Page 33 of The Unseen Hour

“Well, if it’s not too impertinent to say … how are you still alive? It’s been nearly a hundred years. Shouldn’t you be dead?”

Orion winced and I bit my lip, regretting the harsh words. I wanted to know, but that didn’t excuse cruelty.

After all, I was in some mystical realm called the Ether. Who was I to tell people whether they were dead or not? Tact had never been my strong suit. I’d worked hard to fake it when necessary—during balls, for instance—but this entire episode had shaken me. I was having a harder time feigning decorum than usual.

Orion laughed, but the sound fell flat.

“You don’t have to be worried about niceties with me. This is my first social interaction in quite some time, so I’m just pleased to have someone to talk to. I would be dead, if I aged like I did in Emrys, but the Ether doesn’t work like that. There is no true passage of time here. You can track the days and feel time slipping by, but you remain the same. Frozen bodies are left behind after the hour, and frozen is what I am here as well. Stuck at twenty-seven for years. At least, that’s how it’s happened for me. I assume you’ll be similar.”

Orion stood, removing his cloak and hanging it on a wooden peg on the wall.

His outfit wouldn’t have given away his age. In his generation, materials for men were more embellished. Golden thread, bright colors. In my time the trend had reversed, with women tending to wear the vibrant colors and men’s outfits being more subdued.

Orion’s clothes were simple. Tan trousers, black boots, and a flowing cream shirt with the tie at the neck left open, revealing the very top of his chest.

Once again, I found myself staring without meaning to, this time at his broad chest. I cleared my throat as he moved back to his chair.

“And is that how it is for everyone else like you, everyone still alive in the Ether?”

“I’m the only one like me. Aside from you, that is. Everyone else down here is a Shade, except for Charon himself.”

“Oh.” I slumped back down onto the cot. My exhaustion caught up with me as I deflated.

Could I have been wrong?

Maybe my father was a victim of the hour. But he’d been following the Holmes journal, and he’d used Thipp’s. The Ether seemed like a big place.

“You could be wrong, though, right? There could be someone else? Maybe they’re hiding from Charon, like you’re helping me to do. Maybe they’re camouflaged in these woods, just like you, and you simply haven’t come across them.”

Orion flashed me what I took to be a sympathetic smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Perhaps,” he allowed, although his voice didn’t sound certain at all. “The Ether is vast. It’s possible someone slipped my notice. They could be in hiding. When I arrived here, I was a novelty. Charon never intended for beings like us to exist. His Shades serve a purpose, and he only wanted the dead. He’s since realized he can use me to his advantage, but my initial months here were … unpleasant.”

His eyes darkened as he spoke, reminding me of a storm building over the seas.

I was torn between wanting to know more about what had happened to him and the thought that maybe I didn’t want to hear it, if it was the fate that might await me.

I waited for the expression to fade before interjecting with an idea.

“If he has a use for us, should I have hidden? He rules this place, so it stands to reason he’s the one with the power to keep us here or return us. He’d also know all the Shades, right? Maybe he could help me find my⁠—”

“Charon helps only himself. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve stumbled into something much bigger than the lives of all of Emrys, or the other countries. This is a battle between gods. Trust me, you don’t want to be stuck in the middle.”

“We were always taught that there were only two gods, Day and Death.”

Orion sighed.

“Emrys was wrong. Now, you’re bound to be weary after the night you’ve had. You should get some rest.” He raised a hand before I could protest. “I will sleep on the floor, and I can assure you that you’re much safer here with me than you would be wandering about the Ether. Shades aren’t the only thing Charon has around here. You don’t want to meet some of his other creatures unprepared.”

As if on cue, a cry rang through the night. It sounded like a cross between a wolf’s howl and a blood-curdling scream. I jumped and snapped my arms around myself.

“See what I mean? Now then, why don’t you get some rest. I have some more comfortable attire you could change into. Are ladies really wearing their own riding outfits with trousers now?”

He gestured to my borrowed outfit.

I gave a nervous smile, along with my admission.

“No, women are still relegated to uncomfortable dresses in an array of unfortunate colors and patterns. These are my brother’s clothes. He doesn’t know I have them. Well, I guess he might by now.”