Chapter 13

Feeling disoriented, I struggled to sit up, only for a heavy hand to weigh gently on my chest. "Shh, careful. I don't know what the angels did to you, but they're going to pay for it. I promise."

My eyes flung open and it took me a minute to register Orion's perfect face.

He looked exactly as I remembered him, except his freckles had gone dark. They were now a spattering of ink spots over his face, but they appeared just as endearing as when they had glowed.

I was the one who glowed this time. It illuminated Orion's skin with a soft, golden aura, making me feel like I'd woken up from one nightmare only to find myself in a new dream.

Orion had found me in my dreams before. We'd made love in a meadow overshadowed by a constellation of stars. It was how I had reached him even when Calamity had hooked its claws into his mind. I still had a connection with his soul, and that was something Calamity could never touch.

But then I registered his words.

"What the twins did?" I asked stupidly while Orion withdrew his hand from my chest.

He reached over into a basin and squeezed water from a towel. It dripped pleasantly until he was satisfied that it was damp, then he leaned closer to smooth it over my hair. My skin tugged at his movements, suggesting that the gash on my forehead had been stitched closed.

He dabbed carefully, returning the towel to the basin to wash the red out of it.

"They hurt you, my star. And I don't know what they did to you that made you… human. Or whatever this is that you are now. But I'll find a way to fix it. I promise."

My mouth bobbed open and closed before the story spilled out of me. I told him all about Balthazar's deal. Seth's crystal. Everything I could think of, including Asher.

He frowned at me throughout the whole thing, not interrupting me until I was done.

"It seems they've created quite the fabricated story inside your head while they were at it. Human minds are such fragile things. That's why Calamity is working to save them all and turn them into something greater, something they can be proud of." He went to dab at my head again, but I snatched his wrist. Or rather, pressed my palm against it, because I couldn't wrap my fingers all the way around his tree trunk of an arm.

"You're not listening to me," I insisted. If I really had his sunlight, then maybe I could try to give it back. Maybe that would knock some sense into him.

He flinched away when light flared around my fingers, attempting to enter him, but a sheen of black washed over his eyes.

Calamity.

It was fighting me, not letting me give Orion what he needed to snap out of it.

"I think you need rest, little star. You're hurt and confused. But don't worry. I'm going to take care of you." He patted me on the knee like I was an errant child, then stood.

"Orion," I said through clenched teeth.

He was already halfway across the bedroom, reaching for the door.

I swung my legs over the bed, then gripped my fingers into the mattress as I handled the fresh wave of dizziness that followed.

My demigod frowned at me, clearly displeased that I wasn't resting like instructed. "I'll be back to have dinner with you, my star. Please, try not to hurt yourself until then. The angels will answer for this, then I'll return tonight to see what we can do about your situation and to make sure you eat. In the meantime, there is a snack bar with plenty of things for you to try until I'm finished."

I stumbled to my feet when he stepped through the door.

When I spotted a key he slipped from his pocket, I nearly lost it.

"Orion!" I screamed. "Do not fucking dare lock me in here!" I ran to the door just as he slammed it.

Click.

"Orion!" I beat my fists against the metal panel. It had looked like wood, but it wasn't. "Orion, are you there?" I screamed as panic surged in my throat and tears sprang to my eyes.

"No. No, no, no," I chanted as I slid down to the floor, continuing to weakly scratch at the barrier.

It was too late.

There was nothing I could do.

I had all this sunlight but nowhere to send it. My demigod was just as unreachable as anyone outside my locked room.

I had fallen into a trap, be it one set by Balthazar or fate itself.

No matter how gilded the room, I was in a cage.

And there was no getting out.

I wasn't sure how long I lay there sprawled on the floor. My screams were spent and hot tears ran down my face, evaporating before they could hit the carpet because of the stupid sunlight I couldn't get rid of. Even those eventually dried up.

At some point, I got my shit together and started to tear apart the bedroom.

There has to be something in here I can use to get out.

The room didn't have any windows, which made it a great cage. But it clearly wasn't intended to hold someone hostage. A quick tour revealed an attached bathroom and a small office with maps of different realms. There were contracts, too. Humans had sold their souls to various demons, and there was also something mentioning an eclipse that impacted realms, including the Void.

There was classified information regarding Calamity and its plans here, and I scanned it, not making sense of a single word. Kaito would have a field day with this.

Maybe this is where Orion has been staying.

The crash as I knocked everything off the desk was satisfying for a moment, so I overturned a table, then found a butter knife in the utility drawer and went to work on the pillows.

