Page 22 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

O rion had sworn I was the only other being in the Ether who wasn’t a real Shade, but he’d just admitted there had been others. I planted my feet, praying to both gods that I’d misunderstood.

“What do you mean dead ? I’m the only other one like you who’s appeared, right?”

“That’s not exactly what I said.”

“Bloody ghosts,” I muttered, squeezing my hands into fists, “It might not have been what you said , but now I’d like to know what you meant .”

It was too important a distinction to leave to chance or miscommunication.

If he actually was helping Charon to somehow harm others like me …

I’d run. I’d hide and find a way to fend for myself.

But I sincerely hoped it didn’t come to that.

I was quickly becoming accustomed to company, and to the freedom that came along with the Ether and the absence of Emrys’s rules.

Spending all my time merely trying to survive against a god and a man with a hundred years’ experience in this realm was not something I wanted to attempt .

And, I had to admit, being around Orion was nice.

“You’re right, Celia.” His use of my actual name made me look back up at him.

“I was … dishonest. Not intentionally. I shouldn’t have said you’re the only one.

I mean, you are currently. I’ve never spoken to another, because I was always too late before meeting you.

But I’ve seen a few others like us. Not dead, but Taken and in the Ether regardless.

I would have helped them, too, but Charon got to them all first.”

He shuddered, and I hung on his words.

“And what did he do when he discovered them?”

“Obliterated them. Smote them into nothing but ash that floated away into the air. I don’t even know if dead is the right term for them.

Charon despises Death, and he is loath to relinquish anyone to her clutches.

I imagine he simply erased the souls off the face of Rayus, or the Ether. Simply gone.”

My breath came in shallow bursts. It was enough to shatter even the most devout believer’s view of the gods, and I was far from exemplary when it came to religious devotion.

If Death was real, shouldn’t she be doing something?

Shouldn’t Day? Because if she existed, and Charon existed, surely he did as well?

It didn’t matter, though. At least not as much as the very real scenario staring me in the face and breaking my heart. Tears pricked at my eyes.

“Then he could already be gone. It could be that my father was here and eliminated as well. Did you get a good look at any of them?”

I clutched at his shirt, tugging on him and then leaning into him for support when my knees threatened to give out. He wrapped one arm behind me, and it was the only thing keeping me upright.

I’d come all this way. I’d been so convinced …

I tilted my chin, looking up at him and the pity on his face .

“My father was tall, broad-shouldered. He would have been not far past fifty when he made it down here. He has hair just a shade or so lighter than mine, and striking pink eyes. He?—”

Gently, Orion pulled my hands off his shirt, steadying me as I tilted. He squeezed both my hands between his own, the warmth centering me.

“None of them were men that age. There was a lone woman. She looked like a housemaid. There was a younger man once, and he appeared to be a blacksmith’s apprentice.

Another man had black hair and a short black beard.

He looked like a sailor, based on his clothes.

The only other man I’ve seen was old, grey-haired and bent.

He was dressed in furs like those from Tang. None had pink eyes.”

Orion slowly sank to his knees, lowering us both, until we were seated on the ground. He leaned me up against a tree trunk for support, then moved so he was crouched in front of me.

“I didn’t mean to worry you about your father. I just wanted to be open with you. Are you all right?”

I was still trembling, but I managed to nod.

“It wasn’t him, then. He could still be here,” I reassured myself. “How embarrassing.”

Reaching up with one hand, I wiped the tears that were running down my cheeks. I wasn’t afraid to show my feelings, but showing them outside my own home would have started all sorts of rumors in Emrys. You never knew who was watching. You never knew what they would say.

That the house was in trouble, that I was involved in some tryst gone wrong, that I was a hysterical woman prone to fits. The possibilities were endless.

It was simpler to pretend. But I was so incredibly tired of pretending .

Orion reached up, tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear. My breath hitched.

“I’m sorry. I should have clarified right away, but I was most concerned with getting you away from the Meadow, and then making sure you trusted me enough to stay away from Charon.

I haven’t had anyone else I could really talk to in so long …

I guess I’m not very good at conversation anymore.

Not very good at being human at all, really. ”

“I wouldn’t say that. I’m still breathing, right? I’d say that’s a success.” I smiled at him and received the smallest shadow of a smile in return.

