The Remains of Dawn

Chapter Eleven

Oriel just stared at Draya after those words left her mouth. Tassian looked between her and Draya. He placed a hand on her knee. "Did you not see the resemblance?"

Oriel turned her attention to him. Back in her mind, something was telling her that what this woman was telling her was the truth. The faces were somewhat familiar to her as were the names. She turned her attention back towards Draya. "You're my mother?"

Draya nodded. "I know it's probably difficult for you to believe, my dear, but it's true. Krathys came to this settlement with her army and stole every child under the age of twelve. Your father fought to save you, but he was - " She stopped as she placed her chin on her knuckles. "He was cut down near the border by her arrows." 

Oriel bit her lip as she looked down at her lap. "If you are my mother, do you know what my ability is? The ability that I was born with?" 

Draya smiled sadly as she nodded. "You can reach out with your brain to feel any unwanted presence. You can feel any presence that is out in front or behind you." She took her head off of her knuckles and stood up. "Was I correct?"

Oriel nodded in response. 

Draya smiled as she turned around. "You're able to control more, you know?"

"What do you mean?" 

"I'm able to feel the power in people," she turned back around and sat a book down in front of her. "You have an untapped power, Oriel. I'm not sure what's inside of you, but it's powerful. Some power isn't able to come out until it's needed." She pushed the book closer to her. "This book is an understanding of our families' powers. Your brother, Borus, has a unique power."

"Yes," Tassian grumbled. "We've experienced his power."

Draya chuckled. "I expect nothing else from him. Considering what he knows about you two, of course he'd use his power to control you." She motioned over to the door. "Now, it's starting to get late. I'll escort both of you to your rooms."

They both stood up and started to follow Draya out of her room and back down the cave. Oriel felt Tassian's fingers brush against hers asking for permission. She quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it once reassuring him that she was fine. She was confused. All of this information was a lot for her to process. She always wanted to know who her family was and where she was taken from, and now she knows. She was never prepared to learn the information, so now that she knows, she doesn't know what to do with it. 

Draya stopped quickly in front of two doors. She pointed to the one on the right. "Oriel, this one is yours." Then she pointed to the one on the left. "This one is yours, Tassian." She gave them a small nod before she walked away, back towards the front of the cave. 

Oriel stood in front of her door and reached for the nob, opening it. She made sure to hold onto Tassians hand as she walked in. Tassian closed the door behind them as she looked around the room. The room wasn't big at all, possibly one-quarter of what Draya's room was. A dresser sat on the right of the room while a medium-sized bed sat against the wall on the left. She noticed that her bag and swords were placed neatly on top of the dresser. 

"I guess they trust us now," Tassian chuckled. 

Oriel nodded and sat down on the bed. Tassian came and sat down next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Are you okay, Eagle?"

Oriel shrugged. "I think I am." She turned and looked up at him. "You know how long I've been waiting to figure out my history and now I know. I guess I just hadn't prepared myself for this amount of information. Honestly, I thought I'd never learned." She shrugged again. "I'm happy and overwhelmed."

Tassian searched her face and smiled. "You'll feel better once you get some sleep." He placed a hand on the bed and patted it. "I think this is a comfier bed than we ones we had back home."

Oriel chuckled at him. "You're not going to leave me are you?"

Tassian leaned forward where he was inches away from her face. "Never, Eagle. I can't stay away from you." He took the moment and connected his lips to hers. At first, the kiss was hungry, aching for more until it turned sensual. 

Oriel swung a leg over so she was sitting on his lap. He picked her up and scooted back on the bed until his back hit the wall. His hands roamed her thighs until he got to her waist. He started yanking on her shirt, untucking it and running his hands along her smooth skin. Oriel started to tug up on his shirt when they heard a knock at the door. 

They broke apart for a second, listening for the knock again. Oriel looked over at the door when she felt Tassians tongue gently trail along her neck causing goosebumps to spread on her skin. A small moan left her lips as his mouth latched onto her skin.

A knock sounded at the door again, but louder this time. Tassian cursed as he sat back and glared at the door. "You may need to go and get that."

Oriel nodded as she stood up and walked over to the door. She looked over her shoulder at Tassian to see him grab a pillow and place it over his lap. She chuckled as she opened the door to see Borus standing there with his arms crossed. 

"Can we help you?" she asked him, annoyed. 

Borus looked into the room and spotted Tassian sitting on her bed. He looked back over at Oriel and smirked. "I'm sorry, but I was told to make sure that both of you were in your separate rooms."

Oriel crossed her arms. "Why can't he stay in here with me?"

"Because there are families on either side of you."

"So?" Tassian spoke up from behind her. 

"While these walls are made of stone, sound travels pretty far and for a long time here." Borus leaned forward and whispered. "That means, if you get frisky, everyone could hear it."

Oriel felt her face heat up and Tassian tense behind her. 

Borus chuckled. "Trust me. I'm just here to warn both of you. I learned from experience." He looked up at Tassian. "Please, we'll figure out how to get you both in a room to share, but for right now, go into separate rooms."

Tassian reluctantly nodded as Borus left their room. He turned to Oriel. "We have no choice?"

Oriel gave him a small smile and shrugged. "It's either that or have everyone hear my moans."

Tassians jaw tightened at that comment causing him to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her towards him. He leaned down and planted a long kiss on her lips. "I'll be right next door. I'll see you in the morning, Eagle." He let her go and walked out of her room, closing the door behind him. 

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