Page 94 of The Unseen Hour

“I can read it!” Orion called.

I paused, taking in a shaky breath and letting it out slowly.

Thank all the gods.

“Listen to this. I shall see you again in whatever fate awaits the gods,” Orion read aloud.

I shivered, from the breeze and words in equal measure.

“It’s like what you’d see on a headstone,” I whispered.

“Who would Charon have to mourn?” A few moments passed in silence, and I prayed he’d be able to work quickly.

“The box is still shut tight! Reading it did nothing, and I can’t pry it loose,” Orion called.

“Blasted ghosts!” I cursed, kicking the sand a few times. “All this way for a locked box and no key. Unless … Ry! Check the sides. Maybe there’s a latch or a catch somewhere?” My father’s desk had held a hidden compartment. Gods and men were different beings, but maybe the same when it came to protecting their secrets.

“There’s something here! More writing, very small, on one edge.” Orion’s voice got quieter and he murmured something, probably reading the inscription.

I heard a resounding pop, like the cork in a bottle coming loose.

“I’ve got it! There was a small compartment that slid out from the bottom.” Orion’s voice grew louder, and he rounded the back curve of the stones. “We’ve got it!”

He scooped me up, spinning me in a circle. My heart soared along with the rest of me.

When he released me, I saw his left hand held a wooden baton. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him back to me. My fingers ran through his unruly hair. When my lips met his, he tasted like the sea air.

“I’ll need to be finding secret, Unseen Hour–ending items more often, if that’s the result,” Orion teased.

“Now that we’ve got it, we can go home.”

“We still need whatever’s on Charon’s property before we can return to Emrys,” Orion reminded me.

I blushed.

“Actually, when I said home I was referring to the cottage. I know it’s technically yours, but⁠—”

“Starlight, you could have anything of mine, and I would give it gladly.”

“Then let’s go home. We can recoup and resupply before we find the second item. Decide what to do with the baton. And finish what we started at the canyon?”

Orion’s pupils widened, his look turning hungry.

“If that’s what you want,” he choked out.

When I made a decision, I committed. Back in Emrys, no one had kept me from rides with Pellix, or from leaving the estate at night, or stealing books from the library.

And nothing would keep me from Orion. I wanted all of him, and I wanted him to have all of me.

Just as soon as we were back to the safety of the forest.

“Let’s go, before a great bear or something ruins the moment,” I urged, grabbing his hand.

The ground shook, and Orion reached out, steadying me.

“Cursed gods! Really?” I looked around for the source of the noise.

“What is that?” Orion pointed further down the beach.