The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 43 - ORION

The sound of the shower thundered through my ears, filling the defeated silence. I got shakily to my feet, holding onto the wall out of necessity, and I could only guess at the amount of strength it took Tritteon to keep himself upright. Black spots crowded my vision and it felt like I weighed five times my normal weight.

I didn't dare speak. I was truly afraid of Tritteon in that moment. And I knew I had every reason to be. It was my fault Rilyin was about to die in the next room.

The floor moved beneath me. Tritteon's hand shot out, grabbing my elbow, stabilizing me.

"Tritteon, release her," Pharro growled, suddenly at the shower door.

He ignored him.

I lifted my block. "I'm so sorry."

Tritteon's hands fell to his sides and he looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot, but they didn't turn black. "I know. I'm ashamed to admit I would have placed all the blame squarely on you yesterday. But Pharro is wrong. The blame rests with them."

"But I caused—"

"You didn't know. Information was withheld. You should not have been left so deep in the dark and Rilyin should have listened to Pharro's warnings. He had to have understood the danger you posed him."

I eyed him warily. "You are being very rational about this."

Tritteon's eyes flashed black for half a second. "I will not lie to you. If Rilyin does die from this, I will not hold myself back when Desraeon arrives."

I bit my lips together, unease filling my stomach. "While I don't blame you for wanting to, you—you do realize, if Rilyin is correct, he has the rest of my memories and killing him means I might never get them back."

Tritteon's eyes shuttered. "Shit."

"What?" Pharro said.

Neither of us realized he'd said it aloud.

But the mistake was immediately forgotten as Tritteon stiffened, his eyes blackening as he sniffed the air. He swore and spun, backing up into me as he pressed his hand over his mouth and nose.

The door flew open and a towering figure stormed into the room. He was almost seven feet tall and firmly built. His gray-blue robes swirled around his worn, leather boots and his white-gray hair was slicked back into a short ponytail. Like Tritteon, there was a strange sense of other about him. But Tritteon's was dark, commanding, and venomous. His was ancient and powerful, though he didn't look any older than thirty.

"It took a great deal of sneaking to get in here," the man said, pushing scattered strands of hair back into place. "Are you aware of the amassing Carnac horde along the lake?"

Tritteon stepped forward, still covering the lower half of his face. "What?"

Pharro nodded. "Yes. I am aware. I was hoping to give Tritteon ample time to heal."

The man looked Tritteon up and down. "Well, you aren't going to have enough time for that." He pointed past Tritteon to me. "You. Come with me."

I stared at him, waiting for just an ounce of familiarity to come over me. But nothing happened. This was Desraeon? He was the one who had taken all of my memories and brought me here? He was the one who had taken Tritteon's sister in exchange for a Protection spell?

"Orion. Now."

I jumped at the sound of my name coming from the towering stranger.

Pharro placed himself more securely in the shower doorway. "What are you doing?"

Desraeon closed the door behind him and jabbed a finger toward it. "All of this needs to be fixed."

Pharro glanced back at me.

What was going on?

"She is irreplaceable."

"So is he," Desraeon growled.

The air around Pharro's hands rippled.

"Stand down, my friend," Desraeon said, lowering his voice. "She is the only one here who can help me fix this."

"It will kill her," Pharro said, the ripple turning into a glow.

"Not if we do it quickly. And we do not really know that for certain."

"I've seen all of your research. Every test that has ever been done has pointed to that conclusion."

"It has hinted to it. But it has not been proven."

Tritteon lowered his hand slowly and shivered, his eyes blackening once more. "When you say proven, you mean you've experimented on her, but never went so far as to let it kill her?"

I swore under my breath.

Desraeon sighed. "After all of Corvek's experiments, I'm not proud of what we've had to do to make sure she is safe to be around. But I know if we are quick about it, she can stand in as an Oria and we can fix Dugana's Protection before it kills him."

The black left his eyes. "Is she really capable of doing it?" he said, a note of hope in his voice.

Desraeon nodded. "Undeniably."

I blinked through the spots still popping in my vision. "How am I supposed to use something I have never used before?"

"That is what your Lexicon and I are for," Desraeon said.

Tritteon spun and I flinched back as he grabbed my face before I could move out of the way.

"Tritteon," Pharro growled.

Tritteon's eyes darted over every inch of my face, the fear in them obvious. "You can do this. You have to do this. You are his only chance. Please, Orion. Do not let him die." The words seemed to break as he spoke them. I never would have pictured Tritteon as someone who cried over anything, but those were not drops of Asoiri on his cheeks.

I wasn't sure why, but I found it easy to assure him. "I'll do everything I can," I promised.

"Orion," Pharro tried.

I lowered Tritteon's hands from my face and pulled him into a hug. His entire body tensed like the idea was foreign to him. And then all at once, he melted, drawing his arms around me, pulling me closer. Warmth tingled through me as I breathed in his scent and I checked to make sure my block was still in place, just for safe measure.

A shrill beeping erupted from Pharro's jacket. He pulled two com's from his pocket and tossed one to me. It flashed red and beeped six short bursts followed by one long one.

"The cells," Tritteon said. "Something has happened."

"Go," Desraeon said. "Orion and I will take care of everything up here."

"It has been just under two hours and twenty minutes." Tritteon turned back to me, not even trying to hide his worry.

I swallowed. Forty minutes to do something perfectly I have never done before without killing myself.

Tritteon locked his eyes with mine and nodded, giving me a brief, trusting smile. "You can do this," he whispered. "You've proved over and over again you are capable of anything."

"Tritteon, now," Pharro demanded.

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and walked past Pharro through the door Desraeon held open for him and I was surprised by the tinge of disappointment I felt.

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