Chapter 111

But Orion regains his balance and just raises his head with a sigh, shaking it as if to clear it. “No, it’s fine, I’m good. Just…always weird, when all of your magic instantly disappears.”

“Was your magic like…holding you up?” I ask, my face twisting a bit with confusion.

“I don’t know,” Orion says, giving a shrug. “I’ve had my powers since I was a kid – I don’t remember a time without them. Maybe I do subconsciously pull on them as part of my daily life. I do know that whenever I spend time here I get very tired very fast.” He sighs, looking around the bright city. “It’s so exhausting, all this…life.”

“Poor little baby death god,” I purr, reaching up to pat him consolingly on the shoulder.

He gives me a glare, making me laugh.

Faiza and Blythe step forward to us too, the last to come through the gate, the former smiling eagerly and the latter looking around in wonder.

“Well, at least she knows you’re all here now,” Faiza says, clasping her hands peacefully despite the golden shackles. “So any minute now she’ll come and smite you properly and set me free.”

“Sweet you think you’re that much of a priority for her,” I say, giving her a wicked smile and turning back towards the center of the city, the temple still rising high above everything. “But I think she’s going to wait for us to come to her.”

“Be my guest,” Faiza says, gesturing forward down the narrow cobbled road on which yellow stone buildings rise on either side, tall and thin. “That is…if you can find your way.”

I frown at her for a moment, wondering what she means by that.

But instead of dwelling on it I just start forward down the street. She’s probably just trying to trip me up, after all. And I haven’t got time for that.

I walk steadily forward into the City of Life with my ghost and my friend by my side. The Prince, the Priestess, and the former slug follow steadily behind.

Orion walks carefully through the City of Life, looking down at his feet with a bit of a scowl on his lips, concentrating on his steps. God, but he hates being in this city. It just…sucks, feeling so powerless.

But Juniper is right. If Life is keeping something from them, they should know what it is before they make any other plans.

“God, you’re such a bummer.”

Orion whips his head to the left, shocked at the Priestess’s words as well as her glum tone.

“What!?” he asks, kind of appalled. But then he immediately stumbles over a cobblestone and takes a minute to regain his balance.

“And you’re clumsy?” Faiza sighs, shaking her head. “I mean, you visually pack quite a punch, Prince-boy, but the reality of you is a little bit of a letdown.”

“What – why –“ Orion sputters over his words, not used – at all – to these kinds of insults from a beautiful woman. He stands straighter, glaring at her. Bizarrely, Faiza perks up at this a little bit. “Why the hell are you being so mean to me?”

“Because,” she groans, looking at him with wide eyes like it’s obvious. “I’ve never, ever had a hot guy just completely ignore me and be so miserable in my company before! Especially when I come pre-bondaged!” She lifts her wrists so he can see the golden shackles more clearly.

“You – you want me to hit on you!?” Orion asks, nearly stopping in his tracks.

“Yes!” Faiza snaps. “Please! Constantly! What is the point of being stuck in the Underworld with a super hot magical Prince if there’s not even going to be any sexual tension!?”

Orion glances forward at where Juniper winds her way through the narrow streets with Anton and Laila by her side, Blythe following slightly behind. Luckily, they’re all out of ear-shot.

“Oh, gross,” Faiza sighs.

Orin snaps his gaze back to her, frowning.

“Are you seriously all glum because of her?” Faiza says, nodding forward towards June.

Orion scowls, sighing and putting his hands angrily in his pockets, continue to follow the group, not liking the answer that rings in his mind.

“Wait,” Faiza says, scurrying forward a bit to keep up with him, grinning up at him, intrigued again and clearly pleased to have something to distract from the tedium. “Which one!?”

“Both of them,” Orion bites out, his voice dipping low. “If you must know.”

“Oh, good,” Faiza says, laughing a little, looking between Juniper and Laila. “I knew you guys were a spicy little foursome –“

“We’re not,” Orion answers, dry. “I…had a moment with Laila. But my wolf is obsessed with Juniper. And she is obsessed with Anton.” A bitter little growl echoes in his chest.

As if to prove his point Juniper looks up into Anton’s face with shining eyes, bursting into laughter at something he says. Anton laughs too, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and catches Juniper as she falls against him, wrapping her up in a hug and looking down at her like she’s the center pin that holds his entire universe together.

