Page 38 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

I froze once we were inside. It was a sanctuary, just as Death had described.

The whole thing was like the interior of a cathedral.

Instead of stained glass, there were shimmering crystals scattered down the curved walls, from the towering roof of the cavern to where the walls met the sands.

All covered in glistening purples, blues, and creams.

“It’s beautiful,” I gasped.

The water was spilling out of a raised pool rimmed in steel-gray stone.

We approached the pool, climbing several slabs of stone as though they were a set of altar steps.

“Do you see the baton?” Orion asked.

“No.”

Tree hoppers swooped outside the cavern’s entrance, perhaps keeping watch, or just not interested in flying inside and feeling cooped up. I looked at the crystals, the sand, and around the stone and crystals for any sign of the baton.

“Ry. Maybe … do you think … the water?”

The water within the stone pool was glowing. If there was some sort of magic relic within the cavern, I was willing to bet it was in those depths.

“Could be, but it could also be warded by Charon in some way. I’ll check it.”

“I can help.”

“I know you can, but I’ve been around Charon for a hundred years. If there is some sort of defense in place, maybe it’s like his home? Where I’ll be able to break the barrier easier than you? I’ll try, and if anything starts to go wrong, you can absolutely come to my rescue.”

I still didn’t like it, but I let go of his hand as he stepped over the stone rim of the pool and made his way into the water.

“Well?” I asked as he waded around the pool, water up to his waist.

“I feel fine. I’m going to search the bottom.”

Orion took a deep breath and sank beneath the water. He resurfaced after several moments, took another breath, then dove again. He repeated the action several times.

“No baton. But I feel wonderful. My leg isn’t aching at all.”

“The cure Death mentioned! It’s got to be this pool.”

I was elated. Orion had a grin on his face as he clambered out of the pool. Knowing he wasn’t going to be in pain anymore was a relief, but there was no baton.

That meant one thing.

“We’ll have to go south to the beach.”

He nodded.

“Yes. And if we’re going to need to trek back up the side of the canyon and hike through the woods, I vote we rest here first.”

“You’re not worried about being found here?”

“Not if Death told us to come. She said she’d distract Charon for now, and we made it here fairly quickly. This might just be the safest place for us. We’re protected from the elements better here than on the canyon wall.”

“That’s true.”

“And I’m fully healed,” Orion added.

He gave me a lingering look, slowly glancing at me from my head to my toes. The cavern suddenly felt much warmer.

“You are. And did you have anything in mind?”

“Several things.” He smirked. “Should I tell you all my most scandalous desires, Starlight?”

I’d sworn I wasn’t going to shy away from what this year might hold, not when it could all be taken away at any moment.

“You could, or you could show me.”

He was on me in a moment, pressing me gently up against the cool stone between the crystals, capturing my lips in his.

“Ry!” I couldn’t help letting his name slip out in a moan when he nipped at my neck.

“I could get us a blanket?” he offered, his breath sending delicious shivers down my spine.

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

I was tired of feeling any separation between us, and with Orion healed and Charon distracted, this was the perfect moment to rectify that.

I was so eager that I tripped forward in the sand as I moved for our satchels. Orion attempted to catch me, and we went tumbling. I landed on his chest.

“Ry! Are you okay?”

Blasted ghosts.

If I’d hurt him after he’d just fixed his leg, that might put a damper on things. Even if we did have a magically healing pool with us.

“Excellent,” he wheezed. “This was all part of my devious plan.”

He smirked, reaching up and pressing his lips against mine. I leaned into the kiss.

Ry wrapped an arm around me and rolled us so my back was in the sand. I laughed, at least until I looked into his eyes. The blue sparked, and Orion looked ravenous.

“Starlight,” he groaned, tugging the neckline of my shirt aside and leaning down to trail kisses along my collarbone.

“Why Starlight ?” I asked, then gasped as his body pressed against mine. I could feel his hardened length pressing against my core. Heat shot through me, and an urgent need.

“Orion.”

He stopped, looking at me and running a hand through my hair.

“I called you Starlight because I’ve been trapped for a hundred years in a realm with no stars.

The Ether may have beautiful lights, but as for stars, it doesn’t have even a single one.

I’ve always loved the stars—watching them and planning my adventures.

Thinking of how you can see the same constellations from every country in Rayus.

You can’t see any here, and I’ve felt adrift for so long.

Alone, and in the dark. Then you arrived, and you lit up this entire realm.

Your presence is brighter than any star in the sky, and I knew I was lost to you the moment you entered the Ether.

But also that my soul had been found again.

It’s not the sort of thing you admit right away; I didn’t want to scare you. But I’ve been yours since you arrived.”

My eyes threatened to fill with tears, so I did the only logical thing. I wrapped a leg around him, pulling him even closer. His eyes widened, then his mouth met my own again. We were a desperate clash of limbs.

“Orion, I’m ready.”

“Really?”

I gasped as he nipped at my neck.

“Yes, all gods yes.”

I pulled at his back, desperate to have him closer. He’d mentioned grabbing a blanket, but I didn’t want to let him go. Not ever again.

