Chapter 31
The warehouse
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Artemis
“Drop your weapon, or I will put a bullet in his head,” Orion said from above me. His boot pressed down hard on my spine. I could barely pull in a breath through the pressure.
His voice wavered in my ears. I was so tired. But Brir’s name made me fight. My eyes couldn’t see what was standing right in front of me. He couldn't be here. I saw them kill him, but Orion had said his name. My dry eyes burned, barely opening as I struggled to blink. To focus. To pull myself out of the pain-filled fog.
I tried to open my eyes to focus on what was happening around me. The world swam, and the pulsing blue light blinded me. It took me precious seconds to focus enough to recognize blue skin and red eyes that flicked from me to the man standing on my spine. The anger etched on Brir’s face made hope pulse through me.
I heard myself gasp as tears filled my eyes. My heart beat frantically as I looked at the man I loved who had come here to save me.
The taste of blood filled my mouth. I could feel Orion's hesitance. I knew he would do everything to keep me alive. He had beaten me, but never so badly that I couldn’t heal. He needed me alive, but Brir didn’t know that. He was saving me for a woman. The woman he called Mother.
“I thought the captain had killed you?” Orion said in a sing-song kind of way. I didn't tear my eyes from Brir. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I couldn’t believe he was there.
Brir’s red eyes glimmered with a danger I had never seen before. He took a step towards me, not breaking eye contact with Orion.
"They tried," Brir spat, his voice harsh and grating. "And now…" Brir’s gaze flickered to me briefly before returning to Orion. "…You're going to let him go." I could hear the warning in Brir's voice. It was clear that he wasn't going to back down.
Orion chuckled, a hollow, sinister sound that made my skin crawl. "And why would I do that?" He sneered down at me, grinding his heel even more forcefully into my back. My breath hitched, but I kept my eyes locked on Brir.
"Because if you don't," Brir started, his voice low and calm, "I'll rip you apart limb by limb and feed your remains to the rats."
The hammer of Orion’s gun clicked in the silence.
Orion's laughter echoed eerily in the dimly lit room, bouncing off the stone walls. He looked up at Brir, eyes glinting with a sickening amusement. "You're not in a position to make demands, are you?" he retorted.
For a moment, the room was silent as Orion contemplated Brir. Then, with another chilling laugh, Orion stepped hard on my arm with his boot. A sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a wave of pain that rolled over me. I could taste the metallic tang of my blood as I bit down hard, trying to stifle any sounds of agony.
The crack of my bone was deafening in the enclosed space, reverberating off the stone walls and ceiling. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but I forgot my pain when I turned my head and saw Brir. He glared at Orion with such rage that I could see his threads pulsing.
"You can try,” Orion said as the hammer of his gun clicked, loading the bullet. “But I bet I could splatter his brains over the concrete faster than you can get to me."
Brir's eyes darkened, and I could only hold my breath and hope that whatever happened next would not be my end. “What do you want with him?” Brir asked.
Orion's wide smile faltered at the question. His eyes, which had been simmering with cruel delight, dimmed marginally. He leaned in closer to Brir, his gun still aimed at my head as he spoke.
"What I want?" he began, his tone taking on an ominous edge. “This has nothing to do with me. Mother wants him, and Mother always gets what she wants.”
Brir's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting from Orion to me. "And why would Mother want him?"
Orion's smile widened again, and his laughter echoed off the chamber walls. "Why does a moth want the flame? It's not for me to question. I just follow orders." He paused, his gaze flickering back and forth between Brir and me as though gauging our reactions. “Do you actually love him? That's amazing.”
"Enough!" Brir snapped, his voice a deadly hiss that cut through Orion's laughter. "You think you can taunt me and threaten him. I will fucking kill you if you don’t give him back to me now.” A low growl resounded from his chest.
“No, you won't. You won't risk me killing him. He means too much to you.” My eyes swung to Brir, and in those haunting volcanic depths, I saw resolve hard as steel. He stared at me before returning his gaze to Orion, his expression stern and unreadable. His hand twitched around the hilt of the sword.
"Brir," I muttered, my voice barely a whisper. My body was wracked with pain. “Don’t.” I tried to beg him, but I saw the moment Brir made up his mind.
Brir growled, his gaze flickering to me briefly before returning to Orion, "You're already a dead man. If you kill him, I will kill you slowly. Give him to me, and I will make your death swift."
Orion laughed, a cold and cruel sound that echoed in the silence of the room. “Damn, you're a cocky bitch. I’m the one with the gun. Do you think you can get to me before I pull the trigger and splatter his brain all over the floor?”
Brir’s eyes darted to me, his jaw tight. I was going to be the reason that he died here today, and that thought broke a piece of me.
Brir took a step forward, hands clenched at his side, but the sound of the gun going off stopped him in his tracks. Pieces of the floor pelted my face as the bullet pierced the cement floor inches from my face.
Brir’s chest was rising and falling rapidly as he tried to keep his anger under control.
"I could have ended this right now," Orion sneered. "But I'm going to make him watch. He will be the last thing you ever see."
Brir's eyes darted to me again, his face twisted in anguish. I knew what he was saying. I could feel it deep within me.
“Now come here,” Orion ordered, but Brir didn’t move until he pulled the trigger again, putting another thunderous bullet into the ground. “Now,” he growled, the smile slipping from his face.
Orion waved a hand, motioning for Brir to drop his sword. Brir complied, laying the blade at his feet and moving away from it. He crossed the room slowly, painfully slow. Brir walked forward until he was halfway across the warehouse.
“Stop,” Orion ordered. "Turn around and get on your knees."
There was a pause, and then Brir slowly turned around and got onto his knees. My gaze fixed on Brir's long tail as it flicked angrily.
"Good boy," Orion mocked. Bile rose in my throat. The memory of how Brir called me the same thing with such love raised my anger deep inside. I pushed back the fear and buried my pain. They had told me he was dead. I should have trusted humans wouldn't have been able to kill him so easily.
Orion made a fatal mistake. He took his foot off my spine. He took a step towards Brir. The black of his leather boot came into my vision. His foot came down inches from my face.
I wrapped my fingers around his leg, the chains rattling noisily, and with the little bit of strength I had, I lunged forward and embedded my teeth into the back of his calf. I bit down as hard as I could. My sharp teeth cut through the fabric of his pants. I chomped down again and again until Orion’s blood poured into my mouth.
This man thought he had broken me. He might have broken my body but I would do everything in my power to stop him from hurting Brir.
I yanked my head back, tearing the flesh from his leg.
Orion screamed out in surprise and pain, rearing backward. His other foot came up and kicked me in the head.
The kick sent my head back, colliding with the cold cement as darkness engulfed me. I gasped for air, trying to regain my senses. Pain wracked my already broken face.
Despite the overwhelming pain, I forced my eyes open. In the haze of my blurred vision, I saw Orion staggering, clutching his bloody leg. The scent of his fear mingled with the rich iron of his blood, creating a cocktail of fragrant victory.
But I barely had time to savor it. The world swirled, my vision blurred, and my head throbbed when he kicked me again.
The edges of my vision went black for a moment, my senses reeling from the force of the boot against my skull. I spat the chunk of Orion’s flesh on the ground and smiled up at him with blood-stained teeth.