The Dawn’s Dusk - 8. Chapter 8- Favored by Dawn, part 2

Warning: Fierce cramps?

Lucio was busy, along with the rest of the kitchen staff. They had to divide themselves into two teams: one group to provide specialized soups and beverages for Vis Sepherus under Eld Emery's instructions; the other to provide lunch and dinner to everyone else in the estate. When I had stopped by the kitchen, the blond barely had enough time to shove a bowl full of arecs and a jug of water in my arms before getting back to work.

Sometime later, I found myself chewing on one of those arecs as I sketched mindlessly in the art room. Before long, the image of my brother seemed to manifest onto my large sketch pad. No exact shade of his golden eyes existed in colored pencil form. So, I had to mix and blend the colors until I developed a close shade.

"Just what are you up to, Owin?" I asked aloud. "Why aren't you back yet?"

Instead of studying, as I usually did, I couldn't stop thinking about the golden-eyed omega. What would my brother tell me if he were here? Would I have had the guts to tell him about my mixed feelings? As much as I tried to deny it, I couldn't ignore how worried I was about the turquoise-eyed wyvern and how equally as worried I was about the Eld possibly getting sick, as well.

The Eld...

Just like Owin, Eld Emery's lavender eyes didn't exist as a color in my collection of pencils. But unlike Owin's case, I didn't think I'd be able to match the lovely hue, not even by mixing and blending shades. I let out a frustrated groan as I hunched over and raked my charcoal-covered hands through my brown hair. What in the Azure was wrong with me?

Wasn't it bad enough that I liked Vis Sepherus? Did I like Eld Emery more? How could I have ever allowed myself to?

"Argh."

That sound hadn't come from me. I straightened up in my stool and glanced behind me. Vis Sepherus? What was he doing up?

"Vis Sepherus!" I called out.

He was leaning against the door frame, looking as feverish as ever. I always left the door to the art room open if I had to use a varnish to seal a completed piece. Though the scent didn't last long, it lingered for the couple of hours it took to dry. I never would have thought that leaving the door open would have led to the Vis dropping by.

Something caught his eye past my shoulder, and I turned only to see the portrait of my brother. When I wasn't paying attention, the alpha must have staggered inside because I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. The other hand reached out to touch the empty space next to Owin's face.

"Owin..."

His voice sounded so broken that I felt an immediate stab of guilt. Why had it never occurred to me that he'd be missing Owin too, just as badly as I did? How selfish of me to have thought that I was the only person that wanted to see the coral-haired wyvern and talk to him.

I gasped when I suddenly felt the turquoise-eyed wyvern's arms around my shoulders.

"If he cares about me so much, more than any other alpha he'd ever come across, then why did he run away?" The feverish alpha whimpered aloud. "Why, Rhyad?"

My heart pounded in my chest. Was Seph asking because he suspected or because he knew? But, how could he know if neither my parents nor I said anything to him about Owin's disappearance? More importantly, how did he know that my brother liked him more than other alphas? Had the omega told him that in person?

"Vis...?"

"I love him. I need his sun-like eyes in my life," Sepherus continued. "Why does everyone I care about leave me behind? Why am I never worth staying for?"

I barely felt the tears that fell from the alpha onto my shoulder because I was steadily shedding my own. Vis Sepherus, a prime example of what I had thought was a wyvern that had all aspects sorted out in life...was much more like me than I realized.

I knew what it was like to have opportunities pulled out from under my feet. Despite my desperate plea to the moon, it never Favored me. Neither did the sun. Other betas and omegas avoided me. Scholars considered me useless. I was raised to think of myself as less than my brother, as worthless.

Everything made sense with such clarity just then. I was subconsciously drawn to Sepherus to the point of liking him because we were similar on the inside. Though I didn't know how he found out, the Vis knew that my brother loved him. And, worse, that he ran away just like his ex, Lene, did.

But, most importantly, I knew that Vis Sepherus Vesper was in love with my brother...so much so that, in his feverish state, a mere portrait of Owin made him break down into tears.

All this time, I had been a selfish child, basking in the comfort and security given to me by Vis Sepherus and Eld Emery. Owin was also acting selfishly to leave for so long without thinking of how the Vis and others felt. It was time for both of us to stop running away.

"C-come, Sepherus," I stated shakily as I wiped away my tears with the back of my arms. I had always used his title as a sign of respect. But, he was my future brother-by-troth. The way I cared about him might not have been what I had previously thought, but I was free to care about him in the same way I cared about my blood brother. "Let me help you get back to bed."

The short walk down the hallway to my patron's chambers felt like a mile when I had to support half the weight. I was lucky that he didn't fight with me on the matter. When we finally walked through the door of the Vis's room, I caught sight of Emery sleeping in a chair beside the bed. A bowl of melted ice was on a table beside him, and a cloth was still clutched in one of his hands.

"Whoa!" I gasped when Sepherus moved towards the bed. "Easy there..."

Between my exclamation and the movement of the Vis flopping onto the bed, Emery woke up. A sad smile formed on my face as he looked in my direction. I had been lying to the Scholar, as well, when I should have told him everything long ago. Both of them had long since earned my trust.

"I think Vis Sepherus could use a stronger dose of Unalo," I suggested. "To reduce the fever. He could use a little Mialat, as well, to help him sleep."

The Eld wasted no time in creating such a dose and having Sepherus drink it down. He then rolled the back of his hand against the Vis's temple and forehead. "The fever has at least gone down from what it was before," he stated.

