The Remains of Dawn

Chapter Seven

Oriel flew beside Tassian in silence. She felt responsible for what happened with Dyso. She hated the fact that she wasn't able to feel Dyso's presence. She felt Tassian grab her hand and pull her into a thick tree. 

"What's going - " Tassian placed a finger against her mouth, shushing her.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "There's movement down below."

They landed on a thick branch and Tassian wrapped his wings around both of them, but not before Oriel was able to look down and spot six hunters scoping the ground and sky below them. Tassian's eyesight was better than hers, especially in the dark. He was able to see further and clearer than she could. She looked up at Tassian and another wave of guilt washed over her as she noticed the bruising starting to form around his eye and lip. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his chest. 

"It's not your fault," he said in her ear quietly.

She shook her head. "Tassian, it is."

"We've talked about this, Eagle," he started slowly.  "Dyso is different. He trained with us. He has a fascination with you. He knows our moves, our abilities. There was no way to know if he was there or not. You need to figure out a way to deepen your abilities or find a way to be able to detect him." He gently grabbed her chin and turned her face towards his. "Don't blame yourself. We're taking risks to be free. Pain is going to happen, but I'd rather it be me instead of you." He looked back down to the hunters below them and Oriel watched his pupils dilate.

Oriel felt his arm tighten around her waist as his jaw tightened. "What do you see, Tassian?" 

"They know we're here." He looked down at her. "Wait here, I'll take care of it."

He started to unfurl his wings around them when she shook her head. "No. We're partners in this, Tassian. I'm going down with you." She pushed against his slightly and took off in the air. She made sure that she was quiet as she flew through the trees and landed softly on a branch closer to the hunters. 

She squatted down and balanced herself on the branch by placing her hand in between her feet and spreading her wings out on either side of her. She looked up and spotted Tassian in a tree across from her. She watched him take out his swords and nod to her. She reached behind her and unsheathed her sword. Looking down at the hunters below her, she focused on the one closest to her and lept down. She landed on the man's shoulders and before he could utter a scream, she slit his throat. A guttural sound came from his lips as blood pooled out of the wound. 

She pushed off his shoulders and landed on the ground behind him watching him fall in front of her. The five other hunters spun around and gawked at her. Four of them had long swords while the last one was holding a bow. She swung the blood off of her sword and spread her feet apart bracing herself. She smirked as she held her sword out in front of her. "Come and get us." 

Oriel heard the string of the bow pull back and shifted her eyes over to the man with the bow. He had the bow pointed right at her heart with the sting pulled back. Tassian jumped down in front of the man and sliced his bow in half while swinging the other sword around and landing it in his stomach. The man grunted as Tassian pulled the sword out and turned around to face the rest of the men. 

Two turned to look at him while the other two continued to face her. Tassian looked over at her and gave her a small nod before he collided with one of the men, knocking him back. She watched as he swung his other sword around and collided with the other man. Her attention was turned back towards the two in front of her as one let out a war cry and swung his sword at her head. She jumped backward, barely avoiding the sword. She brought her sword up and met his. She pushed against his sword and stepped closer to him. 

"The Queen sent you?" she asked him through clenched teeth. 

The man sneered at her. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "Yes, traitor." 

Oriel rolled her eyes as she pushed the man off of her with her foot. She tossed herself in the air and flew behind him, slicing across his back. She spun around and sliced the other man's sword-wielding hand off. The hand and the sword clanged on the ground. The man screamed as he grabbed the stub of his arm and stumbled backward. She turned her attention back to the first man and reached around to slit his throat. Pushing him to the ground, she heard a guttural scream behind her. She turned around to see Tassian drive his sword further into the man's chest before pulling it out. 

The last man was down and Oriel looked around her at the mess that they had made. Six men had died at their hands. Blood soaked the ground around them. Oriel let out a shaky breath as she wiped the blood off of her sword on one of the men's shirts. 

Tassian came up beside her and took her hand. "We have to go, now."

"We can't just leave them like this," she motioned to the dead men. "We need to bury them, Tassian."

He shook his head. "Whether we bury them or not, the animals will still get to them. No matter what, they'll be food for something." He stepped closer to her. "Oriel, we need to go. There could be more of them out there searching for us. We need to make sure we are gone before they get to us."

Oriel looked around her one last time before nodding in agreement. "Alright, Tassian, let's go." She let him lead her into the air and away from the death behind them. 

Authors note: Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment or vote!