Page 23 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

O rion was right when he said he wouldn’t return right away. I woke to find him still gone. I ate, then left the cottage only long enough to find there was a small privy built not far off. I wiled away the better portion of that first day rifling through the contents of the cottage and reading.

By the second morning, my skin practically itched, I was so eager to leave, but I’d made my choice.

If I trusted Orion about the god, I had to trust him about the rest. That meant there was more in this forest that could kill me, and if I got myself killed I’d never find my father or get home. That, and I’d given him my word.

I started the second day with a new book. This one featured pirates off the western coast of Emrys. The story was full of action, intrigue, and even a romance between the pirate captain and a woman who had been brought onboard at one of the islands between Emrys and the continent of Mejje.

In the book, the whole thing sounded exciting and romantic. It was nothing like the strained relationships we actually had with the other countries. Where our country had its own theories of the origins of the Unseen Hour, everyone else had the same theory.

Since the Unseen Hour had hit Emrys first, it was our fault and our responsibility to fix it. Civility had returned in the ensuing years only because we relied on one another for various goods. Necessity, however, was not trust.

No other country trusted Emrys.

I frowned and returned to my story.

“The amber rays of sunset kissed the top of the waves. Sky and sea, expansive and unknown. Full of possibilities. Just like their love,” I read aloud, repeating the passage for a second time.

I’d spent the past year engrossed in the diary, but the writing style of this book kept my attention in a way nothing else had since I’d started my process of finding the Ether.

For all my restlessness, the book was a nice distraction. Once I finished the final chapter, I sighed, leaning back against the dirt wall. For a few moments, I closed my eyes, warmed by the fire, and let the story linger in my veins, as good books tend to do.

“Napping on the job?”

I jumped up to see Orion striding through the doorway. There were circles under his eyes, in spite of his statements about not aging here, and the blue sparks dancing within the grey were dimmed.

What must it be like, assisting Charon? Since Emrys didn’t worship him, I had nothing on which to base a guess at his personality. I had recalled his name from texts, but I couldn’t claim to be overly familiar with the religions in any of the other countries.

I had already decided that Charon must be the cruelest of the gods, having stolen so many lives and subjected the Shades to the torture of preying on their loved ones .

Orion practically fell into the single wooden chair before the fire.

“You found something to your liking?” He gestured toward the book.

I held it up, showing him my choice.

“I read another book first, and then finished this entire story,” I admitted.

“You’re a fast reader.”

“I couldn’t help it. I was engrossed. The way the main pirate character describes the world.

The way the two of them looked out for each other, and appreciated each other.

The exploration and hunger for new experiences.

I’ve always felt like that’s what love should be.

A breathtaking adventure.”Orion was smiling at me, eyes brightening.

I bit my bottom lip.

“I’m glad you liked it,” he said.

“You have good taste in books.”

His cheeks went ever so slightly pink, and it drew my attention back to the circles under his eyes.

“How did your meeting with a god go?”

Perhaps the most ludicrous question ever to escape my lips. After learning about the Shade song, I could not have cared less whether Charon was happy, but I found I did already care about Orion’s well-being.

It made sense. After all, he was my only real companion here. That probably accounted for the closeness I felt toward him.

Orion ran a hand over his face.

“Charon was pleased. We ended up with the largest number of souls this decade. He smiled when recounting the grand total. As if all these lives we’re ending are a good thing.”

“Is it the Shades that do the actual killing? You mentioned the song, but does that just draw people in? Is Charon not the one who deals the final blow?”

“I promised you answers, Starlight, and you’ll have them.

Just for now, though, could I answer one of your other questions?

I also swore I’d give you a proper tour.

You should learn your way around the woods.

I can tell you what’s safe and what to avoid.

After we get the basics down, I’ll explain where I got the items in the cottage that you asked about. ”

“And Charon? The Shade song?”

He nodded.

“I’ll answer that as well, but being around him is draining. I typically come here and rest for days. Truth be told, I’m quite happy to not be returning to an empty house, but I’d prefer it if we could avoid Charon, just for now.”

Once the color faded from them, even his cheeks looked a bit sunken. Just a couple of days with the deity had left him looking ill.

And I did need to know about my surroundings. After all, it was likely I would remain in the Ether for a year, and I wanted to be able to look after myself when Orion was stuck performing his duties as Head Shade.

I could wait until he recovered. There were plenty of other things I wanted to learn about aside from Charon.

