Page 6 of Underworld
Chapter 2
Sitting in a throne in the center of the room, Orion stared at me like he thought I’d disappear if he so much as blinked. I should have taken more notice of that, but currently, I was too busy being pissed off.
Jealousy—it’s an ugly beast.
“What the fuck?” Stalking toward him, I sketched a gesture that encompassed the entire room. “I mean, I get that I was kind of out of the picture for a little bit but did you have to immediately revert back to Orion the hound dog once I was gone?”
He didn’t answer.
Well, he blinked. Maybe that was an answer... of sorts. His lids drooped, almost sluggishly before coming back up, golden eyes focusing on me with that same rapt attention.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“You’re here.”
His stunned, quiet statement cut through my anger in a way nothing else could.
“I… well, yeah. Of course I’m here.” I drove my hands through my hair and dragged in a deep, calming breath.
Fuck, I’d forgotten how beautiful he was. He stood and approached me, wearing only a pair of simple pants that did little to hide his incredible body.
The body of a demigod.
Hard lines. Sculpted features. And a striking gaze that made my tongue thick in my mouth.
“Orion…” It came out in a husky, shaken whisper. Lifting a hand, I touched his chest and found that he felt almost… cool. Not cold, but his body temperature was far lower than it should have been. Without thinking, I blurted out, “Are you sick?”
He raised a brow and I saw my cocky lover in the expression, waiting in the shadows of his sadness.
Scowling, I poked him in the shoulder. “Hey, don’t look so offended. Even demigods can get sick.”
“Of course, little star.” He cupped my cheek, his touch reverent.
I sucked in a breath as his flesh started to warm on contact. Closing my fingers around his wrist, I studied him and saw all the changes I’d missed.
He’d lost weight; evident by the sharp angles of his cheekbones. He was dimmer, too—as if some vital light inside him had been vanquished.
“You’ve changed,” I whispered.
“I have.”
His softly spoken words startled me and I looked at him, lost.
He traced his thumb over my lower lip and I decided I didn’t care about his little orgy party anymore.
I just wanted him.
I wanted to erase the pain lingering in his starlit eyes.
I felt the echo of that along the bond between us and realized with dismay that it was damaged—all but worn away from grief and sadness.
Unable to find the words, I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him as gently as I could.
He shuddered and as I pulled away, Orion started to…glow.
“What happened to you?” I asked, placing my hand on his chest. In stunned amazement, I watched as golden warmth formed under my touch—under Orion’s skin. It spread like a star going supernova inside him. It expanded and a wild, beautiful glow slid over his skin, under it, through him, chasing away that grim, washed-out pallor until it was only a memory.
“Some vital light within me was extinguished the day you left, Lily.” He smiled and it was tender and sweet. “I thought you were dead—a vital light, extinguished.”
