The Dawn’s Dusk - 7. Chapter 7- Favored by Dawn, part 1

On the way back, I wondered how our patron's admirers would react when my brother moved in as his mate. Would they finally stop chasing him around? I ignored the tiny thumb of pain in my chest at the thought. My mind brought forth the memory of the Vis's scent. Rain, pine, Cojalis...wait, that wasn't right. When had I caught a whiff of Cojalis? A frown formed on my face, and I decided that my plant assignments must have been subconsciously urging me to study the samples I had been given.

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Lucio brought with him the scent of arecs and cefs, along with other fruits, as he flopped onto one of the chairs in the art room. "Rhy, I don't ever want to see another fruit again...for a whole week at least," he whined as he ran a hand through his wavy, blond hair.

"Will you survive only on vegetables and fish, then?" I teased as I added more shading to the Cojalis I rendered on my sketch pad. The more I drew and committed the plants to visual memory, the easier I would memorize their uses and properties. So, I had begun to do all of my studying in the art room.

"And water," the kitchen aide added.

When I glanced back over at him, he was grinning so widely that the smile reached his blue eyes. The beta didn't generally care for gossip. But, whatever he heard must have pleased him.

"But, enough of that. I heard that Eld Emery gave the omega group that usually hangs around Vis Seph a good talking to!" Lucio declared. His grin made perfect sense now. He would be the one to revel in the chastising of omegas. "They distracted him, and the Vis ended up crashing into a tree and falling in the lake."

"What?" The piece of charcoal I was using slipped from my fingers and dropped to the floor, breaking in half. "He crashed into a tree? Is he alright?" I asked as I stood up from my stool. Though I didn't know where the Vis was, I was more than ready to go.

"Calm down, he's fine," Lucio responded. "The Eld brought him back. The best part is we probably won't be seeing that group hanging around for a while-"

"I'm going to go check on them!" I responded as I rushed past him and down the hall. If Eld Emery brought the Vis back himself, then he might have brought him to Sepherus's room.

"It wasn't entirely their fault."

"Being firm with them won't spook them away, contrary to what you believe. They'd honor a set of ground rules."

"Kasia wouldn't..."

"Kasia would understand! You don't think I'd know what she would want better than most? Better than even yourself?"

The harsh tone of Eld Emery's voice carried down the hallway as I approached. Never had I heard the Dusk beta so upset before. Just who was the Kasia they kept mentioning? Sepherus's sister? Was the Eld close to her? I swallowed past the small lump in my throat. This was a private matter between those two.

Before I made up my mind to turn around and head back to the art room, Eld Emery stepped out into the hallway and closed the door to our patron's room. "Rhyad...?" He said, recovering from the surprise of seeing me in the hallway much faster than I would have in those shoes. "Come, leave Sepherus to his thoughts."

"I assure you that he is fine for now," Emery continued dryly as he took hold of my hand and led me further away from the door. "Whether he catches a cold, however, remains to be seen."

My stomach gave a strange flip at the contact, but I forced myself to ignore it. "Eld Emery, was Kasia the Vis's sister?" I asked despite the quivering that ransacked my body. "Were you two close? Is that why you...?" The spark of bravado died in my mouth. Asking the Scholar if Sepherus's sister had been his intended mate was insensitive. What in the Azure was I even doing?

But, a part of me really wanted to know.

The dark-skinned man stopped, and Emery's perfect posture was broken when those wide shoulders drooped. He used his free hand to cover his eyes with a sigh. My Scholar looked so weary that I regretted saying anything. I swallowed down a small gasp when a larger hand squeezed mine. He didn't let go of it, however. Lavender eyes were morose when the Eld looked at me over his shoulder.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to take that sadness away from him. My hand curled tighter around his in a return squeeze. Please allow me to help in some way or form. I owed him that and much more.

A shadow of a smile formed on his face before he gave my arm a light tug. "Let's go somewhere to talk," he suggested as he led the way.

Eld Emery's room was so tidy that I felt nervous. I had an art apron covered in pastels and charcoal, after all. He finally let go of my hand in favor of pulling out one of the chairs at a small table. The older man sat down in the chair beside it and motioned for me to sit.

"Kasia was my best friend, but she was frail," Emery began as soon as I sat down. "Her body was unable to fight against the many illnesses that assailed her. When I was a whelp, I overheard the Healers explaining that her mate prospects were low..."

I had been told similar words by the Scholars my mother hired for Owin so long ago. Low mate prospects were generally considered to be due to a wyvern's flaws. If our patron's sister had a weak disposition, it would have required an alpha or beta to provide more on their side to assist her.