Feathers puffed into the air like snow, drifting down as my chest heaved from the exertion. Blood drizzled down my face. I'd probably popped a stitch with my little tantrum, but I didn't care.

I hadn't found a phone or anything to let the others know I was here. Cole had made sure I memorized the number to his hideout. Although, the moment I had disappeared from Hendrik's room, they'd probably had a good idea of where I'd wound up.

My stomach sank as I realized they might come after me.

I hoped they didn't, because Orion frightened me. He was completely lost and I'd never felt this hopeless.

My fingers trembled and the knife clattered onto the desk as I tried not to think about what he might be doing to the twins right now.

What would Kaito say? I asked myself, trying to get a grip.

There was nothing I could do, but I was in an office filled with Calamity's plans.

There had to be something here to help me solve this problem.

Slowly, I picked up each paper that I had tossed to the ground, now regretting making a mess of things. I had no idea what order everything had gone in, but I sorted it as best as I could.

At some point, I leaned against the desk as another wave of dizziness threatened to take me under.

Maybe I should eat something, I decided, so I ventured to the snack bar and found an apple. There was juice and a sports drink in the fridge, so I poured a glass of each, then forced myself to down them.

Asher had tried to teach me about hydrating and electrolytes when I'd been overdoing it with exercise. Being human sure was high maintenance.

But it made me feel better. I found enough energy to sit at the desk and began sorting through the documents.

While I wasn't Kaito, I had been a student at Fortune Academy for quite some time. The different soul deals, maps, and networking plans started to paint a picture.

Calamity was clearly building an army, but for what?

It couldn't just be for me or the forces of Hell. My mother had already been beaten back and was basically under siege. With the latest realm collapses, her palace was nearly on top of the Purgatory ruins, as well as the rest of the campus.

No, it had bigger plans.

And the fact that it had told Orion to lock me up in a room was my clue to what it was going to do next.

I desperately thought back to what Seth had said.

"Something about Calamity developing a taste for deities..." I pondered aloud as I shuffled through the papers.

When I found some with Orion's handwriting, I paused.

Then I read them. They were all fairly interesting, but there was one that had my eyes going wide.

Log 287

Lucifer says that Lilith should be waking up soon. Her father, the Incubus King, might be hiding information about her, so he's on his way to see for himself.

That means I'm in charge.

My experimentation can go unimpeded while he's gone. Balthazar has been a valuable resource, being our eyes and ears, as well as a link to other worlds.

I can't wait to share this with Lilith. She's going to be so happy when she comes around.

I'm going to show all of them the way. I'm the last one left, so it's up to me to make sure they see what Calamity is trying to accomplish.

Humans are horrible, pitiful creatures. I know that. My entire family knows that. They are nothing but toys to entertain the gods and they break far too easily. That's why there are so many of them.

Calamity isn't cruel. It wants a better way, a better world. So it's going to make a new one.

Prior efforts to start from scratch have failed, so it's going about it differently. I'm grateful for this new path, because it means I get to be a part of it.

We all do, assuming I can save Lilith and the others.

The angels have proven to be stubborn. I don't know what else to do but weaken them until they are forced to listen.

They'll come around. I'll just have to be more stubborn than they are.

But today… today is a special day.

Calamity started talking to me.

I didn't know it had a voice. Up until now, its desires have been conveyed by an emotional push or a need.

Now, though, it's speaking inside my head. It has chosen a male's voice and he calls himself Noctis. He's pleased and has told me that, through my efforts, I've given him enough of a foothold to begin the process of becoming corporeal.

But he needs more. He needs the power of Creation.

He needs to find a powerful god—or goddess—one who doesn't deserve their gifts, and repurpose them for himself.

I could easily name a few, but Noctis is getting ahead of himself. If he wants to mess with powers of divinity, he needs to understand how they work first.

I stupidly put my own divinity inside a tiny star. When I see her again, I'll leave it there and let Calamity sip and taste. I should have destroyed it and allowed Calamity to change me into something new. But Noctis will make use of my mistakes.

He always does.

So when Lucifer brings Lilith back to us, I'm going to kill him.

Then I'll become the Conduit and have the power to convert her myself.

Until then, there's work to be done. The twins are awake.

I think I'll start with Azrael. Samael is still going on about an incubus and me taking him off the grounds. That didn't happen. I would definitely remember it.

This is a reminder that the angels like to fabricate stories. I'll be sure not to fall for them.

— Orion.

"Holy fu—" I began, but a click at the door had my hackles rising.

I stuffed the entry into one of the pillowcases just before a looming demigod appeared in the doorway.

He grinned at the destruction, seeming amused by it. "I'm glad you've made yourself at home, little star. Now, are you ready for dinner?"