The Bond and Other Curses || Book Two

CHAPTER 4 - ORION

The air was cool, but not cold. The stars were bright, the moon high and full—the perfect time to take what I had decided to call my patrol run. It seemed to clear my mind and calm the horrible anxiety I experienced after every nightmare. And the fact that it had allowed me to see most of the grounds was a bonus.

I had taken it often over the last three days. Once or twice a day during breaks and twice the night before when I couldn't handle the thought of reliving the second dream I always had when I went back to sleep. Watching Tritteon drown repeatedly was seriously wearing on my resolve to stick around for eleven more days.

"As the only reasonable voice left inside your head, it is my responsibility to tell you that you are being irrational," Lexicon said. "There is not a body of water deep enough around here for him to drown in."

A stream trickled nearby, flowing into a small pond I knew to be shallow and clear enough to see the glittering stones beneath the surface.

"Have you not seen my bathtub? I'm sure Tritteon's is just as spacious."

Gravel crunched beneath my feet as I zigzagged back and forth through the maze-like patterns of the rose gardens. The moon hovered over the highest spire of the Palace and the lights shining across every inch of white stone gave the illusion the moon was causing it to glow. It was beautiful. I still got a little breathless every time I saw it at night.

"Now you are just being disparaging."

"Lexicon, you know perfectly well that my fear has nothing to do with him drowning."

"Sure. But while you obsess over your fear of everyone here being killed because of you, you are pushing them all away, refusing to work on fixing the one thing most dangerous about you, and forgetting that Daniel Onra is somewhere he cannot get to you and soon will never have the opportunity to try."

"Soon is not now. While he is still alive, he could tell someone who and what I really am, or worse, he could get out. And if I'm still here, they are all in danger."

I hadn't realized I'd stopped running until my adrenaline began to wear off and I had to grip my knees to catch my breath.

"Thanks a lot. You broke my concentration. There's no reason to bring Daniel up while I'm running. The point is to forget about everything wrong while I'm out here."

"Orion?"

I spun around. That voice hadn't been in my head. "Tritteon?"

He stepped out from behind a bush of pale pink roses.

"Are you following me?"

He nodded, approaching me slowly, his eyes darting back and forth to the shrubs on either side of me. "Orion, you cannot stop here."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"You do not stop in the gardens at night."

I scanned the shrubs and flowers around us but saw nothing. "What are you talking about?"

He motioned for me to move toward him with a slight flick of his fingers. "Move slowly and—"

The shrub to my right rustled.

I hesitated.

"Do as he says," Lexicon piped in.

The shrub to my left rustled.

Tritteon thrust his bare hand out toward me. "Now!"

I moved, grabbing for his sleeved forearm, and something long, black, and shiny darted toward my feet, hissing.