Blythe’s shoulders droop at the sight of it too, and, seeing that, Orion straightens his. He doesn’t wanting to be quite as pathetic as the guy who was just a slug for three days.

“Yeah, our Tony-boy was a scrappy little underdog in this whole thing, wasn’t he?” Faiza says, crossing her arms and grinning after the Princess and her handmaid. “He’s stupid hot though, even if he looks a bit small when he’s standing next to you big jock types. And he’s funny and dedicated and smart. You should have been much more wary of him from the start, Orion –“

“Who says I wasn’t!?”

“Oh, you thought he was her pet and had no chance,” Faiza says, a cunning gleam in her eye as she looks up at him. “You got arrogant. But hey, if you’re into small dark-haired women who are enticing precisely because you never know if they’re going to stab you or not…” she cocks her head and gestures down at herself with her shackled hands. “I am available.”

Orion grins at Faiza, unable to resist. His wolf lifts his head, intrigued by this woman, but then sighs and puts his snout back down on his paws.

“Consider me sufficiently tempted, Priestess,” Orion says on a sigh, looking back towards his friends. “But I’m not sure we need to make this love square a pentagon.”

The two walk in companionable silence for a moment.

“Are you really that gone on her?” Faiza asks quietly.

Orion looks down at her again, surprised to find her looking seriously up at him, her face more genuine than he’s seen it before.

He sighs and shrugs. “My wolf is convinced that we like…need Juniper. It’s not that I just want her – or even that I’m sure that I’m in love with her. I just…” He sighs, shrugging, studying the little dark-haired Princess walking ahead, a frown on her pretty lips, studying the path and trying to figure out how to get closer to the temple.

“Look,” Fazia says on a sigh, drawing his attention back to her. She shakes her head at him. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this, because technically I’m rooting for them,” she says, gesturing forwards towards Anton and Juniper. “But Juniper Sinclair? She is way, way more in control of her heart than you think she is.”

“What?” Orion asks, stopping in his tracks in surprise. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means what I said,” Faiza says, giving a casual little shrug as she continues on without him, turning and walking backwards for a few steps so she can keep her eyes on him. “Stop being such a defeated little baby, Orion. If you want her, make a damn play for her.”

Faiza rolls her eyes as she turns away, moving closer to the rest of the group as they collect around Juniper, who stands with her hands on her hips, glaring around at the city like it’s willfully defying her.

Orion just stares for a moment, his wolf leaping to his feet with excitement.

Yes yes yes, his wolf says, his hackles raising, stomping his paw down in the dirt of Orion’s soul. Let’s go get her. I knew we were giving up too soon.

Orion stands straighter at that, suddenly encouraged, his shoulders straightening. Because…honestly, he doesn’t know what Faiza meant by that but…

But honestly, he can’t help it. He’s still…so incredibly drawn to Juniper, he has been since pretty much the moment he met her. And even if she clearly has a relationship with Anton now – despite how nonchalant they’re trying to be about it – if he’s still got a shot, as Faiza says?

Then damn it, he’s going for it.

“You okay?” Laila says, turning towards Orion with a big smile as he steps closer.

Guilt rushes through him as Orion smiles down at the beautiful Selkie Princess whose blue-green hair floats around her shoulders. Because Laila…god damn it, but she’s important too.

Yes, both, his wolf snaps, spinning in an eager circle, suddenly full of energy and excitement.

“I’m great,” Orion says, giving Laila a brilliant smile and lifting a hand, brushing it warm over that pretty hair. She bursts into a smile too, looking up at him with shining eyes. “What’s going on here?”

“Um,” Laila says, taking a little step closer to him and grimacing as she turns to face the rest of the group. “Juniper is having…a little bit of trouble. Figuring out where the temple is.”

Orion frowns, turning his head to look up at where the temple is clearly visible. “It’s right there.”

“Oh, is it, Orion?” Juniper snaps, drawing his attention immediately to her. “Is it right there!?”

Orion can’t help his smile at Juniper’s livid expression, her face all severe and ferocious. Which is just made very nearly ridiculous by the fact that she’s so…damned pretty.

God, she’s just so cute when she wants to tear the world to pieces.