Page 139 of Shattered Jewel

An image forms in my mind’s eye, a small boy with Axe’s eyes, shoulders hunched against unseen blows, his scarred hands cradling a fragile hope he refused to relinquish. In that fleeting moment, I see the child Axe had locked away, still clutching the jagged pieces of a family he never knew, begging to give him his dad back.

“NO!” Axe roars, throwing himself at the High Sovereign. His voice cracks open, exposing a depth of anguish I know will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Axe is relentless, his strikes targeted. Each landed punch carries the weight of his pain, his anger, his fear of losing the father he’s only just found.

Blood splatters across the stone floor while panic rises in my chest. I want to throw myself into the fray, to do something—anything—to help. But I’m stuck, paralyzed by my own lack of ability.

Orion is unmoving on the ground, his red cloak pooling around him like spilled blood, mixing with Orion’s actual blood.

I fall to my knees beside him.

Pulling up the heavy velvet of his cloak from his body, I reveal a gory wound. Everything around me loses focus as I press my hands against the slash across his stomach, trying to slow the crimson tide flooding out.

“Stay with me, Mr. Devereaux.”

We can’t lose him, not when there’s so much left unsaid, so much Axe deserves to hear.

I focus solely on Orion, on the shallow rise and fall of his chest, his labored breathing. His gray eyes latch onto mine.

“Elara Wraithwood,” he rasps out as I cling to his hand, his firm grip reduced to a weak squeeze. “I knew your father. Replaced him.”

I swallow against the lump in my throat. Outside my bubble of despair, Axe and the High Sovereign continue their clash of death. Each grunt, each smack of their bodies against the cold floor serves as a grim metronome counting down Orion’s life. Thankfully, I hear Wilder coming to Axe’s rescue and Kaspian’s declaration to find the Scourge and peel his skin off his bones before he gets to my best friend.

“You better not die on me before you give Axe the answers he needs,” I plead with Orion. “You’re his father.”

Orion’s gaze strays towards Axe, who is now pinning the High Sovereign against the wall, delivering blow after blow with a vehemence that only stems from personal vendettas.

“I didn’t … fix it in time,” Orion whispers, his voice so faint I can barely hear it over the melee. “I smuggled a letter to Kaspian, trying to lead him in the right direction, to bring them here. Too late, I realized that discovering our sacrificial altar didn’t lead you anywhere but to your demise.”

“Orion,” I beg him, “Who killed Maverick? Why the greenhouse? Why cover it up as a burglary? Please, tell me.”

“Maverick... he was on the cusp of becoming one of us, a full member. His final test ... cultivate a rare poison in your greenhouse. But he discovered ... his father's research. Realized our true nature. He was going to expose us ... using your father’s evidence. I found out. His access of your father’s electronic files sent an alert to me. Maverick was careless, just once. But once was enough. Had to act fast. The greenhouse ... it was supposed to be his triumph. Became his tomb instead. Couldn’t risk my companions getting to him first and his … torture. Too much at stake. Had to be quick ... clean.”

“You killed him,” I whisper brokenly. “He was one of you. And you disposed of him. Like he was nothing.” I lean in close to Orion's fading face. “You took him from me.”

His eyes flutter closed momentarily before opening again.

“Darian ...Wraithwood,” he croaks, his voice parched. “We made a pact. For our children.” His gaunt features crinkle as he grimaces in pain, choking back blood. “Marianne ... Axton ... you and your brother ... safe.”

His implications brand my heart with an exposed, scalding ache.

“I failed,” Orion admits.

His voice is nothing but a wheeze, the confession barely audible above the havoc that rages just feet away. His hand tightens around mine with what little strength he has left.

“I owe Axton everything,” Orion confesses. “His mother... Marianne...”

I blink back tears. “Why did you leave him? He was abused. He suffered so much.”

“Marianne was always safe,” Orion pants out, his voice strained as he clings onto consciousness. “I made sure of it. What Silas said—the High Sovereign—is a lie I told him. She did not die. She’s hidden until the Sovereigns fall. But Axe... Couldn’t get to him without exposing Darian’s plans to dismantle everything.”

My hands, stained with Orion’s blood, seize against his skin.

“Promised Darian...” He coughs, each word grating against his throat like sandpaper. “That I would keep you and Axton ... from discovering the truth. My miscalculation. The two Sovereigns ... they were onto me, so I had to become just like them or risk Axton’s life.”

Choked sobs escape my throat as I hold onto Orion’s hand tighter.

“You left him in that hell,” I say, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

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