Page 140 of The Unseen Hour

“Bellamy Bonds, you rat!” I screeched as I flew out of the ruin, running toward his carriage.

I heard a snort and saw Pellix trotting beyond the graves. There was no visible blood. All five tree hoppers circled above him.

“Oh, thank all the gods!”

Bellamy stood beside his carriage, gun still in hand. I snarled at him like the wild woman he thought I’d become.

“How dare you shoot at my horse, or my birds! And if I hear you’re the one responsible for imprisoning my fiancé⁠—”

“Fiancé?” That snapped him out of it.

“Yes. I am re-engaged.”

He sneered.

“I was right. You are a whore.”

Orion lunged past me faster than a shot. His fist connected with Bellamy’s jaw. The Marquess fell in an awkward heap, and the gun went flying.

Bellamy rubbed his cheek, his eyes watering. He glowered at Orion.

“You have no right! She belongs to me.”

Orion stepped over the Marquess, and I thought he might hit him again. Instead, he leaned forward, his expression as cold as the Ether.

“She belongs to herself you utter waste. Insult her again, and I’ll make use of the graves in this cemetery.”

My heart skipped. It was possible I ought to examine why Orion’s threats against the Marquess made me even more attracted to him, but I didn’t get the opportunity.

Bellamy shrieked, diving behind one of his carriage wheels. Orion was impressive, but I was surprised the Marquess had been cowed so easily.

It was only then that I noticed the fog spilling over the church grounds. Orion ran to me, shielding me from what was coming.

A figure I’d only seen from a distance was landing amid the graves. Feathered wings beat the sky, and this time, he didn’t get rid of them when he hit the ground.

Charon pulled back his hood, his steely grey eyes landing on the two of us.

He pointed an accusatory finger, and his voice echoed across the grounds.

“You did this.”

And I had no doubt we were going to pay.

CHAPTER 56

The same fog that blanketed the ground during every Unseen Hour rolled over the grass.

“You might as well face me, little Shades. I know what you’ve done.” Charon’s cold voice cut like a steel blade. “I doubt, however, that you know what you’ve done. You have ruined my plans and didn’t even realize what they were for.”

I leaned into Orion but refused to cower.

Grabbing his hand, I stepped forward to meet my fate. My heart lifted when he walked with me, instead of pulling me back.

Bellamy whimpered behind us, hiding near his carriage.

“We know what you were doing. You were trying to overthrow Death and take her place. You were angry about your role as a god; that it was less than hers. And you were going to destroy Rayus in retribution; create your own realm full of death. This is a petty squabble that the entire world has been paying for, and now you’ve lost your army. If we’d left it to you, then all of Emrys would have succumbed.”

Charon grinned, a mirthless, dangerous expression.