Page 39 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

M y eyes burned from all the water that had assaulted me. I hacked and coughed, feeling like I’d ingested more of the river than was possible.

The waters had slowed again—not as gentle as those in the cavern, but tamed to a soft flow instead of raging rapids. The high canyon walls had fallen away, and we were in a hilly area with trees along the banks.

I tried to swim for shore, desperate to grab onto a long branch or a downed log.

My muscles were screaming, exhausted and numb.

I could only imagine how they would feel when, or if, full sensation ever returned to them.

I had to be seriously bruised from bashing against rocks in the midst of the rapids.

By some miracle of the gods, my satchel was still twisted around me, but who knew what state the contents were in, or whether they’d been pulled out of it by the current.

“Orion!” I attempted to yell, but my voice came out a hoarse rasp. I waved my arm, but my hand drooped feebly.

Tears threatened to spill from my aching eyes as the water continued to pull me along .

The rapids had been my idea. If anything had happened to him, it would be my fault. I might have made it down to the Ether by following a plan, but nothing since then had gone as expected.

Meeting Orion had erased any disappointment in that. He was worth the year in the Ether, worth the risk of Charon, and worth facing any predators the forest could throw at us. But if he was gone, and if it was because of me, I’d never forgive myself.

My chest felt as if it might rip open. I envisioned Death arriving again, only to tell me that Orion’s soul was now in her domain.

I couldn’t bear it, I thought. I’d ask to go with him. I’d request that Death return my father home to Emrys, and then take me, along with Orion.

Losing my family had been hard, but even the thought of losing Orion was simply unacceptable. A reality that could not be.

“Starlight!”

I whipped my head around, regretting the action instantly. Everything that wasn’t numb ached, including my temples.

“Celia!” The voice was hoarse, just like mine. I saw movement along the bank—a waving arm.

Orion. His clothes were torn and tattered, and his hair disheveled from the water. He ran alongside, screaming for me.

I tried to swim to him but was barely able to move, stuck in the center of the current. My vision went hazy. When I saw Orion again, he was waist-deep in the water and extending a solid branch.

“Grab it!”

He sloshed farther into the river, but I could see him sway. He wouldn’t keep his footing if he went any deeper, I thought.

Summoning my last reserves of energy, I kicked with my battered legs, pulling at the water with my arms. The progress I made was scant, but it was enough. The fingers on my right hand brushed the edge of the branch, and my left closed around it, clutching the lifeline.

Slowly and steadily, Orion pulled me out. When the water was shallow enough for me to stand, I tried and nearly collapsed. Orion rushed to me, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me on his own unsteady feet the rest of the way to the grassy bank.

After setting me down, he collapsed on the ground. I crawled until I was next to him. We were both soaked and, as I had predicted, covered in bruises. My shirt clung to me, and I felt an extra chill where there was a hole ripped in the fabric.

“What now?” My voice hadn’t recovered in the slightest.

“We head to the beach.”

I groaned in response.

“As soon as we’ve had some rest,” Orion added.

He held an arm out. I laid my head on his chest, and his arm wrapped around me as I curled against his side. Even the small gesture made a world of difference.

My shivering gradually stopped. I knew I needed to get up. We needed to figure out what our supply situation was and make our way to the second location, where the baton most likely was. At the very least, we ought to find somewhere more sheltered to rest, but I couldn’t bring myself to move.

I stared overhead, watching the twisting lights of the Ether.

We stayed like that until my stomach growled.

“I still have a bit of food,” Orion offered. “I put my pack down to run after you. Give me a moment.”

He walked back upstream, and I sat looking down at myself. Orion’s holster was still in place, the thin straps of leather soaked and frayed, but the knife safely at my side.

Once I untangled the straps on my own pack I found that several items within had been sucked out by the water, but there were still a few soggy things left.

A couple of waterlogged purple potatoes, a few pieces of jerky that were soaked and loose in the satchel, and the best prize of all.

“The waterskin! Orion, we can use this!” I held it up and waved it. He was walking back with his own pack.

“I lost mine, but I still have a few fruits, some jerky, and one soaked blanket that nearly drowned me when it fell out of the pack and got wrapped around my legs. And my own knife.”

We moved a bit further into the trees. The blanket wouldn’t be any use to us wet, so Orion hung it overhead to dry out instead. He gathered some kindling and built up a fire. I gratefully warmed my hands next to the flames.

Neither of us had used the glowing water.

“You should take it. It’s only practical. I’m not trying to insult myself, but you’re the stronger of the two of us. You’re more familiar with the Ether,” I said.

