43. Orion
43
ORION
“THE DOVE FLIES HOME”
I’m still sitting on the floor of the living room when she appears.
Like a ghost or a hallucination, Seraphina Valez stands in the open doorway, her chest heaving and cheeks wet with tears. Her eyes—her beautiful, golden pools—are rimmed with red and swollen, shoving wave after wave of moisture past her lids and down her face.
My heart stops in my chest, and I blink, waiting for her to disappear again.
But that doesn’t happen.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” she whispers, her body shuddering with the strength she holds in her cries. “I didn’t… I don’t?—”
Before she gets the rest of it out, I’m up and across the room, pulling her so violently into my arms, I’m sure I’ll break her. I run my palms over her back, her arms, her face—touching every inch of her, trying to convince myself she’s really, truly here.
“ Seraphina. ” I press my lips to the top of her head. Her shoulders shake with heaving sobs, and I just hold her closer, humming soothing notes and caressing her until the worst of the pain leaves her.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on—not yet. Not ever, if you don’t want to. But if you ever do, I promise I will be here, and I will hold you like this. And we’ll get through it—together.” I pull back and run my thumb beneath her eye. A salty drop snags on the pad of my thumb, and I bring it to my mouth, sucking it clean and reveling in the taste of her.
She looks up at me, a world of pain brewing in her beautiful golden gaze. “I don’t know how I’ll… if I’ll ever be able to.”
I press my forehead to hers, gazing deep into her eyes so she can tell the seriousness of my words. “If you never do, then I will be here. If you always feel this way, then I’ll be your strength. I’ll fight the battles. I’ll be your loyal soldier. And if you need someone to hold some of that weight you’ve been living with, I can hold some of that, too.” I brush my lips against hers, my heart soaring at the satisfied hum that falls from her mouth. “You don’t need me to do any of these things for you, Seraphina. But if you’ll let me, it would make me the happiest man. To be allowed to care for you would be the greatest gift I could receive.”
She doesn’t speak, but the emotion in her eyes causes my heart to seize. And I know—I know she’s finally letting me in.
“Okay.” She nibbles her bottom lip, looking up at me beneath pale lashes. “I don’t—I never hated you, Orion. I’m sorry I said that, but I?—”
“Shh.” I grip her chin, guiding her lips up to mine. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. Just let me hold you, okay?”
She nods, and I scoop her into my arms, squeezing her tight enough to break her bones, but I don’t care. I finally have my dove back—finally have my reason for living again. I climb into bed, pulling the cover up over our heads as she nestles into my side. She feels so small and fragile in my arms, but I know that fire is still blazing in her chest—still pumping fight into her veins.
Today, we will rest. Today, I will hold her and let her know she’s safe. But tomorrow…
Tomorrow, we will get her revenge.
I stay awake through the night, counting Seraphina’s breaths, tracing the silver scar that runs the length of her face, trying to confirm she’s real. When she wakes and her golden eyes capture mine—when that comfortable warmth spreads through my veins, filling me with a sense of wonder—that is the moment I know she really did come back.
“Hello.” She blinks up at me with her big, beautiful eyes. I look over her face, searching for the sadness pouring from her yesterday, but she seems to have locked it away. For now, at least.
“Hello.” I lean over, brushing her hair behind her ear as I press a gentle kiss to her nose. “You look very beautiful when you’re asleep, Seraphina.”
A tinge of red flushes her cheeks, and she looks away. “You watched me sleep?”
“Every night since I first saw you.”
She meets my eyes at last, and the look she finds there increases the intensity of her blush. “I guess I could have guessed that…”
I brush my lips against hers, a deep groan rumbling from my chest at the taste of her. Using every ounce of control I possess, I roll out of bed, keeping my eyes trained away from her even though I feel her stare boring into my back. If I look at her fuck-me eyes, I won’t be able to stop myself. I’ll take her—hard, like I’ve wanted to for so long—and I know that’s the last thing she needs right now.
I pull some fresh clothes from the dresser, pulling mine on first before stepping to the bed and placing Seraphina’s at the edge of the mattress. Without a word, she climbs out of bed, slowly—teasingly—inching out of her clothes before pulling on the leggings and tank top. I’m salivating by the time she’s finished, and as much as I want to take her right back out of the clothes, I know we don’t have time for that.
