Page 89 of The Unseen Hour

My chest felt as if it might rip open. I envisioned Death arriving again, only to tell me that Orion’s soul was now in her domain.

I couldn’t bear it, I thought. I’d ask to go with him. I’d request that Death return my father home to Emrys, and then take me, along with Orion.

Losing my family had been hard, but even the thought of losing Orion was simply unacceptable. A reality that could not be.

“Starlight!”

I whipped my head around, regretting the action instantly. Everything that wasn’t numb ached, including my temples.

“Celia!” The voice was hoarse, just like mine. I saw movement along the bank—a waving arm.

Orion. His clothes were torn and tattered, and his hair disheveled from the water. He ran alongside, screaming for me.

I tried to swim to him but was barely able to move, stuck in the center of the current. My vision went hazy. When I saw Orion again, he was waist-deep in the water and extending a solid branch.

“Grab it!”

He sloshed farther into the river, but I could see him sway. He wouldn’t keep his footing if he went any deeper, I thought.

Summoning my last reserves of energy, I kicked with my battered legs, pulling at the water with my arms. The progress I made was scant, but it was enough. The fingers on my right hand brushed the edge of the branch, and my left closed around it, clutching the lifeline.

Slowly and steadily, Orion pulled me out. When the water was shallow enough for me to stand, I tried and nearly collapsed. Orion rushed to me, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me on his own unsteady feet the rest of the way to the grassy bank.

After setting me down, he collapsed on the ground. I crawled until I was next to him. We were both soaked and, as I had predicted, covered in bruises. My shirt clung to me, and I felt an extra chill where there was a hole ripped in the fabric.

“What now?” My voice hadn’t recovered in the slightest.

“We head to the beach.”

I groaned in response.

“As soon as we’ve had some rest,” Orion added.

He held an arm out. I laid my head on his chest, and his arm wrapped around me as I curled against his side. Even the small gesture made a world of difference.

My shivering gradually stopped. I knew I needed to get up. We needed to figure out what our supply situation was and make our way to the second location, where the baton most likely was. At the very least, we ought to find somewhere more sheltered to rest, but I couldn’t bring myself to move.

I stared overhead, watching the twisting lights of the Ether.

We stayed like that until my stomach growled.

“I still have a bit of food,” Orion offered. “I put my pack down to run after you. Give me a moment.”

He walked back upstream, and I sat looking down at myself. Orion’s holster was still in place, the thin straps of leather soaked and frayed, but the knife safely at my side.

Once I untangled the straps on my own pack I found that several items within had been sucked out by the water, but there were still a few soggy things left.

A couple of waterlogged purple potatoes, a few pieces of jerky that were soaked and loose in the satchel, and the best prize of all.

“The waterskin! Orion, we can use this!” I held it up and waved it. He was walking back with his own pack.

“I lost mine, but I still have a few fruits, some jerky, and one soaked blanket that nearly drowned me when it fell out of the pack and got wrapped around my legs. And my own knife.”

We moved a bit further into the trees. The blanket wouldn’t be any use to us wet, so Orion hung it overhead to dry out instead. He gathered some kindling and built up a fire. I gratefully warmed my hands next to the flames.

Neither of us had used the glowing water.

“You should take it. It’s only practical. I’m not trying to insult myself, but you’re the stronger of the two of us. You’re more familiar with the Ether,” I said.