He let go again, drifting far away. He wished he could say something to her, but it was too much. Tayen's eyes once again became dreadfully empty. Helda's attempt to clean his wounds only resulted in her hands being slick with his blood.
Tayen was not dead. He wasn't even unconscious. But his body was quite thoroughly broken. In his disconnected place, he looked through eyes blurry with his own blood, straight at the man who had ordered the beating. The man Tayen had, in some way, saved.
Tayen heard her screams, heard his own, felt himself begin to bleed, but he wasn't present. He was somewhere far away, drifting, body still conscious but empty. He was only tangentially aware as he broke.