“Come on, little dove.” I hold out a hand and lead her from the cabin. Her brows pinch in confusion, but she doesn’t say a word—not even when I lift her into the passenger side of my truck. She doesn’t say anything for the entire drive, choosing to stare silent and forlornly out of the window, watching the trees whip by.
But when we stop in the clearing in front of Ghost’s lair, she does.
“Where are we?” Her eyes go wide as she scans the area for threats. She eyes the edge of the cliff warily, her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands. “If you’re planning to throw me off another cliff, I’m really not in the mood…”
I tut, stepping around to Seraphina’s door and pulling her from the truck into my arms. “I may be cruel, but I’m not that cruel, dove.”
“That’s to be debated.” She throws her arms around my neck as I walk her toward the edge of the cliff. A few feet from the edge, I set Seraphina down, then crouch, pressing my wrist to the hidden stone hatch. A section of the ground lifts away, and Seraphina gasps as the entrance to the lair becomes visible.
Her eyes are trained on the passageway, at the cracked stone steps that disappear a few feet down, eaten away by the shadows. “Orion… what is this? What’s down there?”
I grab her hand, tugging her down the first step. “Do you trust me, dove?”
She takes a moment to answer, but when she does, her face is pinched in resolution. “I do.”
“Then follow me. You’ll have all your questions answered in a minute.”
We step into the shadows, Seraphina’s breath coming out in short pants as I lead her down, down, down into the earth. When we make it to the bottom, she lets out a sigh of relief at the bright yellow light streaming in from the main room.
“You ready?” I ask.
She nods, gripping my hand tighter as we move into the light. Seraphina blinks out at the space, her mouth falling open as she takes in the mellow hue of the limestone walls, at the dozens of huge stone archways leading off into other passageways like a giant ant’s nest.
She steps toward the grand piano sitting at the center of the room, her golden eyes wide with awe. “What is this place?” she whispers.
“This would be my home.” A booming voice echoes from the shadows, causing Seraphina to jump. She looks around wildly, trying to find the source of his voice.
I sigh, rolling my eyes as I gesture to the darkened passageway to our right. “Seraphina, you should remember Ghost. You might have to speak up when you talk to him because he’s?—”
“Old.” Ghost interrupts, stepping forward out of the shadows.
“Well, it’s no fun when you say it,” I grumble. Ghost shoots me an exasperated look before turning his attention back to Seraphina.
“I’m sorry for your loss,”
She sputters, open-mouthed. “How-how do you…?”
Ghost doesn’t explain, only nods toward the couch. “Please, follow me, Seraphina.”
Seraphina and I share a glance, both just as confused. How the hell could he have known about Vee?
I’m halfway to the couch when I stop short, my mouth popping in horror. “Oh my God, are you a fucking psychic?”
Ghost jerks back like I struck him, a flabbergasted expression crossing his serious features. “Were you hit on the head? Take a damn seat.” He gestures to the loveseat Seraphina is lowering herself onto.
A smirk crosses my face as I shoot over, grabbing Seraphina’s hips and hauling her onto my lap before her ass can hit the cushion. Ghost rolls his eyes to the ceiling as I wrap my arms around Seraphina’s stomach, nuzzling my face between her shoulder blades.
“Could you please be serious for one moment?”
“What?” I grin into Seraphina’s skin, shifting my hips so her ass is pressing directly against me. “You told me to take a seat.”
Ghost sighs and drops the issue. His face goes taut, all signs of relaxation running from his face as he looks into Seraphina’s eyes. “Earlier… you wanted to know how I knew of your friend’s passing?”
I shift to the side, gazing at Seraphina’s profile as she nods. “Yes.”
Ghost clears his throat. “I guess the easiest explanation is that I am a man who knows things. You see, I had been raised as a?—”
“Phantom,” Seraphina finishes, her muscles tensing. “I… I remember now. You were the Phantom I saved that night at the Sanctum. The night I…”
The night she burned it all down.
Ghost nods. “I thought you might remember me eventually. Which means you also might remember the things the Sanctum did to you.”
Seraphina lets out a shudder. “I remember too well.”
“And you also remember the Madam who raised you?”
She nods.
Ghost sighs, looking anywhere but Seraphina. “Calathea—your madam—was an unusually cruel woman. She was the one who oversaw my training, so I am no stranger to the type of evil she possessed. But there was another—the one before her…”
At this, Ghost looks her directly in her eyes, a faint memory swirling in the violet depths. “Her name was Elvira. But you might have known her as Vee.”