I sniffled.

“I warned you I’m not much of a lady, and so if you’re not much of a nobleman, that’s just fine. We’ll both just be temporarily displaced misfits down here and figure it out together.”

His smile spread, and the blue flecks in his eyes gleamed. The impact was dazzling, and I wanted to find ways to keep that expression on his face.

“Deal. One aspect of being a nobleman in Emrys I have kept is making sure I deliver on my promises. I always keep my word, and you have my word that I will be honest with you going forward. And that if your father is here I will make every effort to get you both home.”

Once my breathing was even again, he helped me to my feet. It didn’t take us long to make it the rest of the way to his cottage; we’d been closer than I realized. It really was well-hidden between the trees.

Orion held the door open for me as I made my way inside.

“I will have to go to Charon when he calls for me, and you’ll have to stay here.

There’s food on the shelves”—he gestured at the wooden pieces built into the walls—“and perhaps a distraction would help while you wait? What do you enjoy? I don’t have many traditional materials for embroidery, but I do have needles and thread and cloth?—”

I scoffed.

“Not a talent of mine. If push comes to shove, I could mend a hole in our clothes, but trust me when I say you don’t want me to embroider anything you care about.”

He laughed, reaching one hand up to tousle his hair.

“No? You did warn me. Honestly, I’ve grown used to my own hobbies down here. You’ll have to tell me what you’re interested in doing, and I’ll see if I can make it happen.”

My legs still felt shaky beneath me. I desperately wanted to run back to the Meadow and search for my father.

It made no sense, after years of him being missing, but now that I was here it felt as if I had to hurry or risk Charon finding him first. But Orion was right.

If Charon had eliminated the others like me, I needed to be careful.

I sat on the single wooden chair near the fire.

“I enjoy riding on my horse, Pellix. I can play the piano. I like to read.”

He grinned.

“I’m fresh out of horses, but I do have several books. You can entertain yourself with those until I get back. Once Charon summons me, I may be gone for a day or two, although of course I would have given you the cot anyway. When I return I’ll work on making another one, and another chair.”

“Did you make everything in here?”

“Yes, everything, inside and out. I had to if I wanted to survive. I mean, there are times I’ve questioned whether that was the right decision, but I’ve stuck with it, so I guess my survival instincts won out.”

I didn’t get a chance to even begin formulating an acceptable response to such an admission.

Fog descended, filling the small cottage before dissipating.

“That’s how I know Charon wants a word,” Orion explained.

I eyed the disappearing fog warily, scooting the chair as far away as the space allowed.

Orion gestured to a short, wooden bookshelf that I hadn’t given much attention to before. It held an entire row of books, the needle and thread he’d promised, and a few other items. All notable remnants from Emrys.

“How did you get books down here? Or any of this stuff?” I asked.

“That will require a bit of a long explanation, and I shouldn’t keep an impatient god waiting.

I promise to keep your presence here a secret, and to give you answers.

In turn, you have to promise to listen to me.

Help yourself to the books, and the bed, and the food.

But stay here until I get back. Agreed?”

I didn’t like being cooped up, but I far preferred Orion’s company to getting myself killed by an angry god.

“Agreed.”

“Very well. When I return we’ll resume your tour of the Ether, and I’ll answer more of your questions then.”

He tugged open the door, then walked out, closing it behind him.

I walked to the bookshelf and was starting to read the titles when another thought struck me.

Does he have to walk all the way? Is Charon nearby?

“Orion?” I called out, but there was no answer.

I decided to open the door, just a sliver. I wasn’t going to follow him, but I did want to see where he was headed. I looked in every direction, but there was no sign of him. He had disappeared into the woods as easily as his home did.

I’d simply have to stay in the small cottage until he came back .

I made my way over to the table and did end up eating some of the bread and fruit that were available.

Then I perused the bookshelf, picking out an adventure story.

While I hadn’t yet mastered time in this space, I knew I was tired.

I lay down on the cot, pulled a blanket up over myself, and began to read.

Within minutes, my eyelids drooped. It appeared that even a night’s sleep couldn’t stave off the emotional exhaustion of the Ether.