Page 4 of Kiss the Dawn (Order of Helsing #4)

ORINA

I wasn’t hungry, but I ate because my body needed fuel and my brain needed a distraction. The meal passed quickly, and we were still an hour and a half away from the meetup time with Shay.

“Can we all stay here tonight?” Merry asked as we gathered the paper plates and plastic cutlery.

“There’s only one bed,” Holly pointed out.

“There’s a camping store open down the street,” Merry said.

“We don’t have the van to go get it all.”

The van which Padma and Edwin had taken and was probably still parked up somewhere near Succulent Delights. Shit.

“I’ll need a sleeping bag,” Lorenzo said.

“You’re staying here ?” Hemlock asked .

“I was planning to, yes.” He looked at me. “I can take the sofa.”

“I think it would be good if everyone stayed tonight,” Hemlock said, then to Holly and Merry, “I’ll drive you two to the store.” He leaned in and dropped a kiss on my head before heading for the door. Nonchalant and natural as if he’d been doing it all his life, but I froze, and then my heart began to pound.

Holly smirked and followed him out.

I want details, Merry mouthed before hurrying after them and leaving me alone with Kaster and Lorenzo.

Lorenzo stretched and glanced about the kitchen. “We need a kettle and coffee.”

I’ll go get some supplies from my place, Kaster said. Won’t take me long.

Coffee was my anchor. “Thank you.”

Lorenzo looked between us, confusion etched across his features.

I’ll leave you to explain that one , Kaster said with a smile.

And then there was just me and Lorenzo.

“He’s mute, isn’t he?” Lorenzo said.

“Yes. But we can mindspeak.”

His brows went up. “Interesting and…intimate…”

My cheeks heated. I didn’t want to talk about Kaster and what we no longer had. “Kaster is a friend, that’s all. Now tell me what our travel plans are.”

Staying busy was key because all I could think about were my friends. What if Shay hurt them even more before Crush got to them? How many minions did the bounty-hunting bastard have with him? He had to have several to keep Padma and Edwin from kicking his ass unless…Unless he’d done more than take a square of their skin.

It was a vicious cycle, and there was no exit until we got word that all was all right. So I helped set up sleeping bags in the sitting room, ripping open the plastic covering and inhaling that brand new fabric smell that would probably give me a headache soon.

Holly and Merry had done more than buy sleeping bags though. They’d picked up a lamp, a small coffee table, cushions, and a throw and were busy deciding where everything should go.

They obviously needed to keep busy too.

Hemlock had retreated onto the balcony. I’d been tempted to join him, but my gut told me he needed a minute. The man was not a people person, and this, the crowd in my suddenly snug apartment, might be a little too much for him.

Kaster and Lorenzo clanked about in the kitchen putting away plates and cutlery, extras from Kaster’s place. He’d even brought his coffee machine. They worked side by side, somehow communicating without saying a word.

The bags set up, I stood hands on hips to survey our handiwork. Five sleeping bags were neatly laid out around the sofa with extra pillows. There was a duvet on the sofa for anyone who wanted to sleep there.

I took a breath and inhaled the delicious aroma of coffee just as Kaster presented me with a mug.

I took it gratefully. I need this.

I know. He offered me a small smile, and my heart throbbed with longing for what we’d almost had.

He lightly touched my cheek. I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.

I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. I miss you.

I miss you too.

I wanted to argue that we could do this, be together, have a relationship even while I opened my heart to Ezekiel, but there was a part of me that wasn’t so sure. A heightened part that understood that if I continued down a path of intimacy with Kaster, I would lose myself in him and not want to surface.

I couldn’t risk that. Not until Ezekiel was free of his curse.

Kaster glanced over my head at the balcony. He’s been out there for a long time.

Are you hinting I should go check on him?

Don’t you want to?

Desperately. But I was giving him space .

I doubt that he’d want space from you, Orina.

The shrewd tone, coupled with the probing look, had my cheeks flushing. There was no point denying that there was a connection between Hemlock and me, so I simply nodded. I’ll take this outside, then.

Kaster touched my hand, breaking our connection. I shot him a quizzical look because he didn’t need to do that. He couldn’t read my thoughts, and he wouldn’t be able to hear my conversation unless he physically eavesdropped. Mindspeak worked when we intended to speak to each other. But I understood this was his way of letting me know I had complete privacy.

Hemlock stood looking out at the night, his profile kissed by moonlight while starlight threaded fingers through his dark hair.

I took a tentative step onto the balcony. “Hey, mind if I join you?”

“Never,” he said wistfully as if it was an admission.

I felt it in my bones and allowed it to draw me to him so that I stood beside him, looking out at the world with him.

“How’s Ordell?” I’d meant to ask earlier, should have asked, but my mind was a maelstrom of thoughts revolving around the singular question of whether my friends were all right.

“He’s still chained. The effects of the moon have lingered this month. Daisy is taking care of him. He’ll be free tomorrow morning.”

