Page 101 of The Unseen Hour

Orion grinned.

“I expect not. And I’m sure she’ll be able to help your father, Starlight. She has all her Reapers. If she can’t figure it out on her own, she’ll find a way.”

I was drawn to the deity. I wanted to be like her, although I would certainly never be a goddess, and I did want to retain a little more warmth than even the most benevolent god we’d met.

We ate ravenously as we finished our preparations.

I heard a familiar cawing sound, followed by a handful of tree hoppers fluttering down.

“Wait right here!” I ran back into the cottage.

When I returned, I had a handful of silver buttons, pulled from Temple’s riding jacket.

They were lovely, but the birds would get far more enjoyment out of them. They had a love of shiny things.

One tree hopper jumped over, tilting its head to the side to give one of the buttons a closer look. He clacked his beak happily, picked it up and flew to a low branch to examine it further. The other birds followed suit, and soon we were surrounded by glints of silver reflecting the purple and orange lights in the sky.

“Without you all, we would have been lost,” I told the birds, wishing I knew a better way to express my gratitude.

“Do you still think we should ask Death about bringing them back?” Orion asked.

“Absolutely.”

He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward him and kissing me. I sighed into the softness of his lips, the reassuring solidness of his chest. The beating of his heart that reminded me we’d made it this far.

“Before we leave, there was something I needed to discuss with you.”

“Yes?” I stayed pressed against him, warm and safe.

“As much as we laughed at it earlier, the idea of losing you terrifies me. Not just because I’ve been alone so long. What I mean is, I’m not just desperate for any company. I’m grateful for you, Starlight. As fierce and fearless as you are though, anything could happen. I’m not fool enough to think I can prevent everything, but I would like to address one issue that could keep us apart in Emrys.”

“And what is that?”

“Will you marry me?”

CHAPTER 42

Idrew back, the words echoing in my head.

“Marry? You and me? The two of us?”

“That is generally how marriages work. At least that’s how they worked a hundred years ago.”

I’d been in the Ether with him for months. Engagements in Emrys could happen within a week during the season. Not that I intended to measure my own life by their standards anymore, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Still, it felt sudden.

“Are you certain? I’m not doubting you,” I assured him, “but we’re in the middle of something that could impact all of Rayus, not just Emrys. We’re tangled in a web of strife created by the gods. Do you not want to wait until things calm down? To make absolutely certain this is what you want once things settle?”

He liked me in the Ether, but things might be very different after the hour.

Orion knelt in front of me.

“No. I don’t want to wait and I don’t want to reconsider. I’ve waited over a lifetime for something that I thought might never come. I lost everything that mattered to me. I thought helping Death was all I was good for anymore, but that’s not true. You matter to me. I will do whatever I can to help you, to protect you, and to make you happy. And at the risk of being far too traditional, I’d like to do it as your husband, not just a man you met in the woods.”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

“You could never be just another man to me. You are the voice that spoke to me in my dreams, before I’d even met you. You’re the one who’s kept me going down here, and who has never once tried to change me. Of course I’ll marry you.”