28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
W e have a gruesome task waiting for us tomorrow morning, yet I can’t stop smiling. After two weeks of searching for my attackers in vain, it’s so great to see Orpheus starting to relax a little.
We’re walking through the town where we’ll be staying the night, the regular market exploding all around us regardless of the pouring rain. I’m huddled under Orpheus’s cloak, his arm around my waist and my hand on his shoulder.
“What?” I ask when I sense his eyes on me again.
“You’re eyeing those stands like a cake-berserk child.”
“What if I am?”
He leans to whisper in my ear, “Why don’t we stop and take a closer look?”
I ignore the flutters in my stomach. “I’m hungry,” I say. “Besides, I don’t need any of those things.”
“Is that so?” he drawls. “So once we’re done at the market tomorrow, you won’t mind me returning to get one of those leather-bound notebooks, just for myself?”
I shoot him a deeply hurt look. He laughs. “I see you’d only end up stealing it,” he says, pinching my waist.
It makes me let out a giggle, which makes Lorcan turn to glare at me.
“Will you stop that?” I tell Orpheus, turning all serious as I wriggle out of his grip a little.
“Of course,” he says apologetically.
It’s only once we get under the cover of an inn that he gets his cloak off our heads.
“Would you mind waiting here?” he asks. “I’d like to take a minute to get a lay of the land.”
Neither one of us protests, so he nods and disappears into the crowd.
I take the opportunity to inspect the crowd some more, feeling pretty relaxed considering what we’ll be doing tomorrow.
Until Lorcan grumbles, “He’s sure taking his sweet time.”
And just like that, panic washes over me.
The next couple of minutes go by in agony. It doesn’t subside even when I finally spot him nonchalantly reappearing in the crowd. “Seems safe enough to—” He breaks off, catching the look on my face. “What?”
I try to get myself under control, but I fail miserably. “You can’t just disappear like that, Orpheus,” I almost yell out.
He just looks at me for a second, then comes to take me by the arm and whisper, “Don’t be cross with me, I was only making sure there are no imminent dangers.”
I pull away, shaking my head. “It’s fine.”
“Why don’t we get some dinner?” Lorcan asks.
Sullenly, the three of us enter the crowded inn and grab the last empty table.
“I can barely breathe in here,” Lorcan complains. I believe him. It’s a hot summer night without a breeze and he seems to be taking it quite hard, sweating profusely.
Once the food arrives, we eat in silence.
“Off to find the bathroom,” Lorcan announces after a while, “if this place even has one.”
I sense Orpheus’s eyes on me as I keep picking at my food. “You’re starting to make me feel like a spectacle, Orpheus.”
There’s a moment of silence before he says, “You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”
I look up, raising my eyebrows at him. “You’re obviously holding something in, and I believe I know why.”
My lips curl into a smile. “Such a smartass.”
“It has to do with your mate, doesn’t it?” he asks, making me almost choke on my food. “We’re getting close and it’s making the fear of failure grow stronger.”
I press my lips tight. “I’m sure there are more pleasant things we can talk about.”
“I don’t want to talk about pleasant things,” he protests, locking eyes with me. “I want to talk about what’s bothering you.”
I shake my head. “How would that be fair to you?”
“It’s not your responsibility to coddle me, Anyi,” he says with a sigh. Then he makes his voice softer. “There’s no limit to how much I want to know you and be there for you. This applies to everything, including your feelings about Jericho. So please, just talk to me.”
I just blink at him. What’s troubling me is the fact that I’m not thinking about Jericho. And I don’t even want to admit it to myself just yet, let alone anyone else.
“Lorcan, are you alright?” I ask when I watch him reappear, breathing a sigh of relief.
He shakes his head, a pissed off look on his face. “I’ve had enough. I’m shifting and going to sleep in that grove we passed on our way here.”
“Just be careful, please.”
“I’ll come get you first thing in the morning.”
And with that, he walks out of the inn.
I don’t want to keep talking about Jericho, so I say, “It has been a long day, hasn’t it?”
Orpheus nods. “Come on, let’s get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll finally find a way to get your mate back to you.”
We get up and walk over to the counter. “We’d like two rooms for the night, please,” I say.
