Chapter 26
Twenty-six
Zellie
Back at the Cosmic Hall for my shift as the Astral Cartographer, I turn down a hall leading me into the wing where the cartography office is.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, perhaps an outraged Pluto, violently assaulting me with his words in an angry outburst as he foams at the mouth?
Too dramatic? Instead, I’m met by silence.
No one greets me, looks at me… It’s almost as if I’m being ignored.
I can’t decide if this is the preferred outcome or if this is a deception.
Regardless, I’m here on my own, for the first time, to chart the constellations.
I open the deep mahogany door and quietly close it behind me.
The room looks the same, completely untouched.
It’s not so bad without Ian around. Pausing at the desk, the endless stacks of tomes and parchment offer a type of orderly peace that cannot be purchased or found elsewhere.
The maps I require are stacked on top, untouched from my last shift.
I grab the stack and a sharpened pencil before shuffling over to the telescope, ready to stare into the great unknown.
I chart all thirteen, noting barely any movement—which is to be expected.
Any significant changes indicate something has gone awry.
I squint once more into the lens of the telescope, eyeing the constellations wearily.
Fortunately for me, Ian—or Ewan, I guess—took care of testing their power levels, therefore I’m exempt from free-falling into space today.
I’m grateful for the reprieve… I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
I leave just as easily as I entered, my hackles raised.
Silence from the Kosmos cannot mean anything good for me.
“Do I want to know how this came into your possession?”
“Absolutely not.”
Somehow, some way, I’m staring at an archived map of what is clearly the trove.
Complicated layers of design are sprawled on the parchment before me across my kitchen island.
The Kosmos are evidently fans of labyrinths.
The Trove has been built into the side of Astralis, deep layers twisting and rooted deep within the city.
Accessible from a vantage point on what appears to be a cliffed edge, we’ll have to infiltrate the secure area utilizing a single entry and exit point.
I’m not in love with those odds, but it’ll have to do.
“You stealthy, sneaky man.” Orion’s returning grin is contagious, my chest cavity cracking open in a yawn, drinking in his light.
“You can’t go alone. As I told you before, it’s heavily guarded against intruders.
” Orion hesitates, shifting his weight. “I can assemble a small team and go with you, of course. But I need to know what is in there that has you risking so much. I refuse to look the other way in a dangerous situation.”
I knew this could happen, but… I don’t want to tell him.
What if he tries to stop me? He could take this map and set it aflame right now.
Granted, I have the general gist of where the trove is and could likely still find it on my own.
If this relationship is to work, though, there needs to be trust. I need to give him the opportunity to let me make my own decisions—my own mistakes.
It’s easier to act first, tell later; to be a one-woman team.
I’ve never been one to take the easy road.
“In the final game, when Pluto showed up to stop me, there was a moment when I attacked him with the moonstone. The moonstone, it,” I shake my head, the words sounding deranged, “it burned him. I don’t think he can touch it.
I think it can be honed to destroy them.
And if that gem can, who’s to say that other mystical gems won’t have the same effect? I have to at least try.”
Orion’s eyes widen in amazement. “You’ve found a weakness.”
“Yes.”
“A way to defeat them.”
I move my head side to side. “Potentially.”
Orion lets out a short laugh before leaning his hand on his chin, elbow resting on the countertop next to me, his eyes connecting with mine. “I’ll assemble a team.”
“You’re with me?”
“Until the moons fail to rise and the stars burn out.”
I smile, nuzzling against his shoulder. “Are we really doing this?”
“Sure seems it, sunshine.”
“Are there enough people we can trust?” We. What a beautiful sound that is, coming out of my mouth.
“Yes, love.”
Love. A word even more breathtaking.
He presses a kiss to my temple, and stars, how I wish there was more. He won’t cross that line again; I know he won’t. This is on my terms.
“We’re a good team, you and I.” I turn fully towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck, my body pressing against his in all the right places. We fit.
“Obviously, why do you think I picked you in the first place? I don’t make poor choices.” He looks down at me as his arms circle my waist, like it’s the most natural thing in all of the worlds.
“You’ve made some questionable decisions.”
“Enlighten me.” His voice is husky; his pupils dilating.
My breath hitches as he pulls me tighter to him, the ghost of a kiss grazing my lips, causing my mind to short-circuit. “I can’t think of an example at the moment.”
I feel his smile against my neck as Orion runs his nose up, placing a kiss just below my ear.
Lotus and linen envelop me, the smell so uniquely him, and my body presses further against his body.
I feel his hardening length growing against me, my own body heating with desire.
His voice is a caress as he demands, “Tell me to stop.”
I can’t.
I won’t.
I don’t.