Page 87 of Hunt the Dusk
Ordell finally folds his huge frame into the armchair opposite me. Good, he’s calming down. This is good.
“After all this time,she’sstrong enough to manifest within our borders,” he says.
I’ve been trying not to dwell on that fact, but it’s certainly something that we need to discuss. “How many dead?”
“Five,” Ordell says. “Five souls to fuel her.”
“It means she’s getting stronger. It means we may not have as much time as we think. Maybe we should tell Orina the whole truth.”
Ordell shakes his head. “You saw Ezekiel with her. The way he held her. The horror and devastation on his face…It’s happening, Hem. We just need a little more time. If we tell her, we risk upsetting this tenuous balance that’s somehow been created.”
He’s right. For the first time in seven hundred years, we have real hope of ending this vicious cycle. “Her darkness is in control. I think you’re right. I think that this time she’ll be able to break the curse.”
ORINA
“I’ve always wanted to see the ocean. So vast and endless.”
“And what do you think of it?” Ezekiel asked.
“It’s kind of…flat.”
The sky darkened, and waves began to form until the ocean was churning with life. A cold wind smacked me in the face, stealing my breath and tearing a surprised laugh from my lips.
“Better?” Ezekiel’s voice was tinged with amusement.
“So much better.” I gripped the railing of my balcony and leaned out, face up to the sky, reveling in the kiss of icy air and the mist from the sea. “You’re good at this.”
“I’m good at many things.”
There was no sexual innuendo in his tone, just a weariness that pricked at my psyche.
It was beautiful here, with the beach below my window and the sea at my doorstep, but…it wasn’t real. “How much longer?”
“I don’t know, Orina. Your body was damaged badly. You were close to death. It will take time for you to heal. You must be patient.”
“How much time has passed?”
“Two days.”
“Is that all?” It felt longer, like a week. Maybe more.
“I can slow time down if you wish.”
I looked up at his beautiful profile, at his dark hair threaded with amber highlights from the sun and the smile that played on his lips as he looked out to sea. “How long has it been since you saw the sun for real?”
His smile was tinged with sadness. “I don’t know, but I will remember this. So thank you.”
“Wait…you’re not doing this?”
“The sun?” He dropped his gaze to mine. “No, Orina. The sun is yours, the ocean is mine. We made this vista together.”
My chest tightened and ached. “We did?”
“Yes. I’m beginning to see that together, you and I…we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Warmth unfurled in my belly. “Ezekiel…I…” The questions in his eyes echoed the questions in my heart. Words I wasn’t ready to say. Not yet, so I swallowed them back down along with the lump in my throat. “Will you stay with me until I wake up?”
His smile broke my heart and put it back together again. “Yes, little Silver. I’ll stay with you.”