“That’s why you should take it! I can make it out of any scrapes I get into here, but you need all your strength in case we find ourselves in more trouble. And there’s no way I’d let you hurt while I healed myself.”

He had been fully immersed when he was healed in the cavern. We had no way of knowing how much water was necessary, which made it difficult to ration. We didn’t want to waste it entirely by each using only a small amount and being no better off than before.

My stomach growled again.

“Why don’t we figure this out on full stomachs?” Orion suggested.

I wouldn’t have imagined soggy jerky and a damp root vegetable could taste so delicious, but they were more than welcome. I wolfed both down, smacking my lips .

“When we do return home, I think I’ll eat all my meals this way. No cutlery, and with my hands. What do you think the queen would say?” I asked.

“If she’s a smart woman, she’ll join you. Fewer dishes. Much simpler.” Orion laughed.

After we ate we made our way back to the bank, crouching down to rinse our hands off in the water. I cupped my hands and drank, even though I wanted to run from the water screaming. If I never saw a river again, I thought, it would be too soon.

“I think we should follow the river,” Orion said.

“I have had enough water for a lifetime.”

“I hear you, but think about it. We were at the northern end of the canyon, and the water ran directly south. Now, I’ll grant you that water could have done some serious twisting and turning, but I think we’re still generally headed south.

The baton wasn’t in the cavern, so the beach is our next stop, and we might as well stay close to a water source. ”

“I agree. I hate it, but I agree. It’s the most sensible thing.”

Not that I would have accused myself of being overly sensible, but I did want to survive, and more than that, I wanted Orion to survive.

“We’re low on supplies and we have no idea how long it’ll take us to reach the beach, but I have a lot of scavenging experience. It took me a lot of trial and error, getting sick by eating plants I shouldn’t have ingested, but I have a pretty good idea of what’s edible.”

“As much as I would kill for some of the puff pastries at my favorite Fox Haven bakery, I’m more than happy to eat some roots right out of the ground, if that’s what it takes. Edible is just about my only requirement.”

He ran his hand through his hair, some of the lighter brown strands falling right back over his face .

“I wish I could offer you better. You deserve more than what the Ether has available.”

I went over to him, grabbing his hands and placing them around my waist.

“The Ether has you. That’s the best thing it could possibly have given me.”

“Would you let me give you one thing, aside from barely edible plants? Take the water?”

I sighed, dropping my hands.

“How about this? I try a small trickle on one of my larger bruises. Maybe my ribs.” They’d been terribly painful, and I knew I must have bruised a few. “We watch that spot for results, and based on how well it does or doesn’t work, we can ration out the rest.”

“Deal.” Orion grinned.

He grabbed the waterskin from among our sparse possessions and brought it back over.

“You’ll have to pull your shirt up,” he told me.

What remained of my shirt, anyway. No spare clothes had survived our tumble in the rapids, so we’d have to make do. I lay on my side and pulled the tattered garment up past my lower ribs.

Orion sucked in a breath, reaching out to run his fingers lightly over the mottled bruising.

“I didn’t realize it was this bad. We could use the entire thing.”

“No. Just a small amount. And we need to save some, anyway. Who knows what we’ll find at the beach?”

Orion scowled at me, but I knew it wasn’t me he was angry at. It was the fact that I’d been injured in the first place. He opened the waterskin and poured a small trickle of the still-glowing liquid onto my injured side. Instead of dripping off, it pooled over the bruise .

I let out a low moan as the water warmed, soaking into my skin and chasing away the constricting pain.

“It’s working,” Orion whispered.

The reddish-purple of the injury faded until it was almost entirely gone. I let out a sigh of relief, finally able to breathe without pain.

“There. Now we know we can use it in small doses. You should have some as well.”

“Yes. Fine.” Orion responded, but his gaze was still glued to my side. The blue flecks surged like flames, bright against the grey.

“Ry?”

“I was just … thinking about the cavern. Before we got interrupted, that is.”

I smiled.

“I haven’t forgotten. And I stand by what I said, but maybe it’s best to wait until after we have the baton?”

He scowled.

“You’re angry at me,” I guessed.

He shook his head.

“No. I agree with you. But this is one more reason for me to hate Charon. For nearly a century I’ve had to bury most of my feelings to survive this place.

Having you here has brought them back to the surface, but I’m thankful for that.

I’d become as listless as the Shades, but now I actually feel real hope.

Admittedly anger as well, but all the fury is for Charon.

Assuming Death’s plan does work, I’d like to have a hand in doling out whatever consequences she’s got in mind. ”

“You don’t think losing his hour will be enough?”

“I know it can’t be, if we don’t want to be looking over our shoulder forever, but it’s a start.”