Page 38 of Fortune Academy: Year Two
My gaze swept over him of its own accord. “Well if this is Olympus, you sure do look the part.”
He chuckled, the warm sound settling pleasantly in my chest. His constellation-like freckles gleamed with a healthy glow reaching all the way to his eyes, giving him an otherworldly look. Even his hair shone with brilliance as if he exuded more power here than I’d ever seen at the Academy. “This isn’t Olympus. It’s Heaven.” He shrugged. “Well, at least it’s one of the outer realms where the living can walk around. Going inside the gates is reserved for spirits.” He gestured at the distant golden columns that went all the way into the clouds. “No getting past those babies.”
I blinked a few times at him to see if he was joking. “You can’t be serious.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you feel it? There’s a sense of peace you can’t put your finger on, right? If you were a spirit, you wouldn’t be able to feel any negative emotion at all. But…” He pinched my cheek and I flinched away. “Given your sour expression, I’m glad to see that you’re very much alive.”
“No touching,” I snipped.
He raised his hands in mock surrender. “As you wish, little star.”
I frowned, studying him again. He was far too happy, which had me wondering if he’d managed to break our Virtue bond. Just the thought of it made me sad. I didn’t realize that my face had fallen until Orion put a finger under my chin.
“What’s on your mind, little star?” he asked with an annoying smugness to his voice.
I wasn’t going to give him the fucking satisfaction. “I was wondering if you’d still be pretty if I gouged one of your eyes out.”
He chuckled, pinching my chin. “Aren’t you sweet,” he said, then moved away again. “Right, no touching.” He smiled before turning and walking.
Seeing as I had nowhere else to go, I followed, hoisting an unconscious Olivia along.
After a moment of agonizing silence, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Say I did have something on my mind. A certain wolf might have told me you came here to break our Virtue bond. Would I feel it if you succeeded? Given how much we hate each other already, and all.”
He chuckled. “Hate and love have a fine line.”
I growled. “You’re not answering my question.”
“I know.”
Fucking bastard. Again with the games.
“Just tell me why you’re here, Orion,” I snapped, shoving in front of him to glower up at his perfect face. “If you’ve learned anything about the Virtue bond, spill it. It’s new to me too.” Maybe if I was honest with him he’d actually throw me a bone. I wanted to know why he was here, the place where Kaito said I’d find answers.
“I have learned quite a bit, actually. Your mother has been very informative.”
“What?” I said, almost dropping Olivia. “You talked to my mother?”
“Oh yeah,” he said, puffing out his chest. “I came here to see if any of the gods would help me break the bond, but then your mother explained everything to me. She’s a delight, unlike you.”
I shuffled closer to him so he could fully see my glare. “So let me get this straight. You came here to break our bond without even knowing what that would do to me, and then you talk up my mother and get all chummy?”
He whistled. “With a body like hers, I could definitely get more than ‘chummy.’”
“Orion! Ew!”
He chuckled. “Relax. Your mother is off limits.” He sighed. “Unfortunately.”
I rubbed my temple. “You’re giving me a headache.”
We reached a gate and he opened it, revealing a long field of grass with massive waterfalls framing it on all sides. A shimmering wall swept up the sides, making the whole place look like it was inside of a bubble. “It’s just the light from the perimeter gates. We have resting realms tucked all over the place. I prefer this one.”
I wanted to argue with him out of principle, but the sheer brilliance of the gates was getting to me. Two-thirds of my body rejected this place and buried itself as far into my soul as it could go, leaving me feeling incomplete.
Stumbling into the field, I instantly let out a sigh of relief as the intense brilliance lifted and Olivia stirred. “Careful,” I whispered as I gently helped Olivia onto her feet.
She rubbed her face and groaned. “Where are we?” She tried to open her eyes and then winced. “And who hit me on the head? My ears are ringing.”
“Hey, Olivia?” I asked, leaning in closer to her. “Open your eyes again.”
