The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 23 (PART 3) - UNKNOWN

Apart from the rain and the occasional snore from Tritteon, the entire wing was silent. Colleena sat beside me for a while, her eyes glowing as she ran several different tests. At least, that's what she called them. I couldn't tell the difference between any of them. They all felt warm and tingly as they washed over me.

I caught her glaring multiple times at Tritteon.

"I'm sorry for—leaving the library."

"You shouldn't have been out there," she hissed, her silver thumbs glowing as she ran them down the sides of my face. She grunted. "I'm not saying I'm not grateful you were able to save Rilyin. What happened today was awful. But Tritteon testing you afterward was uncalled for."

"Do you have any advice for dealing with them?"

She shook her head. "There is no dealing with them. If they decide something, there is no changing their minds."

"So, my only option is to go along with whatever they want?"

"No. You are not one of us. You have not given any oaths." She paused, lowering her hands into her lap, the glow fading from her fingers. "Why did you go after him?"

I held her gaze, surprised. "I had questions."

She massaged her temples. "They must have been very pressing."

"They were."

"Next time, wait for a calm moment to ask. I—I want to see you fight their orders and their decisions when you know they're wrong. I want you to look after yourself. Don't expect anyone to have your best interest as priority. They need someone smarter than them to put them in their place."

I snorted.

"I've spent four days with you and your brilliant, absorbent mind. You are far more intelligent than any of them could hope to be. Don't you dare think otherwise." She stood. "I want you to come out of this alive. I want—" She bit her lips together, looking down.

She didn't continue, her nose flaring.

"My name is Orion," I said carefully, testing the word, the name foreign on my tongue. "I just—I just found out. I thought you should know."

A smile melted the anger and worry from her face. She touched my cheek. "Get some sleep, Orion. I'll be back in a few hours to check on both of you." She shot Tritteon another scowl. "Don't let him test you again."

I grinned. "I don't plan on it."

I watched her leave, half wishing I could hug the woman.

I didn't sleep though. With everything going on, I couldn't. I traced and counted every cloud in the ceiling and replayed the letter over and over again in my head, adding it to the crudely forming puzzle, unsure what I was missing.

"I think the danger thing is throwing me off," I said to Lexicon. "Tritteon said my purpose is dangerous for everyone, but mostly for me. And the letter said someone has it out for me."

"That might explain your condition upon arrival."

"Probably." I squeezed my eyes shut. "Shouldn't I have enough information now to figure out what they really want with me? Before Tritteon tried to kill me, he said I wasn't really here to be a prospective Guardian."

"And he reconfirmed it under the influence of Colleena's concoction," Lexicon said.

"Everyone looks at my hair like they're afraid of it."

"That part might be the oddest of all."

"If I'm not really here to be a prospective Guardian, why would anyone want to publicize me? And what is this highest level of protection he can give me?"