Oriel stood at the edge of the cave watching the sun set over the desert. She stretched her wings out and allowed them to pick her up in the air so she was hovering over the ground. Her wings were anxious to fly, but she wouldn't allow them. It would be a couple of days until they were able to fly again. While Borus and Draya told them that they could fight, she still didn't trust being away from them. 

Oriel gripped her necklace tight. There were many times throughout her life that she was beaten and left for dead. There were times when she and Tassian would go on several assignments alone at the beginning of their assassination careers. Oriel was a strong assassin, but she was stronger with Tassian. 

There was a time when Tassian wasn't so overprotective of her as he is now. It wasn't until he found her lying in her pool of blood that he became overprotective. She had managed to kill her assignment, but he had sliced down her arm cutting a major vein. The necklace the Queen gave to them never allowed them to die. That night, she wished she had. The pain was unbearable. Her blood kept pulsing in and out of her body. She remembers watching her blood pool out of her body and then seeps back in through the cut on her arm. 

Because of the severity of her cut, it was taking her body longer to heal itself. She doesn't remember how long she was lying there until Tassian's shadow stood over her. He had gently wrapped the cut and stopped the flow of blood before scooping her up and flying her back to their home. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night. He stayed in her room, fed her, and healed her until she was strong again. Since then, Tassian never let her go on an assignment alone. He never left her alone again unless he knew he could get to her quickly.

She was still clutching her necklace when she felt a delicate hand on her arm. She landed on the ground and turned to look at the owner of the hand. Draya stood beside her with worry etched into her face. Tassian stood behind her with his jaw set. His fingers resting on his ring. 

Oriel manipulated her face into a smile. "Are we ready to go?" She dropped her hand from her necklace. She looked to Tassian for support and he nodded. She spotted Borus walking quickly towards them with two bags slung over his shoulders. 

Draya's worried face changed as Tassian stepped around her and handed Oriel her bag. "Let's get going. We need to take advantage of the night." He turned towards Draya and Borus and nodded at them. "Lead the way."

Draya sighed and opened up her map. She and Borus took the lead and stepped out of the cave and into the orange sun. Oriel stepped out after them with Tassian slightly behind her.

"Are you alright, Eagle?" he asked her quietly.

Oriel smiled a little at the nickname. "Just had an unpleasant memory is all."

Tassian grunted like he knew what memory she was thinking about. 

Oriel wrapped her arms around herself and sent out a feeling around them. "I think I was wrong."

"About what?"

"Dyso." She heard Tassian's wings tense at his name. "Maybe it was wrong to keep him alive." Tassian was silent behind her compelling her to continue. "There's something wrong, Tassian. I don't know what, but something's wrong."

Tassian moved closer behind her and leaned down to talk in her ear. "Nothing will ever happen to you, Eagle. Not while I'm alive." He reached out his hand and wiggled the finger that held his ring. "Especially with this, I can't die."

"It can be taken off," she croaked quickly.

He dropped his hand and laced his fingers with hers. "They'd have to do permanent damage to me to be able to get this off." He looked at her. "That's not going to happen, Eagle. We protect each other."

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Author note: Thank you for reading this chapter! I apologize it's taken a while to write it! If you enjoyed this, please vote or comment!