The man tosses a key in our direction. Orpheus catches it. “Here you go, folks. There’s only one, but it’s got a big bed.”
I frown. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
My mind starts flashing with images of myself and Orpheus in the same bed, the very thought sending alarms blaring in my head.
“Maybe you could check again,” I suggest weakly.
He throws me a glare over his shoulder. “It’s the night before Saint Mistila’s Day, lady. I assure you no amount of checking would change anything.”
“That’s alright, we’ll take it,” I hear Orpheus say, his voice cold all of a sudden. I catch the equally cold look he throws me as he moves for the stairs leading to the rooms, saying, “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I rush to catch up with him, looking up at his stony profile. “Are you mad at me?” I ask.
There’s a moment of silence before he grits out, “There was no need for such dramatics, like I have the goddamn plague.”
My heart sinks. In tense silence, we climb up to the room. Orpheus opens the door and motions for me to get inside. As soon as I do, without throwing me a single glance, he closes the door and marches over to the crooked little table under the window, splashing his face with the water in the rusty basin.
I look around the room, which is basically that crooked table, one chair and a huge bed. My eyes fix on the bed.
“I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor,” I say as I turn to look at him, but he’s already taking a pillow off the bed and placing it on the floor.
He just shakes his head, still not even looking at me. It’s when he starts taking his boots off that I look away and come to sit on the edge of the bed with my back turned to him and my shoulders slumped.
It’s so goddamn hot, but I don’t take all my clothes off. I stay in the nightdress and even crawl under the cover, turning to the side.
For one long moment, I just listen to him pounding the pillow into shape, my mind buzzing.
I lift my head off the pillow and crane my neck to ask, “Are you alright down there?”
There’s a plea in my voice. Don’t be mad at me.
He only gives me a grunt in response. I rest my head back on the pillow. For a long while, I just keep staring at the wall in front of me, until I finally fall into a restless sleep.
*
I dream I’ve lost him again.
“Anna,” his voice jolts me from sleep.
“Come to bed,” I plead as I reach out for his hand.
He hesitates for a second, then climbs onto the mattress, sticking to the edge.
“Hold me,” I say, half-pleadingly, half-scoldingly.
He presses himself against me, tucking my head in the crook of his arm and starting to softly brush my cheek with his . “It was only a bad dream,” he comes to whisper in my ear, “everything’s alright now, love.”
I let out a content sigh. Somehow, his words make it true, and I fall into a tight, blissful sleep.
*
In my dream, he’s lying on top of me, my legs wrapped around his hips and his hand around my neck as he kisses me deeply. I never want it to end.
So when I hear this loud knock and fling my eyes open to find Lorcan barging into the room, for a moment, I don’t realize I really am lying under Orpheus, who really was kissing me until a second ago.
There’s a moment of silence before Lorcan’s eyes round and I start scrambling to get out from under him.
The next thing I know, the door is closing shut and we’re alone again.
My heart pounding, I get off the bed and rush to get dressed. As soon as I’m done, I grab the dreamcatcher in my hand and come to shove it in his face. “Wasn’t this thing supposed to prevent this?”
He looks up from the bed on which he’s sitting. “Yes, it was, in dreams ,” he grits out.
I shake my head and force myself to calm down. “I’m sorry, Orpheus, this is not your fault and I’m acting as if it is.”
He gets up. “No, it is my fault,” he says bitterly. “Even last night, I should’ve known it wasn’t me you were asking for.”
I reach out my hand.
“Please don’t,” he says. “Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to leave.”
I just look at him for a second, desperation swelling inside me. “I’ll meet you outside. I just have something to take care of.”
I storm out of the room to find Lorcan.
“What is the matter with you?” I demand as soon as I do.
He folds his arms. “I knocked, loudly. ”
I grit my teeth. “You know, Lorcan, I’ve had enough of you. You know what I think?”
“What?” he snaps.
“I think your daughter was right to cut you out of her life,” I start ranting. “Because no matter what you think happened between the two of you, I assure you you’re wrong. If your behavior towards her was anything like the one you’ve been subjecting me to for the past year, I have to come to the conclusion that, as a father, you’re only ever selfish, disrespectful and needy. Now I want you to stop, get your shit together and prepare to leave for the market. Have I made myself clear?”