Page 121 of The Unseen Hour

I laughed, but my throat was so raw that it soon turned into a hacking cough.

“I don’t know if those are the exact words I would have used. Although it hasn’t dampened my desire for travel in the slightest.”

He looked me up and down.

“Oh, you’re most definitely damp.”

“That may be the worst joke I’ve ever heard.”

I laughed anyway, then stood and spun, showering him with water droplets.

The thrill of escaping Charon, getting the second item, surviving the falls, and the lingering adrenaline from all three was thrumming through my veins.

I was sure my body would pay for it later when exhaustion kicked in, but for the moment, I had plenty of energy to move.

“Northeast, right?” I asked.

Orion stood as well, checking his satchel, which he’d managed to keep a hold on somehow.

“That’s right. And I suggest we cut a wide path around the Meadow.”

It would take longer, but if Charon was worried about his hour, it was possible he’d spend more time checking on his Shades. I hadn’t come this far only to be discovered on the brink of victory.

As predicted, my excitement waned once we’d been hiking for a while and my aching limbs made themselves known. Both of us decided not to use the remaining water from the cavern.

“Besides,” I tried to joke, although I knew my tone was frustrated, “I’m still dripping, so the last thing I need is more water. I have no desire to be this wet anywhere but the bath.”

A warm bath sounded like perfection in that moment, not that I truly needed one.

“And would there be room for two in that bath?” Orion nudged me.

The whole thing would have been unspeakably romantic, except for the fact that we were both still sopping and I was beginning to grow chilled.

I leaned into him as we walked, sighing as he lent me his warmth.

“It will be well into August by the time we reach the cottage, won’t it?” I asked, trying to make sure I had my count of the days right.

“I believe so. As the hour gets closer, I check the Shades. We might want to give it a bit of time, make sure Charon doesn’t notice anything amiss or wander through the Meadow, but then I’ll go check on them. I can tell by their behavior when the hour is getting close.”

There were a couple of Shades in particular that I hoped to meet, but I wanted to ask Orion’s thoughts on it before introducing myself to his brothers.

“We have both items. The next thing we need is to make sure we know where your father is,” Orion said.

And we were running out of time. I trusted Death, but I didn’t want to leave any stone of the Ether unturned. I knew in my heart that if he really was in the same realm as me, I would probably have found him long ago. But I wasn’t one for giving up, either. Until I heard otherwise, I would look for him. I’d kept my eyes open the entire way to Charon’s, and I was doing the same on the return journey.

“We’ve got both items with us. Could we take a bit longer getting back to the cottage and check this area thoroughly on our way?”

“Absolutely, if that’s what you want. Although it will mean more foraging. Or hunting. You still have your knife?”

I checked my leg, finding the holster still in place. I was useless when it came to actually hunting anything, but Orion could make use of it, and I’d do my best if we ran into another predator.

The area we walked through as we weaved south of the Meadow combined portions of Charon’s home and the forest. There were trees, but the ground was rockier and harder to navigate.

“That’s part of why I didn’t choose to settle here,” Orion told me several days in. “There are enough dangers in the Ether. I didn’t want to add the possibility of breaking my leg by falling over a rock to the list.”

But if my father was still hiding, maybe he’d had a different strategy.

Orion kept the baton safely in his pack, but I couldn’t resist checking on the music frequently.