15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Hector
Charon’s mouth should be declared a dangerous weapon. I think I’m still seeing stars.
The deck is cold against my back, but his body keeps me warm as he reads that old book like he didn’t just ruin me with his tongue. My pants are still halfway down my legs while the river sways gently around us, uncaring of how my cock lies satisfied against my thigh.
Even after falling asleep, I still feel like I’m floating high above the clouds.
These last few hours play on a loop behind my eyes—the delicate way in which he took me apart. No one has treated me so tenderly before. Like a person , not just another rotter who could turn at any moment. I don't know how to process it all, so I focus on the Ferryman instead.
Rolling to my side, I watch Charon read in fascination, studying the way his lips move silently as he skims the page. Every now and then, his brows furrow, deep in thought.
“Where did it come from?” I murmur, nestling into his shoulder. “The book, I mean.”
He pauses, then taps the cover gently before pressing his palm to his chest. Mine.
“No shit. But where did you get it? I thought all the books were gone.”
His finger juts upward toward the sky after pointing to his stomach.
From above. Eat?
I frown, trying to piece together what he’s telling me. “You…found it inside Nyx’s belly?”
Shaking his head with a snort, he flips to the inside cover and trails a finger over the faded writing scrawled in the corner. There’s a lightness to his touch, like he’s afraid the letters might rub away if he presses too hard.
When I still stare in confusion, he catches my hand and pulls it to his lips, mouthing a single word against my palm, “Mother.”
“Oh,” I whisper, chest tightening. “She gave it to you.”
Charon smiles sadly, blue eyes swinging toward the horizon, lost in memory.
“What…what happened to her?”
His smile falters, grip tightening on mine. For a moment, I think he won’t answer, but then he looks down, curling his fingers inward towards his ribs—his heart —before dragging them upward and out like a bird fluttering away.
Gone .
My throat swells at the desolation on his face. “She died?”
He hesitates, then nods, pointing toward Zone T in the distance.
The prison. His mother died inside the prison.
So many questions run through my head, like how did it happen? Is that where he grew up? Why was his mother there? Asking feels like hurting him, though, and knowing the answers won’t change anything for either of us.
Maybe some things are better left in the past.
I shift closer, looping my arm through his as I rest my head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. Mine died, too, after birthing me. Father left when I was little, and Lena…well. You know that story.”
He doesn’t respond. At least, not out loud, but the way he leans into me with the book still cradled between us says enough. Something tells me she’s the reason he is who he is.
Soft. Gentle. Far too kind for a world so cruel.
The pages rustle in the breeze, and even if I never get to know her name, I swear I’ll honor his mother for loving him every time he reads them beside me.
A sharp flutter and a scratch of talons pulls my eyes to the railing, where Nyx lands in a messy sweep of black feathers. She shakes herself once, then lets out a throaty, “pretty eyes. Fail, fail.”
“Who taught her to speak, anyway?” I murmur, watching the murder bird as she watches me back.
Charon quirks his lips at her before tapping his chest. Me.
My brows jump in surprise. “You did? How is that possible? ”
His eyes darken, shadows gathering in the blue, and he looks back to his book with a shrug, leaning against me.
I don’t press him, even though I desperately wish I could. Maybe some things aren’t meant to be explained, or maybe he physically can't .
Maybe one day…if we survive at all, maybe he can teach me to read that book of his, so that I can learn to know him better. I think I desperately want that.
My arm stays entwined with his as he reads into the night, Nyx’s dark silhouette still perched above us, carrying a piece of him I’ll never fully understand.
Morning rises far too quickly, waterfall mist soaking my clothes.
Charon stands behind me as I stare into the half-filled barrel, dark water sloshing against the sides. I know he's waiting for me to give the go-ahead, and I know we're running out of time, but…I'm slightly terrified.
The barrel looks tight and cold. Suffocating. Once the lid is on, there will be no air. I suppose with the rotter genes, I could probably hold my breath longer than a normal human, but I've never tested it before. What if I end up dying inside this thing?
But we have no other choice.
“I'm ready,” I murmur, bracing my hands on the lip. “Lift me in. ”
There’s a beat of silence before I feel him step closer, large hands curling around my waist. My pulse kicks up at his touch.
He lifts me slowly, arms steady despite my weight, and the chill from the water punches up my spine as he lowers me in.
I gasp, clenching my jaw when the icy liquid hits my thighs.
Charon freezes, his grip tightening ever so slightly, and I feel him lean in just enough for his breath to ghost over my ear in silent apology.
“It’s fine,” I grit, shaking my head. “Just…do it.”
Once the water submerges my waist, he doesn’t move to place the lid on. Just looks at me with a question in his eyes, one hand resting over the rim, the other finding mine beneath the surface.
Are you sure?
“I’ll come back,” I say again, though I’m not sure which one of us I’m trying to convince.
His lips tighten grimly, but he nods and squeezes my hand before pulling away. When I crouch down, the lid comes on, but not fully. Not until he guides us back to Zone T, where the soldiers are waiting.
He moves away, steady footsteps thumping across the deck, and then the boat begins to move. I brace myself, ducking low, elbows against the sides of the barrel as the water splashes around me. Every breath feels like borrowed time.
It doesn't take us long.
Somewhere above, Nyx caws once as the boat slows, wood creaking beneath me. My heart tries to claw its way out of my throat as Charon returns, the air shifting with his proximity even though I can't see him. He knocks softly against the barrel in a faint goodbye, and then darkness surrounds me .
The lid settles into place with a hollow finality, shutting everything out. No light, no oxygen, no escape. Only the slosh of water and the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my skull.
All I can do is hope that when I see the light again, it’ll be inside the walls of Zone T and not my soul crossing over to the other side.