"That was one of the reasons why I chose to be Favored by Dusk so early on," the Scholar continued. "I had always felt unaligned with my young body. The Dusk Progression would allow me to become physically stronger. If no mate chose her, I could easily care for her for the rest of her days."

How kind of the Eld. I bit my lower lip as a tendril of jealousy curled around my chest. He must have loved her dearly to want to step in like that. I couldn't imagine Emery choosing to be bonded to her if he hadn't felt something for her. A heaviness settled in my stomach at the thought.

"She was both happy for me and envious. I had the physical health and strength she always wanted. That our parents wanted us to be intended mates was of little consequence to her. We were best friends first and foremost."

"Is that what you meant when you said you knew her best?" I asked.

The platinum-haired man nodded. "In his younger years, Sepherus surrounded himself with wild and careless friends. He was easily influenced by a young omega woman named Lene. All worries were forgotten in her presence, but in the process, she also drew him further away from Kasia."

My brother Owin came to mind suddenly. I had already spent almost two full months at the Estate. The two of us were so close that it was a difficult transition for me to be apart from him for so long. How close had the Vespers siblings been? Kasia surely had missed Sepherus as much as I missed Owin.

"During Kasia's final moments, she urged Sepherus to forge a permanent tie to Lene as mates. But, Lene ran off on him."

I gulped hard, feeling a shawl of guilt wrap around my shoulders. Owin ran away, as well. The circumstances were different, but it wouldn't hurt Sepherus any less if he were to ever find out.

"She wasn't ready to settle down," Emery concluded with a sigh. "Lene chose the worst time to leave. She left during Kasia's passing."

"I'm so, so sorry," I responded softly. "You both must hurt so much thinking about Kasia, and here I am just bringing it all back up."

"She wouldn't have wanted us to keep her memory from you or your brother," the Scholar added. "She would have welcomed you both with open arms."

As much as I'd have liked to believe that, I doubted that Sepherus's sister would have been very welcoming. What would she have said to the brother of the omega that kept hiding from her own? How would she have judged the wyvern harboring a secret liking to his own brother's mate?

::

My lessons the following day were awkward and uncomfortable. Outwardly, nothing had changed. Eld Emery continued to inform me about the uses and dangers of the plants in his greenhouses. He tested me on recognizing them by sight, name, texture, and taste. My answers were usually correct the majority of the time. But, that day, I was equally right and wrong in my responses.

"You aren't focused today." Eld Emery stated. "Is something troubling you?"

What wasn't troubling me? Ever since the Scholar had told me all about Kasia and our patron's misfortune with his first intended bond, the guilt I had kept suppressed for two months was beginning to suffocate me. Both the Eld and the Vis deserved to know the truth.

"Eld, I haven't been completely honest-" I began, only to be interrupted by a voice from outside.

"Eld Emery!"

The two of us rushed out to see who was seeking him so urgently. As we emerged from the greenhouse, we saw one of the river wyvern gardeners. Even in squill form, his blue eyes were large and expressive. At that moment, they kept drifting from Emery to me and back again.

"Eld Emery, the Vis collapsed while inspecting one of the fields. He was burning with fever. We brought him to his room, and someone said you'd be out here..."

Emery didn't hesitate to shift into his winged form. As I saw him lift off the ground, I was once again hit with another reason to learn to fly. In an emergency, I wouldn't need to run back at such a slower pace. A part of me understood why the Eld didn't bother to ask to carry me, but another part wished he had. My concern for Sepherus would have superseded my fear. At least, that's what I felt.

By the time I arrived, the Scholar had already given our patron a medicinal dose, probably of Unalo, to help lower Sepherus's fever. I wanted to stay with them, but the Eld insisted that I leave. He didn't want me to catch ill, as well.

"What about you? Wouldn't you catch ill, too?" I questioned him, surprising myself with such defiance. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have dared to question the Scholar. I respected him too much. However, I was just as concerned about Emery catching whatever ailed Sepherus.

"If I do fall ill, then you will find I won't be in a pleasant mood," Emery concluded sharply. "But, then it would be up to Sepherus himself to repay the favor."

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" I asked in a softer tone as I gazed past the taller wyvern toward our unconscious patron.

The Eld's lavender eyes followed my gaze and, when he turned back to me, I once again noted something unreadable lingering within them. "He'll be fine, Rhyad. If I allowed Sepherus to die so easily, I would have much to answer for when I next see Kasia beyond the Azure."

The breath I didn't realize I had been holding puffed right out of me. I trusted Emery. Though it was only an assumption, I felt that the platinum-haired wyvern must have studied botany extensively to help ease Kasia's suffering. He'd tend to the Vis with everything he had.

"Understood," I whispered.

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