Faira kept her ground between the three of them, though Aurora was certainly trying to change those stances. She wanted her Empress out of harm's way, but Faira was not about to relent. She did not want a single person in this room to be harmed any more than they had been.<br/><br/>When Sanguenon mentioned that Arahaelon was all but gone, she knew what he intended. It had to be the demon within him, attempting to dull any hope she might have. It did sting, to think that he had lived in anguish and torment for this long, it caused her heart to ache for him. But "for all intents and purposes" did not mean that Arahaelon was truly gone, so it very likely had the opposite effect on Faira. If he was still in there, he could be saved, and she already felt guilty about not investigating what had happened to him further. Andromeda had given her information that was clearly false, that he was dead along with his family and that his body had been so badly damaged there was nothing to bury.<br/><br/>"If I failed, then perhaps you should explain the purpose of the test." Her hands were still up, and her eyes shifted from Rhys back and forth between him and Sanguenon. She needed the Raven to know that she did not want his intervention. He might have followed her here, but that did not mean he could continue to disobey her orders.<br/><br/>"Again, I ask that you tell me what you know of this threat against me. If you wish to test me further, and you can prove you are a friend to my rule and not my enemy, then perhaps I can allow that, but not while you threaten me or my people." She turned then and faced him, her hands now open and out toward him. If this continued to escalate, she hoped she might be able to subdue the dark elf. The echo of the man she had once been so willing to give herself to, in a time that did not feel like it was so long ago now.<br/><br/>"What happened to you? What happened to Arahaelon?" She knew it should have been the least of her concerns. The world was dying around them, the life of one man would not matter in the scheme of things, but she wanted to know the truth. She needed to know if there was some way to save him.