[POV: Solenne]
The silence that followed was heavy and mournful.
Ruvan hadn't moved since the moment she touched him. His broad shoulders were tense beneath his torn shirt, his golden eyes no longer wild but glassy and distant, staring through her like he couldn't tell if she was real or part of the madness still clawing at his mind.
Thalos remained a safe distance away, arms folded behind his back, gaze heavy with judgment, but not cruelty. His stance had shifted subtly as he studied Ruvan and Solenne's interaction.
Solenne took a slow, silent breath and reached for calm within herself, then lifted her hands and signed to Thalos, deliberate and precise in her gestures: [We need to talk. All three of us.]
"I'm not sure our dear Alpha would be willing to do that," Thalos answered, glancing between Solenne and Ruvan.
Ruvan's distant demeanor disappeared in an instant. His eyes narrowed, filling with anger, "What? You understand her?"
"Yes, I understand her. I learned sign language to speak with my mother after her vocal cords were damaged in the war," Thalos explained. "The war you waged, I might add."
"…I see," Ruvan bit out through clenched teeth.
Solenne grabbed Ruvan's hand again and looked up at him pleadingly. They couldn't communicate directly, but she hoped he could still feel her intentions.
Ruvan looked down at her and peered into her eyes. He wore a complicated frown, his anger, grief, and jealousy threatening to burst. Solenne held his gaze with confidence, and his shoulders relaxed slightly.
"What did she say?" Ruvan asked Thalos bitterly.
Thalos exhaled loudly, "She said the three of us need to talk."
"Talk? What's there to talk about?!" the Alpha raised his voice. "The gods have played a cruel fucking joke on us. There's nothing more to say."
[Is there somewhere we can sit?] Solenne signed, ignoring his denial.
"She says there's plenty to discuss, and is asking if there's somewhere we can discuss more comfortably," Thalos translated, adlibbing a little.
"That's really what she said?.." Ruvan's brows furrowed, but he refrained from arguing further. He relented, "Let's go to my study. It's intact, last I checked."
"Very well," Thalos nodded, then motioned for Solenne to follow him. "Come."
Solenne didn't need to be told twice. She tightened her grip on Ruvan's hand before walking after the General.
Ruvan turned his face away from her, but didn't pull away when she gently pulled him along. Ruvan followed with uneven and hesitant steps like a hungry stray.
Thalos led them through a few more labyrinthine corridors before arriving at Ruvan's study. It was a beautiful, spacious chamber with a large desk, walls of books and parchment, and a sofa.
Solenne guided Ruvan to the sofa and took a seat. Much to her surprise, he sat beside her without complaint, but he was hunched and breathing shallowly.
She shivered, trying hard not to hold her breath out of anxiety.
Thalos leaned against Ruvan's desk, staying well out of the Alpha's reach. His voice was low, "Vaelen is still silent."
Ruvan's jaw clenched, but he didn't look up.
"Just like Kairas was." Thalos ventured thoughtfully, "Maybe for the same reason."
Ruvan's face tightened—a hairline crack in his armor.
"He mourned for you and Kairas," Thalos' voice was softer as he continued.
The Alpha's eyes lifted to Thalos' slowly, "He mourned for nothing. I'm not dead."
"He mourned your madness, Ruvan," the General replied sharply. "Mourned what you became."
⸻
[POV: Ruvan]
Thalos' words set Ruvan's rage aflame. He didn't want to remember anything more about his past than what eas absolutely vital. He hadn't thought about anything before the onset of his insanity in centuries. The godfire that possessed him and plagued his mind didn't allow it.
…But alas, those memories were stirred.
Ruvan remembered Thalos standing beside him. He was younger, with only a few scars on his arms, and Thalos was just as innocent. They were two cousins, sworn brothers, without titles and responsibilities back then.
He remembered Vaelen's deep voice laughing as they ran through the highlands, howling beside Kairas under the full moon.
He remembered being whole, and hated Thalos for reminding him of what he couldn't have.
—
[POV: Solenne]
Ruvan glanced at Solenne, who sat quietly, fingers resting atop his. "How did you wake him?" he rasped, seemingly avoiding the topic Thalos had started. "Kairas."
Solenne didn't answer with speech, only with her hands. She glanced at Thalos, imploring him to translate, [I didn't do anything. He came back because of you.]