“Yes, let’s go take a walk.”

Orion smiled, still looking tired but much more relaxed as the tension fell from his shoulders and he stood up.

“You’ve already seen the lights and the moon.

I think you’ll enjoy the rest of the woods.

At least I do. Many things are awful about being stuck here, but there’s plenty to explore.

All sorts of plants you can use for food.

Animals. Some I was able to hunt as needed, and some are quite friendly.

Others, not so much, but I’ll teach you to watch for signs of their territory and avoid those places. ”

“Animals?” I perked up. I missed Pellix as much as I did my brothers. Odds were, he was fine. Someone would have found him, or he would have returned to the barn for food. He didn’t tolerate others riding him easily, but he never missed a meal.

Still, the stallion’s welfare weighed on me heavily.

Orion led us back out into the woods. Within minutes, his cleverly camouflaged house had disappeared into the distance behind us, and we were walking on a trail, narrow and faint, that he must have worn over the years.

It followed the ribbons of light overhead.

They were once again purple and orange instead of blue and green, weaving through the sky.

I’d noted there was no pink, which was just fine with me.

“Is it a way to tell time? Warmer colors are daytime?”

“Very sharp! Took me what I’m guessing was a week here to realize that.

When it’s just the moon overhead, and blues and greens make an appearance, you know it’s truly night.

There is no such thing as full daytime here, though, as I’m sure you’ve already noticed.

The nights are long, and as you saw upon your arrival.

I follow the colors, but I’ve lost all sense of a normal routine down here.

I do keep a count, though, so I know when the hour is approaching. ”

“Was it difficult to adjust to that change? And where did you sleep when you first arri?—”

Something large and snarling leapt out of the trees toward us. I screamed, stumbling backward and throwing up my hands.

“Get behind me!” Orion yelled, placing himself between me and the creature stalking toward us. Decidedly not one of the friendly animals he’d mentioned, then.

This was a feline of some sort. It looked similar in size to the wolf that had found Pellix and me years ago, though I had no desire to get closer to be certain.

Emrys had wild felines in its own wilderness, but they didn’t grow past the size of a bear cub.

And I’d never been hunted by any, thank both the blasted gods.

I was certain, though, that this creature existed nowhere in Emrys. Its fur was a shimmering green, shining like fish scales.

It would have been the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen if it weren’t baring its fangs at us, hissing, and didn’t have large claws glinting in the colorful lights.

For the first time in my life I thought I might faint, no corset required.

The cat snarled, swiping at us so I got a good look at its claws, but I forced myself to hold my ground.

“What do we do?” My voice trembled as much as my limbs.

“We distract it and get ourselves away. I hunt in the woods here, but a slycat is tricky to take down. Escape is our best shot.”

Something inside me relaxed, just a hair.

Fighting? Fighting was something with which I had very little experience, unless a sharp insult counted. Sneaking and running so I didn’t get caught? Those were things at which I excelled. Distraction and a quick getaway: that was the key.

“Are you able to keep it watching you?” I whispered.

Orion tilted his head, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Are you planning to do something foolish?” he asked.

“I’m planning to help us. Now, can you keep its attention on you?”

“If you move slowly. If I hold my ground and you bolt, it will hunt you down.”

The rest of my tension fell away. I didn’t have to do this alone. I placed a hand on Orion’s shoulder.

“Good! Make it mad.”

Orion lunged forward, yelling. The cat jumped back, then snarled again .

While Orion ducked and dodged the cat’s paws, I disappeared into the trees around us, searching.

“Come on, come on! Something.”

I stumbled around the woods, wishing I knew them as well as the lands surrounding Scopshaven.

“Bloody ghosts!”

I cursed entirely too loudly as my toe found what I was looking for. I’d stubbed my foot on a sizable rock. Wincing at the pain, I crouched and managed to heft it into my arms.

My preference for rides on Pellix rather than embroidery was arguably a deficit in Emrys. Not a usable skill at all when you were trying to advertise yourself as a potential wife. In this case, though? Riding and caring for a horse gave me stronger muscles than most people might have assumed.

I threw the rock as far as I could manage. It arced in the air and crashed into a pile of fallen leaves. The slycat yowled, sprinting to investigate the potential new threat.

“Come on!” I urged Orion, standing and waving him over.

When he reached me, he grabbed my hand and hauled me along as he raced deeper into the woods.