in the sands this time, and Wren took a seat near a rock to watch Yania Sol read to the children. It was always so peaceful to start, and he allowed himself to enjoy the moment this time. Each night, he waited in so much fear for the moment he'd kill her again that he'd never really allowed himself to indulge in the tranquility of it all.

The woman's long curly hair was so dark against the sands, but it shone in the sun with a brilliance that lit her up despite her tanned pallor. She was beautiful, as was Talamayas, though in different ways. Talamayas was strength, vengeance, and yet he was just as gentle, forgiving and yearning. Perhaps Tala got it from her. The color of her crimson eyes was so lively, like a summer rose thriving in the heat.

It was time for his dream specter to show up, and Wren took a breath as he waited for those dark grey eyes, the malice, and the gasping of the woman's life as she faded away. Yania's eyes lifted, as they always did, but she looked at him–the observing him. Wren looked to either side of himself and she chuckled.

"Are you going to join us, Wren?" The woman asked, and his breath choked off as she held out a hand, a child gripping the bottom of the book as they sat in her lap.

"I..." Wren was at a loss for words. The woman had never spoken but to beg and cry before.

"Come," she ushered, just as Tala did all of the time, and Wren couldn't stop himself.

Crossing the edge of the sands, he sat himself next to her, and a child jumped up on his shoulders. It was something that should have made him smile, but instead he wanted to cry. This place, it wasn't for him. It was for him to destroy, and here she was welcoming him to sit by helpless children.

Was this where it went dark?

"You are expecting a different end?" Yania asked innocently, her smile dipping in concern. It dimpled her cheeks just so much to do so, really shaping her face clearer than Wren had ever seen it.

"Yes," Wren said into the sand. "I'm waiting for my shadow to come kill you, and then the children, and then to sit alone like the monster I am," Wren mumbled.

What did it matter what he said in his dreams?

"That is not what you want?" Yania asked.

"Of course not." Wren chuckled in hysteria and tears flooded his eyes. "I never meant to hurt you, to hurt my people. I was afraid and I made a mistake..." Wren clenched his fists. "Talamayas even had the gall to say you'd have liked me. I was elated that he forgave me for my mistake, but I couldn't accept it as much as I said I wanted to."

"This dream of yours... have you had it since the day I passed?" Yania asked, and Wren turned to her with confusion. The specter in his dream didn't know how many nights she'd visited him. "That seems painful," she said once she'd gleaned her answer.

"Not as painful as waking and knowing it's true," Wren rasped.

"My son is a real baby, you know that?" Yania said, and Wren snapped his face up to her mischievous smirk. He was not sure it was an expression he could ever imagine her having, though he'd seen it on Tala a time or two.

"I wouldn't say that to his face," Wren decided on, and she laughed, really mirthfully. The children ran from her with similar chuckles and tumbled in the sand, the one with the book joining them. It left him alone with her, and fear spiked that his shadow was coming.

"We live on, you know?" Yania said. "Those who share the blood of a sire, our magic lives on buried in our next of kin. We can't affect anything, but we can see. I've seen you suffer Wren Song, I've seen my son suffer, and I've wept for you both, as I also wept when you were joined as one. I'm not angry. I was never angry. Sad, but never resentful."

"Such words from my subconscious won't bear much weight when I wake," Wren said dismally.

"I am not your figment, Wren. I am real. Once you accepted my son's magic, you became one of us. Right now, the Sol magic within you is potent, so I can manifest, but it will die down in but days. This is the only chance I have to speak to you."

Wren couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I just want you to know that I have been sad for a very long time, and for the first time in decades I wept tears of joy. I am happy that my son has someone, and I know that you will care for my people stronger than I ever could. My days were numbered, Wren. I was not going to live much longer as a vampire anyway. Talamayas knew it but refused to see, Shan saw it and kept silent for my son, but I was on borrowed time the moment a vampire laid its fangs at my throat.

"I accept you, Wren Sol, as the leader of my people, and I forgive you for the mistake you made. I can't resent it at all knowing that it resulted in your meeting my son, growing with him through his pain, and lifting him up as you bonded. You needn't dream of killing me anymore nor harming your people. From this day forward, you will protect your people, love them as they love you, and none will blame you for giving into that love and leaving me behind.

"I will be within you, until the end of your days, but this is the only time we can speak. The joining of two as soul bound strengthens the Sol magic for but a short time. I've whispered to my son for years but he's never heard, and I could have gone to him tonight, but I knew that speaking to you was more important. You would not have believed the validity of any dream he had. My son is gentle, forgiving, and loving, as are my people. You, however, are fragile and need to know you have a place here and that my feelings are genuine.

"Tell my son I love him, more than anything, and that I'm watching him, even if I can no longer speak. And if you doubt my existence, tell my son to take you to the place where we went in our last days as humans, to where the sun kissed its shadow and we were born anew. I want you to say your vows there, accept each other, and leave your sadness of me behind."

