Westward

"You didn't have to." Chaewon said shyly as we entered the room that the innkeeper has provided us.

"You've been wandering the wilderness for more than a month, Chaewon. You deserve these small bits of comfort." I replied, closing the door behind us. "It's no Dazkoran keep but..."

"Having you by my side is comfort enough." She whispers softly as she sat on the single bed.

I chuckled. "Were you always this cheesy?" I teased.

"Shut up. Just because I can't command you does not mean you can tease me."

"You can't even command a child at your state right now." I teased further. And she pouted, and unlike Yunjin who looked endearingly comical, Chaewon is actually cute and adorable.

"Sit beside me, will you." She said. And I sat beside her, her hand found mine immediately, and her head rested gently on my shoulder.

We stopped by a small village west from where we met, although this village is also on the verge of evacuating due to the advance of the Zealots, we were lucky enough to get a room considering all the refugees flocking around.

"So, your journey so far?" She asked.

And I told her of everything that happened after Dazkora. Our first refugee caravan where her sisters charged Alton golden-leg to keep fighting and where the Heralds of the Fallen were ordained. To the trail of her feathers Seraphiniel laid to lure us into the spatial and temporal bubble. To me and Yunjin's confrontation with Seraphiniel. To my fight in saving Runan and Ragon's caravan. And my sojourn until she found me, which was mostly me harassing and annihilating any Zealot forces I come across.

She chuckled. "You were quite busy." She reached for my belt and touched her feathers that are slotted in its slots. I caressed her back in kind, feeling her shudder slightly as I stroked the two lumps where her wings should be. They're not noticeable to the eyes, but profound to the touch, even through her clothes.

"And you, can you recall what happened at Dazkora with Valamar, Nemethel, and Ignariel?"

She nodded slowly. "Barely. Its all bits and pieces. Nemethel and Ignariel were weakened enough, but once Valamar became more active, he said a Command, which I countered with my own. I felt power rip through me, his or mine, I do not know. It tore my wings off. Then darkness, and I woke up at the cave. The rest, you already know."

"You've been through so much." I said softly.

"You and me both." She whispered, turning her head to look at me.

Her eyes told me everything. Her longing. Her desire. Her love.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Just..." she sighed. "I missed you." She whispered, like those words were enough.

It wasn't and we both know it.

"Me too."

We paused. Just for a heartbeat. Her hands trembled as they found my face, and mine trembled as they held her waist. Then the dam broke — and we kissed.

She straddled me and took her robes off. She was naked now, and she made sure she was not the only one. She undressed me with urgency — almost desperation.

And in an act that surprised me, she took me in her mouth. "Chaewon..." my breath hitched as she bobbed her head, her eyes held mine like it was the last thing she wanted to see in her life.

She let go of me, breathless, eyes still locked on mine, then climbed back onto my lap. Her body found mine — slowly, perfectly — and when we joined, the world seemed to exhale with us.

"Make me feel, Seren. Make me feel alive again." She moaned. She moved above me with the feral grace of the wolves that once guarded her — untamed, radiant, alive, primal.