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Her heart sped up as she thought it through. Unbelievable, that the answer might have been hiding in plain sight for so long. “Wouldn’t he have told us about it the last time we fought the Zorren?”
“Not necessarily. Not if he hasn’t seen the emissary.” Arkimedes wrapped a towel around her body as soon as Nava emerged from the lukewarm water. “If the man in the shadows is opening the portals from inside the shadow world and allowing the Zorren into ours, then there is a possibility Aristaeus has never seen him.”
He snaked both arms around her hips and lifted her with far too much ease, given her size. Then he walked her back to the bedroom, leaving a trail of wet tracks on the wooden floor.
“I guess that’s possible. He has never mentioned who might be opening the portals.” Nava steadied herself on his shoulders. Her heart was racing for an entirely different reason than the subject of their conversation.
Arkimedes’s legs hit the side of the bed, and he lowered her until her nose was touching his. Her heart hammered in her throat as all her senses focused on her soulmate. What had they been talking about? Who even cared?
“Enough talking now,” Arkimedes said and kissed her, before he dropped her into the bed.
17
ORION
Orion breathed a sigh of relief as the cool fall morning air hit his face the moment he cracked the window open. He studied the sky, still a deep shade of gray from the evening storm, and found nothing suspicious. No Crows appeared to be lurking on the streets, nor could he spot any Dark Ones flying above.
He shrugged off the long black coat Leela had brought him earlier and tossed it over a dining chair. Then he rolled up his sleeves while listening to Nava’s gentle steps padding up the stairs to the second floor.
It was odd to sense someone without having to see them, but the more time they spent together, the stronger this bond they shared grew.
Nava walked into the living area, running her hands over the folds of an overly full, puffed-up skirt. “Leela’s out of control with these clothes,” she complained, frowning at the stairs. “Do something about it.”
Orion grinned and headed over to her. “I thought you said I was not to scare your friend.”
He reached for her waist and pulled her toward him to claim her lips. The gentle kiss lasted a few seconds at most—far too short for his liking.
“That was yesterday, before she turned me into her doll,” Nava said and withdrew. She draped her arms over his shoulders. “I can’t breathe in this.” She pointed at her midsection, where a hidden corset cinched her waist behind the layers of silk and lace.
“I think she doesn’t want her future queen to go out on the streets in anything but the best that she can offer.” Orion fixed the suffocating collar of his stiff shirt. It was too warm in this place. “Even if it’s ridiculous to wear it inside the house.”
Nava pressed her lips together, clearly holding back whatever she was about to say. At a guess, it probably had to do with the notion of the royal title—and becoming his queen.
She changed the subject. “How is Devon this morning?”
“He was asleep when I checked on him earlier,” Orion said. One day, they would get a reprieve from having to worry about their lives and Devon’s. A moment to enjoy their togetherness without having to run.
But that day wasn’t today. Not when the bees had been crawling over the ceiling of their bedroom this morning and were swarming all over Nava’s dark dress right now. Had she even noticed? Or had she grown so used to them by now that it didn’t seem odd anymore to be covered in insects?
“Has Leela left to get the potions?”
“Yes, when you were changing,” he said.
He was just turning toward Devon’s room when a sudden hissing sound called to him. It was an indistinct noise, so faint that Nava probably couldn’t even hear it. Still, a chill instantly crawled under the layers of his clothes.
“You feel it too,” Nava whispered.
Arkimedes nodded and crept along the corridor that led to Devon’s room. The weight of a stone sat in his gut. There was no one else here—yet something was off.
“Devon?” Orion called. The hinges screeched as he pushed the door open, slowly revealing Devon’s unmoving body on the rumpled bed. His chest was rising and falling with labored breaths, and his closed eyelids flickered as if he was stuck in a dream…or a nightmare.
Probably the latter.
“Is he…?”
“He’s alive but not doing well.” Orion knelt next to the bed and placed his palm over his brother’s forehead. “He’s burning up.” He reached for the potions Devon had carefully lined up on the wooden nightstand. “We might need to take him to the healer in the center of town. I was being an overly optimistic fool last night.”
Saving his brother was his priority. If he had to fight the guards to get him help, so be it. He brought the small vial to his eye. Were the potions spoiled? Too old, maybe? That would explain why they weren’t working.