The woman faded in front of him, and Wren reached for her but even the sands drifted to ash as they blew away.

"Oh, and tell Shan he's a son of a bitch for not relaying my final words to Talamayas. Damn general could have saved you both decades of grief." Yania's voice rode the winds into darkness, and Wren couldn't help but smile from her tone. It was chastisement and a little annoyance, but there was also a wistful nature about it, sadness that she couldn't break his legs herself.

~

Wren woke to the sun shining on him, and he wanted to just die right there. It was too bright, and his hand was so heavy that he couldn't lift it to cover his eyes. In seconds, the light disappeared, and Wren focused on Tala where he sat on the bed next to him with a wide smile.

"You're awake," Talamayas expression glowed, his arms fidgeting as he tried to figure out if he should touch him or not.

Tears bubbled up and poured out of Wren's eyes so heavily that it washed Tala's smile away, and Wren shook his head to try and show that it wasn't because of him. It was just that if he was dream was real, then he'd taken away the one chance Talamayas would have had to see his mother again. If it wasn't real, asking him these questions would sound crazy, and if it was, he hated himself.

It was best to face it while the strength of the dream was fresh. Dreams faded with the light back into the wisps of thought they'd formed up from. There was no way he could come out and say it, so he tried to do it as roundabout as possible.

"How does..." Wren's voice was a rasp of air and it was agony to speak, but he pressed on. "The sun... kiss its shadow?"

Talamayas eyes widened and tears lined his eyes. "I'm not sure it can," Talamayas answered, sliding his hand over to touch Wren's. It made Wren jerk back in pain, but he gripped Tala' fingers before he could retreat. "That is how my mother used to refer to a solar eclipse. She said that when the sun kissed its shadow, their love was so great that no one could look upon it or be blinded. It was the most powerful thing in the world to her and..."

"And you were sired under an eclipse," Wren finished, and Talamayas snapped his gaze up. "Your mother... paid me a visit in my sleep. She said she could only choose one of us, and that I might not believe her words if she went to you... I'm so sorry." More tears pushed their way out, and Wren jumped as Talamayas put a hand on either side of his face. It screamed pain into him, but he loved that Talamayas was leaning over him.

"You needn't feel guilt, Wren. If my mother went to you, then that is what was destined. I saw enough of her in my lifetime."

"You could have seen her one last time... I..."

"Shhh." Talamayas pressed a finger to his lips. "I'd rather you have met her once, then to see her again. What did she say to you?" Talamayas settled on the bed, lying down and lifting his arms up just so much that he could caress the side of Wren's face. It connected them, but with as little pain as possible.

"That she forgave me, and that she accepted me as you mate. She said she had been sad for so long and was happy that you had someone, that we were at peace with each other." Tears lined Wren's eyes as Tala's expression softened and he pressed his face to his.

"I told you she'd like you." Talamayas purred against him.

"She said that she loved you, more than anything, and that she wanted us to go back to the place it all started, where the sun kissed its shadow and you were brought into this world. To say our vows there for this soul binding."

"I would like that," Talamayas smiled, and it lit up his eyes with so much happiness that it was hard not to absorb a bit of it. "We'll go as soon as you're mobile without pain. It could be a while."

The door opened, and Shan Sol came into the room, bowing to Talamayas as much as him in greeting. His long black hair just barely grazed the floor in the front, while the rest was up in some ceremonial broach. Seeing the man, Wren's thoughts lingered on Yania's last comment. Shan had always been so guarded around him, but the Sol general had accepted him anyway, even with how he'd loved Yania. It had always struck Wren as odd.

"What didn't you tell Talamayas?" Wren asked, and Shan raised an eyebrow as he looked to him.

"I'm not sure I follow," Shan said, his onyx gaze sharpening. "When?"

"Yania Sol's last words," Wren elaborated.

Shan positively wilted. The man's tanned pallor fell to nearer the sheen of sun-washed sand, and he cringed back a step as Talamayas' lips rolled back into a growl.

"It is like her to drop me into hot water one last time on the way out," Shan growled though in agony. "She only said two words, and at the time, I couldn't accept them. I didn't tell Talamayas because I didn't want him to do it. Now though, I suppose they happened anyway."

"What did my mother say?" Tala snarled, and Wren squeezed his fingers with all of his strength to calm him. It eased the man from his rage into frustration.

"She said "forgive him"," Shan said quietly, his long dark hair shadowing his face as he dropped it to the floor in shame. "On her dying breath, she begged me to forgive her killer, and I wasn't strong enough to do so. I knew that if I told you, you might let him go, you might have let the Songs live, and they murdered more of our people with each turn of the season. I was angry and tired of it all. If you can't forgive me, I understand." Shan bowed his head, and Wren squeezed Tala's hand before he answered.

