Chapter 569: What the Gut Knows

Orion stood there, half-turned, the cool air brushing against his bare back, the faint pulse of the mark still alive against his skin.

He exhaled slowly, then glanced over his shoulder at them.

"Do you have anything else," he asked dryly, "or is ’fascinating’ the extent of your professional opinion?"

"Honestly," Madam Tyler said with a laugh, "yes. That’s all I have for you right now." She paused. "I am just as fascinated as Eldric."

Eldric hummed softly in agreement, his eyes still fixed on Orion’s back like he was trying to peel the mark apart layer by layer just by looking at it.

Then, after a beat, he spoke.

"Does Sophia have the same mark?"

Orion nodded. "She does. But hers is a bit different... it’s larger than mine."

Eldric straightened immediately. "I’ll need to see it."

Orion turned to look at him.

The look on his face could only be described as thoroughly disgusted.

"You are not seeing Sophia’s back," he said flatly.

Eldric blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me."

Eldric adjusted his glasses. "I am married, Orion," he said. "And even if I wasn’t, I would in no way be attracted to Sophia. Especially given the fact that I am into men."

"I don’t care," Orion repeated, turning away to reach for his tunic.

Eldric’s brows drew together, faint irritation surfacing now. "This is not about attraction. This is about study. Observation. Comparison—"

"And you can observe mine," Orion said flatly. "That’s enough."

For a second, it looked like Eldric was going to argue further.

Then Madam Tyler sighed softly, stepping in before it could escalate.

"Enough, both of you," she said, her tone firm but not harsh. "We are not turning this into an argument."

Eldric exhaled through his nose, pushing his glasses up again as he stepped back slightly.

Orion just kept quiet.

"I have a theory," Madam Tyler said to Orion.

Orion’s brow lifted slightly. "That’s already more than ’fascinating.’ Go on."

She gestured lightly toward his back. "That mark... the way it looks, the way it pulses — it is not just a mating mark. Or rather... it is a mating mark, but not in the way we are used to seeing."

Orion crossed his arms loosely, listening.

"Perhaps," she said, "the nature of the mark is tied to who Sophia is." She paused, letting the thought land. "Because she is the Luna."

Orion pulled his tunic over his head. "I thought of that," he said, voice slightly muffled before the fabric settled. "But I don’t know. I just..." He frowned. "It doesn’t feel like the whole answer. It feels like there’s something more."

Eldric nodded slowly. "I suspect the same." He tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "But it could also be straightforward. It could simply be that Sophia is the Luna and that is why your mark is different from others. Sometimes the answer that seems too simple is just the answer."

Orion’s frown deepened. "Then why does my gut tell me it isn’t that simple?" He looked between them. "You don’t have another idea?"

Madam Tyler was quiet for a moment.

"It still ties back to Sophia being the Luna," she said carefully. "But perhaps the reason the mark is different isn’t just her title. Perhaps it’s the connection itself. That the two of you are linked in a way that goes beyond the usual bond. You two are a match made after all."

"And so are Brynhild and Lysander, but their mark isn’t like this." Orion told her. "I don’t know why, but my gut tells me differently. I mean, I think it’s tied to the bond and the connection, but I feel like there’s something there too... something I haven’t understood yet."

He pulled the cloak around his shoulders and began fastening it.

Eldric leaned forward then, something shifting in his expression.

"Let me study them," he said. "Both marks. If I can examine them together, compare the patterns, the way they pulse, the placement—"

Orion looked at him.

Eldric had that particular glint in his eyes. Orion called it the mad scholar look. Lysander had it sometimes too, when he found something of intrigue.

For a brief second, an image flashed in his mind.

Eldric standing behind Sophia. Hands brushing her back. Eyes narrowed in concentration as he traced the mark.

Orion’s expression darkened immediately.

Yeah... no.

Absolutely not.

"That’s not going to happen," he said flatly.

Eldric opened his mouth.

"If you want to study a mark," Orion continued, "you study mine. That’s all you’re getting."

Eldric closed his mouth.

He looked like he wanted to argue but he didn’t.

Orion turned to both of them, cloak now properly fastened.

"Thank you for your time," he said. "Both of you." He exhaled. "I think I made this bigger than it needed to be. It may be minor after all."

Madam Tyler shook her head immediately.

"Don’t apologize for that," she said firmly. "And don’t dismiss it either." Her sharp eyes held his. "Sometimes the gut is right. If you feel there is more to this, then there is more to this. Keep looking for the answer. Don’t stop because we couldn’t give it to you today."

Orion looked at her for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Alright."

---

The compound was cold as usual when he stepped back out.

His boots pressed into the packed snow as he moved. The morning light sat flat across the rooftops.

He had barely made it past the shrine’s path when Noctis stirred.

Orion felt it — that particular shift, the way Noctis moved when he had something to say but was deciding whether to say it.

Orion kept walking.

"Noctis," he said quietly.

A pause.

*Yes?*

"The mark." Orion exhaled slowly. "Is it really just because Sophia is the Luna? Am I thinking too much about this?"

Noctis was quiet for a moment. Long enough that Orion almost thought he wouldn’t answer. But then he spoke up.

*You are not thinking too much,* Noctis said. *There is more to the mark than it simply being there because Sophia is the Luna. That much I can tell you.*

Orion’s steps slowed slightly.

"Then what is it?"

*That,* Noctis said, *I can only hint at. The rest you will have to find yourself.*

"Are you being stopped from telling me? Or is this just you being difficult?" Orion asked him.

Noctis sighed deeply.

*This time it is not because I am the one reminding you to find answers, and it is not me trying to be difficult,* Noctis said slowly. *It is because — just like the matter of Dolion — I do not have the authority to tell you. There are things I know. Things I would tell you if I could.* He paused before he continued. *But I cannot. Not until you find the answer yourself.*

Orion stopped walking.

He stood in the snow for a moment, the compound carrying on around him — distant footsteps, low voices, the creak of a door somewhere behind him.

"Is it linked to Dolion?" he asked quietly. "The mark. Is it connected to Dolion and the goddess?"

Noctis exhaled again.

*Orion.*

"Just tell me yes or no."

*I cannot tell you,* Noctis said.