The Remains of Dawn

Chapter Twelve🌶

Last night was the best night that Oriel had slept in a long time. There wasn't a window in the room, but her internal alarm clock opened her eyes. She sat up, yawning, and pushed the blanket off of her as she swung her legs over the side. A knock sounded at the door. 

"Just a moment, please," she yelled out as she pulled her pants up and buttoned them. Forcing her head through the hole in her shirt, she pulled the shirt on and tucked it into her pants. She stopped in front of the door and opened it, revealing Borus standing on the other side. She was still annoyed with him for separating her and Tassian last night. They were finally able to get the alone time that they both had wanted for so long and they were interrupted once again. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

Borus' face held a slight smirk. "Everyone gathers for breakfast here. It starts in thirty minutes." He gave her a knowing smile before turning around and walking off. 

Oriel rolled her eyes and was about to close her door when she heard Tassians voice from beside her. "And that's supposed to be your brother." She looked over at him and chuckled while rolling her eyes again. Her cheeks burned slightly from the memories from the night before. She gently grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her room. 

Tassian shut the door behind him before he let himself cup her face in his hands and kiss her. This kiss wasn't as hungry as it was the night before, but there was still passion in it. Oriel kept her hands down on his waist, grabbing at his shirt before pulling away. 

"We need to be there for breakfast," she reminded him. 

Tassian shrugged his shoulders as he bent down and ran his teeth along the sensitive skin of her neck. Oriel couldn't suppress an airy moan coming out of her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and chuckled. "I guess we could spare a few minutes." She stepped closer to him as his hands roamed down her arms and rested on her ass. 

A hurried knock sounded at the door causing Tassian to growl against her skin. That growl caused a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. 

Draya's voice sounded from the other side of the door, "Breakfast is ready in five minutes, you two. Don't start on a worse impression." Receding footsteps sounded on the other side of the door. 

"Worse impression?" Tassian huffed as he picked his head up. "They won't change their minds about us even if we saved a baby."

Oriel gave him a small smile as she gave him a peck on his cheek and walked around him. "They'll change their minds, Tassian. We need to show them that we are not working for Queen Krathys anymore." She opened the door. "Going to breakfast will be a good start." She reached out for his hand and grabbed it as she pulled him out of the door. 

Oriel followed other people who were heading to breakfast. The people were still wary about them, but they didn't have fear in their eyes. Everyone who looked at them was more curious. They never stepped back from them as they passed through the crowd of people until they reached Borus sitting at a table. The cave entrance that they had passed through yesterday now held two dozen tables spread around. An older woman stood near the entrance of the cave handing out a tray of food to the many people standing in line.

Borus waved them over and motioned to the two empty seats in front of him. Two trays were already placed on the table. On the trays held a weird-looking, grey porridge and an apple. Not much, but something is always better than nothing. Oriel sat down in front of Borus and Tassian sat on her right. 

"The food here isn't great, but it's better than nothing," Borus told them while stuffing a spoon of the grey porridge in his mouth.

Tassian poked at it. "What is it?"

Borus shrugged one shoulder in response. "I'm not sure, but I'm not about to ask."

Oriel scooped up the grey porridge on her spoon and stuck it in her mouth. There wasn't much flavor to it at all, but the texture wasn't bad. She looked over at the apple and was grateful that it looked healthy. 

"There was something that Mother wanted to talk to both of you about," Borus talked with his mouth full. 

Draya placed her tray down in front of Tassian and slapped the back of Borus's head. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Borus. It's rude." She sat down and smiled at both of them. "There is something that we wanted to talk to you about." She took a deep breath as she looked over at Borus. "I want Borus and me to follow you to Queen Vega's prison."

"You want to follow us?" Oriel questioned. 

Draya nodded. "Yes. Borus has his gift that would come in handy and both of us know how to fight. I have trained under Queen Vega's father after all."

Oriel looked over at Tassian and raised her eyebrows. "What do you think? They wouldn't slow us down."

Tassian was poking at the porridge and chewing on his lip. He looked at Oriel out of the corner of his eye and nodded. "Alright." He looked up at both of them. "We travel at night. People don't trust us and our wings don't make anyone feel any better."

Draya and Borus nodded. "We understand that," Draya nodded with a smile on her face. "We will gather supplies that we can carry and meet you back at the entrance a dusk."

"You want to leave tonight?" Oriel asked, surprised. 

Borus nodded. "It would be wise to keep moving."

They all nodded in agreement and sat in silence finishing their breakfast. Once they were finished they picked up their trays and took them to a woman and man in front of a wash bin. Tassian explained the provisions that they would need before they headed back towards their rooms. They hadn't unpacked their bags from the night before; they were ready. 

Tassian quickly grabbed his bag and followed Oriel into hers. "I guess we have all day until we have to leave." He sat his bag down on the dresser next to hers. 

Oriel hopped onto her bed and looked at him. "What are you wanting to do to pass the time?"

Tassian looked over at her and knelt on the bed in front of her. His emerald eyes darkened as he looked at her. "I think you know what I want to do." He grabbed her feet and gently pulled her towards him, causing her to lay on her back. "When will we have the chance again?" He climbed on top of her and met her mouth with his. 

Oriel's body tensed with anticipation as she ran her hands underneath his shirt. She ran her hands over every muscle. She pulled on the hem of the shirt before Tassian took it off. His tattoos swirled around his core, chest, and over onto his back. His tattoos were a rebellious stab towards Queen Krathys. If she had found out that he had gotten these tattoos, she would have burned them off of him. 

Tassian pulled her out of her head by running his teeth along the sensitive skin of her neck, earning a moan to come out. He traveled down, pushing her shirt up to reveal her stomach. He left light kisses on her stomach and hips. Her body voluntarily arched at his touch. She looked down at him and met his eyes that held a question in them. 

"Yes," she breathed.

He smirked at her as he started to undo her pants and pull them off leaving her only in her underwear. She quickly shrugged off her shirt and threw it down on the floor. Her breathing hitched in her throat as he knelt in between her legs and ran his tongue on the inside of her thighs, teasing. 

"Tassian," she moaned causing him to snap his eyes back up at her. 

He climbed back up her caught her mouth with his. He pulled his pants off and moved so he was resting against her. His fingers played along the edge of her underwear. "What are you wanting, Eagle?" his voice was deeper than ever as he asked her. 

Oriel reached down, slid her underwear off, and ran her hand along his shaft. A deep moan came from his lips. "I want you, Tassian."

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