"Please don't be angry with him," Wren said, and Talamayas frowned. "Your mother didn't tell me so that you would cast him out. Yania wanted Shan to know that she was thinking of him, not that she was upset about it. I'm sure she was just as sad that he couldn't let go. Yania wanted us to leave our sadness regarding her behind, and it is not doing so to be angry with Shan. He loved her too."

"You're going to enjoy my mate's rule," Talamayas huffed the words to Shan, and the general lifted his face for meaning. "He's much more lenient than I am, and I'm loath to upset my mother any more than I already have."

"Thank you, Talamayas," Shan said, lifting himself to a standing position but only to get closer to the door. "I was merely here to check on our new master's condition. A few have asked about him."

"Oh, please don't call me master," Wren begged with a groan that drew a smile up Shan's lips. It was torn away not shortly after by Talamayas' protective growl. "Tala," Wren patted his hand because lifting it was impossible. "You don't need to snap at everyone like I can't fend for myself. I'm your soul bound, not a wounded sheep."

"You look like a wounded lamb," Tala countered, and Wren chuckled, throwing a horrible wave of pain through him. "You can go, Shan. We'll talk about this later." Tala's tone dipped at the end, and Shan nodded as he headed out.

When they were alone, Tala smiled, but he pulled over a chair and sat at his side as if he had something to discuss. Since Wren wasn't moving, he had no issue with leaning back and listening. The shades were drawn now, so it was comfortable as long as he didn't sneeze, cough, or otherwise twinge to move.

"Are you all right with Vice here?" Talamayas asked, something strange rolling in his eyes behind that question.

"Why would it bother me that Vice was here now?" Wren asked. "I, in all seriousness, expect that he watched us fuck with the way he never leaves your side." Wren chuckled, but Tala frowned, showing that there was a seriousness behind the question that he'd missed. "Tala, I'm not bothered by Vice's presence, now, then, or ever. Man's silent as the grave and invisible."

"Are you sure?" Vice's voice echoed right next to him before the man shimmered into view. A whole lot of muscle wrapped in a skin-tight, black stretch suit hovered over Wren, and he nearly swallowed his tongue from the man's proximity. With Vice's mask lowered to speak, his skin was the same tanned shade as Tala if not a shade darker, but his eyes were a soft inquisitive grey.

"Yes, Vice. I have never been bothered by you. You're worried I won't want you around?" Wren asked, trying to lift himself better to talk. Before he got far, Vice lifted and angled him against the headboard and then organized the blankets around him. "Thank you."

"It is my pleasure," Vice said with a small bow of his head. "My concern was that I am closer to your mate than most would be comfortable. I..." Vice looked to Tala and he nodded for Vice to continue. "I drink from his neck and such things are forbidden when a man is mated.

Wren stared blankly at Vice for a moment before it fully registered. "Wait, you drink vampire blood?" His jaw was hanging open, Wren knew, but he couldn't help the look as he turned to Tala for confirmation. From the darkening of Tala's crimson, Wren understood that it was true and also very dangerous for anyone to know.

"I see..." Wren said, looking back to Vice who looked about ready to jump out the window at any moment if he objected. "Well, I'm not drinking it, so it's all right. But I doubt that you two do that standing up... I thought you said you'd never had anyone else in your bed?" Wren said pointedly to Tala, and he sat up straight.

"Vice does not count," Tala responded, crossing his arms. "There is nothing remotely romantic about his feeding from me, though I would be lying if I said he never slept by my side. It is normal for a newly sired vampire to seek the comfort of their creator after the change. While I'm not Vice's sire, I–" Tala snapped his mouth shut as Wren's smile crawled higher.

"Tala, I was teasing you, and Vice" –Wren turned to the man where he was a nervous statue from the topic at hand– "you have nothing to worry about regarding me. While it's surprising that you drink Tala's blood, it does not bother me if that is what you need. Please think of me as an addition to your family, not someone who is going to push my way in and change it."

"Thank you!" Vice said with so much emotion that it surprised Wren, but not as much as the hug that nearly knocked him unconscious from the sensation on his skin.

Wren's gasp of pain had Vice standing back up and looking to Tala with a mix of apology and horror, of which Tala didn't receive well. The poor guy looked as if he'd wanted to stop Vice but would have felt about it, but now regretted not keeping Wren from getting hurt.

"I'm fine, you two. I think I need a lot more sleep though, at least until the sun sets. You can maraud me then." Vice flinched on the word, but Tala pat his head as he moved over to lie on the bed next to Wren. "I'm sure you're exhausted from staring at me while I slept," Wren commented and Tala whipped him a fang filled smile.

"Perhaps a little, but I also would like to sleep my first day next to my soul bound as well." Tala nuzzled him and it was a mix of pain and pleasure that Wren leaned into as Tala rested an arm around him. While it wasn't the most comfortable thing with how his body was still steaming from Tala's magic, it would have felt worse to not be touched.

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