“I’d like to see him before I leave. ”

“Oh, he’ll be here, trust me. The growls and curses I got for not releasing him when you called…” He lets out a soft laugh. “He’s pissed. He’d insist on coming with you if he wasn’t worried about losing control of his beast. It’s safer for him here, close to the castle where we can contain him if need be.”

“And you? What’s the real reason you can’t come with me?” There was too much longing in my voice, and I quickly cleared my throat, but the sharp look in his eyes told me that it was too late. He’d picked up on it.

He sighed softly. “I’m vulnerable to the virus. Otherwise nothing would keep me away.”

I should have guessed this, and maybe if my mind wasn’t so frazzled I would have. After all, he’d told me that the witches came from him, from a wave of power he’d emitted to save a village centuries ago, before Loviator had turned his gift into a curse. “So you’re like…the first witch?”

He gripped the railing, leaning forward and lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “Not a witch, exactly, but something…more. Unique.” He smiled wryly. “Which isn’t always a good thing.”

“But the virus can still hurt you?” I stepped closer, turning my back to the world so I could lean against the railing and look at his beautiful face now shadowed with memories from the past.

His gaze dropped to my face, frosty eyes darkening as he drank me in, and for a moment, I was back at Branwood, outside the saferoom, pressed to the wall as he assaulted my mouth with his until I bled. My breath snagged, and his hot gaze fell to my lips, and yes, he was recalling it too. He exhaled, warm against my face, and closed his eyes.

“Orina…”

Why was my throat so tight? “You were saying?”

He nodded. “Yes. I was…” He tore his gaze off me and fixed it on the view of the city, but it was a few more moments before he spoke, enough for us both to lock away the memory of that kiss.

“When the event happened all those centuries ago, this dark weave, this thing they call a virus either killed or infected witches. Those that were over the age of twenty-five showed symptoms right away. The others became symptomatic once they turned twenty-five. They called it the surge. Some were able to subdue it, others failed and went dark. Since then, every born witch carries the virus. I don’t. It failed to infect me when it was unleashed, but I’ve had my blood tested by the magiscientists on the Isle, and I am susceptible, and as you can imagine, with the power that I have access to, if I got infected, it would be very, very bad, which is why only a handful of the highest ranked individuals in the consortium know about it. The fact that your friend Lorenzo diverted the conversation like he did means he knows, which means he must be on the consortium.”

He was, and I only knew about it because of the shit we’d gone through a few months back. Usually, the identity of consortium members was kept secret.

Secret like Hemlock’s vulnerability should be.

“I won’t tell anyone; you can trust me.”

“I do. I wouldn’t have told you otherwise.”

We’d come a long way, Hemlock and I. He’d gone from the asshole who I’d wanted to frequently punch to this man who I would trust with my life. “How do you think Ezekiel will take the news?”

His shook his head. “Not well. Especially when he can’t go with you to protect you.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

“And this Lorenzo…you’ve known him long?”

Was that a hint of jealousy in his tone? “A while. I can trust him.”

“We don’t seem to have much of a choice. When do you leave tomorrow?”

“Midday. Lorenzo said the council is sending transport. He’s booked it all. We should be at the coast just after dawn the day after tomorrow.”

“What happens if he can’t find a loophole with this contract?”

I didn’t want to think about that, so I shook my head.

“Orina?”

Dammit. He was going to force me to think about this. I kept my tone light when I spoke, as if the words didn’t scare me. “If he can’t find a loophole, I’ll have to go back to the Isle once the curse is broken and marry some witch guys so I can produce a bunch of special babies.”

“Like fucking hell, you will,” he growled, sending a shiver of delight through me.

I leaned in toward him. “What will you do to stop it?”

He gently gripped my chin, his chest rising and falling heavily for a moment before he reined in his emotions and fixed a sardonic smile on his face. “Me? I won’t have to do anything. Ezekiel and Ordell will do it all.”

A cold spot of disappointment flared in my belly, but the bite of guilt followed hot on its heels because it wasn’t like me to goad anyone. I stepped away from him. “I need you to do something for me while I’m gone.”

“Anything.”

“Find out who in the Order took me from my biological family.”

His gaze hardened. “I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“Orina!” Merry called out. “Crush is calling!”

My heart leapt, and I hurried back into the apartment as Crush’s gruff voice spilled from Merry’s phone which she’d put on speaker mode.

“It’s done,” he said. “We have your friends. Here…” There was a rustling.

“We’re safe,” Padma said down the line .

I heard Edwin in the background, then Crush came back on. “Where do you want them dropped off?”

I rattled off the address to my apartment, and Crush ended the call.

We all stared at each other, and then Merry let out a whoop.

“I’ll prep the first aid kit,” Holly said.

Kaster lightly touched my hand . I’ll make coffee . He hurried to the kitchen.

I parked my ass on the sofa and dropped my head into my hands as a rush of relief left me dizzy.

They were safe.

They were on the way home, and soon it would be time for me to leave.