Loud caws sounded, and the tree hoppers swooped into the cavern, flapping furiously.

“Bloody ghosts!” Orion cursed. “What could be?—”

Something loud and deep echoed outside the cave.

“Ry! Did you hear that?”

Surely Charon couldn’t be here. Not unless Death had failed to live up to her side of the bargain, and if that was the case we were in even worse trouble than we’d imagined.

From outside the cave came a growl, sending an echo through our crystal sanctuary.

Orion’s eyes went wide, and he reached for me.

“A great bear. The tree hoppers were warning us.”

“You don’t think it’s the one that went over the ledge?”

“No, it wouldn’t have survived the fall. I’m surprised more of them could even get down here. The pathways are so narrow.”

Unlike Orion and me, though, the bears had all the time in the world to meander through the forests. It was very possible wider or less visible pathways existed somewhere along the canyon.

A squeal and snort followed the next roar.

“What was that?” I asked, knowing in my gut that it was indeed the worst-case scenario.

“Brush boars.”

A yowl joined the other calls, and my heart sank further when I recognized the slycat call.

“Ry, what do we do?”

One of the bears lumbered past the entrance of the cavern. It didn’t charge us, but it lifted its head and sniffed, then roared and wandered back outside toward the other predators.

“They’re like guardians of this realm for Charon. Even if he has no idea what we’re up to, they must have realized that someone who’s not Charon entered the area,” Orion guessed.

“Then why not come in and kill us?”

“Maybe they’ll keep us trapped here until the god does eventually realize someone’s here? Or maybe they will grow bored, and we’ll end up dinner after all.”

I paled.

“That’s not at all reassuring.”

Orion scowled.

“No. It’s not. I’m going to say this, and you’re not going to like it. I recommend we do what I suggested during our first encounter with the great bears. I’ll distract them, and you run.”

“There’s no way I’d leave you, and there’s too many animals anyway. We’d never make it. I have a better idea.”

It was a foolish plan. Haphazard and dangerous, but at the moment I thought it significantly less of a risk than the gnashing teeth.

I explained to Orion what I wanted to do: we would make a run for it, straight out on the sands and then into the rapids.

Once the water got deep enough, we could use the current to deter the animals and make our escape.

I twisted my hands.

“It’s completely mad. Don’t worry, you can say it.

I happen to agree with you. But it’s also our only way out.

These creatures are all stronger and more sure-footed than us on land.

They’ll tear us to pieces. The rapids are dangerous, but they’re our only chance.

Besides, you said yourself the waters flow south.

We’d be closer to the beach Death asked us to look for,” I reminded him.

“Yes, but we could also drown. Even if we survive, I doubt we’d get out of this unscathed.”

He was right, of course. And we still had to make it past the predators far enough down the bank that the waters were strong enough to prevent them following us .

“Orion, the water. We empty our waterskins and take more from the pool here. Hopefully it could help any injuries we might incur.”

He frowned at the glowing water.

“I still don’t like it, but I can’t see that we have another choice. The predators are certain death. Waiting for Charon is certain death. The waters give us a chance.”

“Then let’s hurry, before they decide to come in after all.”

We made quick work of emptying our water supply and filling the skins with Charon’s glowing water. Once we had everything packed tightly in our satchels, we walked hand in hand to the entrance of the cavern.

The animals went quiet, perhaps sensing we were on the precipice of something.

Orion looked at me, the grey in his eyes eclipsing any blue.

“Ready?”

I gave a firm but shallow nod, worried that if I opened my mouth a sound of terror might escape.

“Now!” Orion yelled, charging forward. The two of us ran for everything we were worth.

All gods help us. We just have to make it to the rapids.

We ran along the very edge of the shallow water where it met the sands, sprinting south and following the rushing sound of churning waters in that direction.

A heavy body splashed into the shallow waters behind us. I turned and saw a great bear, charging at us. To each side of it ran multiple slycats.

“We’ll never make it.”

Orion charged on as if he hadn’t heard me.

The tree hoppers swooped down, pecking at a few of the slycats and clawing at them. The cats yowled, breaking off and batting at the loyal birds.

Please let them be all right, I begged as I kept running. I just had to trust that they were in better shape than us, since we most certainly couldn’t fly.

I heard a snarl, closer than before. Two slycats leapt for us. The first was blocked by a charging brush boar, and the two creatures tangled and tumbled in the sands. The second slycat was headed directly for me.

“Hold on!” Orion screamed, flinging me toward the deepening waters. My feet slipped underneath me, and I fell back. I sputtered and flailed, trying to keep my head above water as I was pulled farther from the shore and into the increasingly violent rapids.

My plan no longer seemed like a safer option. I might well get us both killed.

“Orion! Ori—” I yelled, coughing and sputtering whenever my head surfaced. The waters were too deep, and too strong. I’d lost sight of him. I was moving faster than I’d anticipated, and it was all I could do not to drown.

I twisted and was pulled under again.

The next time I surfaced, I spotted his head over the waters. His mouth was open like he was shouting, but I couldn’t hear him over the rapids.

I tried to swim for him, but the water forced us apart.

Yowls and roars faded into the distance as we were washed away.