Swiftcurrent Creek I guess I'm all you have, and I swear you'll see the dawn again.

Durnehviir looked away, and concern constricted his throat. He continued to watch her quietly, trying to make sense of what had happened, but dared not ask. He expected her to say something, assure him as she always did, but the silence that hung between them roused the same fear that he'd tried to prevent in Talos. Viinturuth swallowed, flicking his tongue over dry lips in his anxiety, and lifted his ears when his mother finally spoke.

He knew she'd say things were okay, that he didn't need to worry, and thought this was what he wished to hear. But Viinturuth knew her words were false, and the fact that she could barely look at him as she uttered them confirmed her lie. Anger swelled within his breast and he furrowed his brow, though the reminder that his dam was trying to keep her own woes from troubling him, softened his expression.

"Talos saw father leave with Aria," he spoke with confidence, as he had no reason to think his sister a liar. "Is he coming back?" Viinturuth asked after an uncomfortable pause, unsure if he wanted to hear her answer.