Thalos dutifully relayed her words, and Ruvan's frustration only seemed to grow, but he remained silent.
A whisper stirred in the back of Solenne's mind… it was Serai's voice, weak but laced with awe. 'Kairas recognized me, that is why he awoke.'
Solenne's heart lurched. 'What do you mean? He recognized you?'
'…A fated bond, Solenne.'
Solenne's hand flew up to her mouth, and she gasped, startling both Ruvan and Thalos. 'F-fated?! But our mate bond is artificial!'
Serai's voice was quiet, '…Our bond with them is more than a fake ritual. This relationship was preordained by the Moon Goddess—a real, fated mate.'
'How do you know?' Solenne lamented. 'No way the Moon Goddess would make my fated mate a mentally unstable, ancient Alpha King. Am I not unlucky and cursed enough?'
'Take that up with her personally, I am only telling you the truth.'
"Solenne?" Ruvan barked. "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?"
Thalos narrowed his eyes, "…Are you alright?"
[My wolf… she just startled me.] Solenne signed.
"What did she say?" Thalos encouraged her gently.
Solenne hesitated, unsure if she wanted to share. She glanced at Ruvan awkwardly.
'Kairas can tell him. I don't want to deal with this.' She reasoned.
[My bond with her has been weak since the sacrifice; I just didn't expect to hear from her.] Solenne answered.
Thalos' brows raised. "Sacrifice?... Now that you bring it up, I believe you mentioned it before, but I didn't think about it. What do you-"
"What is she saying?" Ruvan demanded, cutting Thalos off.
"She was just startled by her wolf's voice," Thalos sighed, irritated by Ruvan's pushiness. "She also said her wolf has been difficult to reach since the 'sacrifice'—whatever that means."
[I was sacrificed to the mountain—given as a mate to the slumbering Hollow King in a cursed ritual.] Solenne explained.
"…I think there's a lot I need to learn. I only regained consciousness a few days ago, when the two of you did. I know nothing of what has gone on outside," Thalos said, crossing his arms in deliberation. "You will have to catch us up."
Solenne nodded. [I'll… do my best. Not now, though. I don't think Ruvan will be able to remain… calm long enough.]
"Of course," Thalos nodded.
[…Thalos, you said your wolf is silent, or sleeping. Is that true?]
"Well, at the very least, he is not dead," Thalos said quietly, then clarified for Ruvan, "Vaelen."
Ruvan barked a humorless laugh. "You don't know that."
"I've felt him every night. He's there, I can sense it," Thalos spat.
Ruvan looked down at his hands—clawed, calloused, and cracked with scars earned during war, and over a thousand years encased in stone. He flexed his fingers slowly. "Then maybe he's hiding from you," the Alpha scoffed.
That drew a sharp breath from Thalos. His temper flared but didn't quite ignite; he reeled it in with discipline. "Or maybe the part of me that was able to call to him died when you ruined our lives—the part of me that followed you into the fire."
That made Ruvan look at him. Their intense glares locked onto one another. The fury wasn't gone, but something else had risen to meet it. It was grief, that mirrored each other's.
Solenne had heard enough. She could tell their conversation would be anything but productive if it continued.
With a courage she hadn't felt before in her life, she held both palms up, signaling peace, and signed slowly: [You're both broken… but not beyond repair.]
Thalos closed his eyes for a heartbeat. "I wish he could understand you—because those words would mean much more to him if he heard them directly through you."
Solenne nodded and gave Ruvan a sad smile.
"She says that you and I are both broken," Thalos said. "…But not beyond repair."
Ruvan took a deep, shaky breath, reining himself in. "…I won't kill you today, Thalos," Ruvan muttered, voice like gravel in his throat.
Thalos arched a brow. "I'll take it."
Ruvan's eyes narrowed. "But if you get on my nerves again-"
"I willget on your nerves." Thalos interrupted with a faint smirk. "And you'll try, and fail, to kill me."
The tension cracked, even if only an infinitesimal amount. Solenne sat back again, her breath finally steady. There were no apologies or forgiveness, but something between the men had changed.
In the stillness that followed, for the first time since arriving in this cursed place, Solenne let herself believe that not all was lost.
There was still something left in Ruvan worth saving, even if it had to be rebuilt from the ground up.
…And if Serai was right and he was her fated mate, it was only fair that she gave him a fighting chance before giving up.