Chapter 453: The Weight of What Still Lurks

Chapter 452: The Weight of What Still Lurks

Two days ago

The council hall remained silent long after Orion’s words settled over the long table.

Madam Tyler was the first to break the stillness.

"After everything we have already seen in Nirvana..." she said quietly, her gaze steady on Orion, "...Skylurs. Tidebreaker Korraths. Mirelurkers. Vireloops. Trihydras. And all the rest."

She paused.

"There is still something like this?"

Something worse was what she did not say.

Orion nodded once. "Yes."

"Where in the fuck is something like this located?" Caspian asked him.

"The cave is not close to the pack’s territory," Orion added calmly. "You can all breathe a little easier."

That earned him a few brief looks.

Reassurance—however thin—was still reassurance.

"It lies deeper," Orion continued. "Far deeper. In the heart of Nirvana itself."

That was when Daniel stilled.

He had been leaning back in his chair, an arm hanging loosely, but now his posture sharpened.

"The heart of Nirvana?" he repeated.

Orion glanced at him.

Daniel’s brows drew together.

"...Isn’t that where Ronan and the exploration unit went?"

Orion nodded. "It is," he told Daniel.

A few elders exchanged quick looks.

Daniel let out a slow breath through his nose.

"You’re serious."

"I am."

Orion leaned back slightly in his chair.

"I met with Ronan yesterday."

That, at least, softened something in the tension.

"They are alive," Orion continued before anyone could ask. "All of them. The trainees as well."

Several shoulders loosened around the table.

"They’ll be returning soon."

Daniel exhaled properly this time.

"I knew you, Sophia, and the other trainees went to see Ronan and the others," he said quietly. "Miles and Genevieve told us."

A faint crease appeared between his brows.

"But I didn’t realize you went that far. I just assumed that maybe they were around, or they came to you guys... this makes me sound dumb," Daniel said with a sigh.

"Me and you both," Caspian added.

Madam Tyler coughed. "At least you know," she said, hiding it behind the cough, but she wasn’t exactly subtle and everyone heard her.

Lysander leaned forward.

His elbows rested on the table.

"And you came back from that distance..." he said slowly, then shook his head. "Did you run all the way back with Sophia on your back?"

A few heads turned sharply.

Orion nodded.

"She was burning up," Orion said quietly. "There was no healer with us."

He paused.

"And I wasn’t willing to risk anything else. So yes, I ran."

Everyone stared at him. The heart of Nirvana was not a distance one made by just running. It took days to get there, and Orion had made the run in just hours? And he wasn’t even as fast as Sam?

Brynhild gave a startled, disbelieving laugh.

It escaped her before she could stop it.

A short, sharp sound.

Lysander stared at Orion openly now.

"...That explains Jeffrey."

Orion blinked.

"Jeffrey?"

Lysander nodded faintly, a slow grin forming in disbelief.

"He looked like he’d been chased by a Trihydra across three ridges. He was breathing extremely heavily and looked like he was about to pass out. It took a few hours for him to settle down," Lysander said.

Orion chuckled lightly at that.

"And Sam and Helios," Lysander continued. "They were barely standing when they arrived too, which just shows how taxing the journey is when you push yourself to make it in hours. And Sam is the fastest in the pack, but even she looked minutes away from collapsing."

His gaze returned to Orion.

"But you looked..."

He hesitated.

"...normal. I mean, you were worried for Sophia, but apart from that, you did not look affected by the journey like the others were."

Orion shrugged his shoulders at that.

Brynhild’s head tilted slightly.

Her silver eyes—unseeing, yet disturbingly precise—rested on Orion’s face.

For a moment, it felt as though she were looking far past skin and bone.

"Did you grow stronger?" she asked quietly.

The question cut through the lingering humour.

The hall settled again.

Orion held her gaze. He was quiet for a while, then spoke up.

"I think so," he said at last. "I didn’t notice it at first. But... yes. I believe I did."

Caspian barked out a laugh before anyone else could speak.

A loud, shameless sound.

"Oh, I told you," he said cheerfully, pointing at Orion. "Sex is good for the soul."

Daniel groaned softly.

Brynhild’s lips twitched despite herself.

"That’s definitely what did it," Caspian continued, thoroughly pleased. "You finally grew the balls to do the deed with Sophia and unlocked some hidden power."

Orion let out a low chuckle. "You think this has to do with Sophia?"

"What else? I’m almost positive it has to do with her. I’m proud you grew balls, boy," Caspian said to him.

"I already had balls," Orion said with a smile, "before being with Sophia."

Caspian laughed even harder.

The tension loosened, just a fraction.

When the laughter faded, Orion straightened again.

His tone shifted.

"There are several things we still need to discuss."

"One of them," Orion said, "is the people we encountered near the cave."

He paused deliberately.

"They were connected to the black market."

Lysander sat upright at once.

The change was immediate.

"Connected how?" he asked curiously. "I’m not sure, I was about to speak with them when Sophia collapsed, but Ronan spoke with them, though."

There was a beat of silence before Lysander spoke again.

"There is something you should know."

Orion looked at him.

"Tarin," Lysander said. "The boy Genevieve and Miles brought in."

Orion nodded.

"He had a pouch on him. And I’m very certain it belongs to Tobias," Lysander said to him.

Orion frowned faintly.

"...What?"

Lysander did not repeat himself. Orion’s chair creaked softly as he shifted on it. He hadn’t noticed the pouch Tarin had on him; he had been focused on Sophia, who looked like she had just gone to the underworld and come back.

"The man Sam and Helios brought in, Jarek— is there any way we can ask him questions?" Orion asked Lysander.