Chapter 462: What We Know—and What We Don’t

Chapter 461: What We Know—and What We Don’t

The Day Before Sophia Regained Consciousness

Snow shifted softly beneath their boots as Orion and Brynhild made their way across the compound.

The wind cut low between the buildings, tugging at cloaks and loose strands of hair, whispering through the trees that stood like dark sentinels at the far edge of the pack grounds. It was quiet here. Always quieter near Sam’s end of the compound.

Orion slowed his pace slightly without thinking about it.

Brynhild matched him easily.

She walked with the steady, unhurried confidence of someone who did not need sight to know where she was going. Her dark skin glowed faintly beneath the pale wash of afternoon light, her long braids pulled neatly back from her face, brushing against her cloak as she walked.

"Are you planning to tell her?" Brynhild asked quietly.

Orion glanced sideways at her.

"Tell her what?"

She gave a small, unimpressed huff. "About Tobias."

"I don’t know," he admitted. "That’s why I wanted to ask you—run things by you, you know."

She tilted her head slightly toward him.

"Do you think I should tell Sam about Tobias?" he asked her.

For a moment, only the sound of snow answered them.

"No," she said at last. "Not yet."

Orion frowned faintly.

"Not yet," she repeated, more firmly. "It’s too early."

He dragged a hand over the back of his neck.

"She’ll be more annoyed with me if she finds out on her own," he said.

Brynhild nodded. "That’s true. But that still doesn’t mean you rush to tell her."

Orion’s brow creased.

"If you tell her now," Brynhild went on calmly, "all you’ll be doing is giving her something new to worry about. Something she can’t even act on yet."

Her voice softened slightly.

"And Sam doesn’t handle uncertainty very well."

He said nothing.

Brynhild adjusted her cloak.

"When the time comes," she said, "I’ll be the one to tell her."

Orion stopped walking.

Brynhild took two more steps, then turned her head toward him. "Why did you stop?" she asked him.

He stepped back into place beside her. "I was shocked by that."

Brynhild scoffed. "You and I know I don’t dislike Sam. At one point, we were close friends."

Orion chuckled at that. "Highly debatable."

Brynhild laughed at that.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him gently.

Orion let out a short, humorless breath.

"Honestly?"

She angled her face toward him again. "Did I tell you to be dishonest with me?"

He chuckled. "You didn’t. But anyway, I’m just going with the flow right now."

Brynhild’s lips curved. "At least you’re not drifting."

"Isn’t that the same thing?" Orion asked her, and she shrugged.

"How’s my niece?" he asked her.

Brynhild smiled. "Making Lysander regret getting me pregnant," she said with a smug smile, making Orion laugh.

"I’m glad," he said, chuckling.

There was a pause before things took a serious turn.

"We can’t get answers from Eldric," Orion continued. "Not yet."

Brynhild nodded once.

"He wants to speak to both of us. Me and Sophia."

Her expression tightened at the sound of Sophia’s name, though her steps never faltered.

"And we still don’t know what’s going on with Tobias," Orion said.

He paused.

"Not even Jarek knows. All we know is that he is likely in the west right now."

"The unanswered questions bother me," Brynhild told him.

They walked for several moments in silence.

The trees ahead—trees that signified they were close to Sam’s home—were already in view, their dark branches bending slightly beneath the weight of old snow.

"That’s why I’m going to speak with Sam, Helios, and Jeffrey," Orion said.

Brynhild hummed thoughtfully.

"They were part of the team that went into the Heart of Nirvana."

"Yes."

He glanced toward the trees.

"We’ll get more information when Ronan returns. I know that."

A brief pause.

"But we don’t have to sit around and wait until then."

Brynhild nodded.

"I’m sure Sam, Helios, or Jeffrey noticed something. Anything. And honestly..." His voice hardened just a touch. "Instead of sitting on our asses and waiting for information to fall into our laps, we should start asking the people who were actually there."

Brynhild gave a low, approving hum.

"That’s true."

She shifted her shoulders.

"I was actually on my way to come find you."

Orion blinked at her.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

She smiled to herself.

"I was going to tell you that we should question Helios and the others. Ask them directly what they noticed at the Heart of Nirvana," she told him.

Orion laughed.

"You really are smart," he said. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Brynhild chuckled softly.

"I know."

The trees closed around them.

The noise of the main compound dulled immediately, as though the world had stepped back out of respect for the quiet Sam demanded of her space.

They had just gotten to the house when they saw Sam stepping out of it.

She froze the moment she lifted her head.

Her dark cloak hung open, her braid resting over one shoulder, thin white and deep red threads woven neatly through it. A feather caught faintly in the light as she moved.

Her bluish-gray eyes widened.

"Why are you both at my house?"

Orion stopped.

Brynhild turned fully toward her voice.

Sam stared at them like she had walked straight into an ambush.

"What did I do?" she added flatly.

Brynhild smiled.

"Walk with us to the council hall."

Sam blinked.

Once.

Then frowned.

"With the way you two are waiting at my door," she said dryly, "it’s like I committed a crime or something."

Brynhild laughed.

The sound rang warm through the quiet clearing.

She closed the distance between them without hesitation and embraced her.

Sam let out a slow breath and stepped into the embrace.

Her arms wrapped around Brynhild’s shoulders.

Brynhild held her easily.

"It’s been a while," Brynhild said softly. "Since we actually talked."

Sam exhaled against her shoulder.

"...It has."

Brynhild tilted her head slightly.

"Are you avoiding me?"

Sam pulled back just enough to look at her face.

Then she glanced sideways.

Straight at Orion.

Orion lifted an eyebrow faintly, making her sigh.

"I was about to lie," she admitted. "But he’s standing right there."

Brynhild laughed again.

"So you were avoiding me."

Sam pressed her lips together.

"...Yes."

Brynhild’s expression softened.

"Why?"

Sam hesitated. Her jaw tightened slightly as she spoke quietly.

"I didn’t want things to be awkward. In case things between me and Tobias don’t work out."

Orion’s gaze sharpened.

"Have you met Tobias?" he asked.