For a moment, my gaze raked over the dark-skinned wyvern. The older man looked rundown. The solid and dignified figure that I associated with him was nowhere in sight. Only a fool to think that even someone like Emery was invincible. I wanted to help him in any way possible. But, would he allow me to take his place so that he could rest?

"If you want, I could-" The words died on my lips as I saw it. Though it was only the corner, the cover was an unmistakable coral hue. I lifted the pillow that shielded it from view and felt my stomach drop.

Owin's diary.

"How...?"

My frantic gaze turned towards Emery as tears began to brim in my eyes. I hunched over, turned in place, and ran. How had Sepherus found Owin's diary? Was it not hidden well enough? And why was I running away again? Hadn't I decided to stop already?

As I froze in place, someone actually ran into me from behind.

"Oh! I'm sorry, are you alright?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder. "Eld?"

"You didn't seem to hear me when I called out to you the first time," the Scholar responded as he caught his breath. "And I didn't want to wake everyone else up. Forgive me. You are faster than I gave you credit for."

My eyes widened at the thought. Emery was tall, so his strides were larger than mine. Yet, I had almost reached the stairs. Had I not stopped, would he have even caught up to me?

"After two months of your brother's silence and your mother's repeated redirection on Owin's whereabouts, Sepherus became desperate," Eld Emery explained. "During one of our lessons earlier this week, he had someone look through your belongings, and they came upon the diary. I knew nothing about this until he began babbling through his fever earlier today."

My mind raced. If the person who looked through my things stopped searching upon coming across the diary, then they probably didn't come across the letter. I felt guilty relief at the thought. Vis Sepherus wouldn't have seemed so confused about Owin's intentions if he had read the letter, as well.

"I'm to blame, as well," I confessed as I lowered my head in shame. "Had I explained everything to you both from the beginning, the Vis wouldn't be so upset..."

Unlike earlier in the art room, when Eld Emery placed a hand on my shoulder, I wasn't startled in the slightest. When the taller wyvern gently lifted my chin, however, I found myself blushing. The shift from one emotion to the next had me feeling lost. But, I steadied when I looked into those familiar lavender eyes.

"Then, will you tell it to me, Rhyad?" Emery asked. "Your truth?"

"Owin ran away, but not for the reason you think!" I blurted out immediately, eager to redeem myself. "He really does care for Vis Sepherus. I know he does. He's just angry at our parents and for not being given a choice...But, he just needs to talk it out with him and stop hiding from the inevitable," I concluded as I reached up to place a hand over the one that Emery had on my shoulder. "So, I'm asking you, Eld, do you trust me?"

"Yes." The response was immediate.

"You do? Really?" I questioned as I tried to get over the shock. "Even after I withheld all of this from you?"

The smile on the Scholar's handsome face caused an inappropriate fluttering in my stomach. No, now was not the time. Just how many times was I going to let myself get carried away like this?

"Don't you think I've seen displays of sibling loyalty before?" Eld Emery replied. "Even when her health deteriorated, Kasia's thoughts were only for her brother's happiness. She even urged him to choose Lene as his Intended, despite the opposition from everyone else, myself included. Granted, Lene had left long before then, but the point is that most siblings tend to protect one another."

"...even if it's protecting them from themselves. Eld Emery, I need to write a letter to my brother," I declared. A strange burning sensation began to build in my stomach, but I dismissed it. Surely, the arecs I had eaten earlier were disagreeing with me. A trip to the restroom would have to wait. "He will come. I've no doubt about it."

But then, my breathing became uneven, as if I wasn't taking enough air into my lungs. I didn't understand why. Was I falling ill? My nose didn't feel stuffy. For just how long had I been exposed to our patron?

"What's wrong?" Emery asked as I hunched over and reached out to grasp his hand tightly.

"I don't know...but, Azure above, does it hurt!" I hissed as I glanced up at him.

The Scholar must have seen something in my eyes because he spurred into action. As another wave of pain radiated from my stomach, I was suddenly hefted into his arms. My heart leaped to my throat with every perilous step he took down the staircase. Why were we heading down? If I was ill, wouldn't my room have been the better choice?

"Hahn!" I cried out when I felt a burning sting running down my spine.

By then, Emery had fumbled with the door until it opened and rushed out onto the estate entrance. "I'm going to set you down," he instructed as he had me sit down on the ground. "Don't fight the shift. Just allow it to happen!"

What was he talking about? As I curled onto my side on the grass, it finally caught my sight. Layer after layer of purple hues lit up the sky as the sun began to rise. If I concentrated hard enough, I could even pick out the shade of lavender I lacked in my art supplies.

A loud, hoarse sound resonated from the back of my throat as I shifted into my winged form. The last time a shift hurt me so severely, it was just after I had been struck by lightning as a whelp. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pain stopped. A glimmer along my outer wing drew my attention. What I saw caused me to chase my tail.

My dull, grey scales were now white with silvery-blue edges. The combination was lovely. As a whelp, I dreamt of any other hue other than the dull grey I had been born with. But, it was only now that I was granted my wish? I had Progressed at such a late stage. How was it that I was only Favored when I no longer wished for it?

Favored by Dawn, no less!

When was the last time anyone had been Favored by Dawn? No name came to mind. But that's what I was now.

I was no longer a beta. I was an omega. Was this a dream? I shifted into my squill form and began to pat my face and body with my hands. Something felt different deep inside, but I had no way of describing it.

"Did that really just happen?" I asked Eld Emery as he hesitantly approached. "Rutting riots!"

I wasn't prepared to see the pained expression on the Scholar's face. He looked upset. Why? Usually, a Favored wyvern was congratulated. As much as I wanted to ask him what was wrong, the intensity of the change caught up with my body, and I found myself blacking out.