Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ORION

T he yeti smiled, pink clouds puffing from its nostrils.

"Noah?" the female said. "What are you?—"

"Hello again." Dawn addressed me. Noah was gone, taken over by this pink nightmare.

Dead? Possessed? Stars only knew.

"Noah!" the female bellowed.

Dawn turned its yeti head and pursed its lips. A stream of pink smoke blew out, gently hitting the other yeti in the face. She sneezed, rubbing her eyes, spitting to clear her mouth.

"Noah…" she said again, then fell backwards. "What have you done to me?"

Dawn's gaze bore into me. "Look at you, trapped in the snow like trembling prey. Amusing. I admire your efforts to escape. A testament to a fighting spirit."

The female yeti whimpered, sneezing ten times in quick succession.

"I hear and see and feel and learn and devour through my children," Dawn continued. "It is how I grow. It is how I will be free."

I shivered in response.

"Now you die, cherry fae. You die because hope must die. Your precious wolf clings to hope, to you, to my undoing."

Miko…

Dawn shook the yeti's head. "I cannot be undone. This is my beginning."

What about the two years you took to destroy humanity? I thought. Don't they count anymore?

Without another word, Dawn grabbed me by the neck and hoisted me out of the snow, cutting off my breathing with a crushing grip. I kicked my legs, landing useless blows to the big body.

"This is him!" it cried. "He started the fire!"

A group of yetis roared, crashing through the snow. Dawn tossed me into their path. I went straight through the white stuff to make another me-shaped hole.

Pixie balls!

I clambered to my feet, the yetis picking up speed.

"Tear him apart!" Dawn cried maniacally.

Assbug!

I got moving, wading east as fast as possible, nowhere near quick enough. And looking back served no purpose other than to test the limits of my bladder.

Crap. Talk about doomed.

No! Stop saying that!

That was all well and good for my inner voice to say, but those yetis were fast and experts at crossing the snow, built for the cold. Not like me, my teeth chattering, skin numbing under the relentless iciness.

A buzzing in my pocket, a more twinkly sounding beep bringing me to a stop.

"Wendy?" I breathed.

Heat bloomed in my jeans, the buzzing intensifying against my thigh. I fished Wendy from my pocket, having to squint under the glare of her golden light.

"No!" Dawn roared.

My hand became one with the light, filling with heat just like the last time Wendy had?—

Everything became gold and sparkly, carrying me away from the snow, depositing me in the Forest of the Lost.

"We're back here?" I questioned between catching my breath.

Wendy beeped at me, the golden bee on the screen fluttering with a crown on its head.

My heart twinged, her little sounds bringing tears to my eyes. She'd been my rock from the day I found her. Always by my side, always my comfort against loneliness. I'd spent plenty of time playing with her, cleaning her poop, feeding her, all those things you did with a virtual pet. And even though she didn't speak, her beeps always felt like she spoke to me from her tiny digital world.

Only, she wasn't tiny. She was a giant, a queen who'd come into my life to save my love.

Beep, beep, beep.

She sparkled in my palm, the gently falling snow never landing on us.

"What happens now?" I asked.

The bee disappeared, replaced with tiny text. I held her closer to my face to read it.

I'm awake now. Give me sixty seconds precisely.

"Until what?" I asked.

The text vanished, the bee back.

Okay. Fine. I could wait, even if my right foot jigged of its own accord.

Numbers appeared on the screen when the final stretch began. I counted with them, anticipation so thick it might suffocate me.

"Three. Two. One."

The screen went dark, Wendy's casing cracking like an egg. I held my breath, watching it wobble, tiny pieces of glass breaking off into my hand.

A wing appeared first, then a leg, then another wing, then more legs. Next came the stinger, the antennae, the mandibles, her eyes, the final piece of the glass falling off her back.

"Stars…" I whispered in amazement.

She resembled a honeybee, but every part of her was a different shade of gold. Her eyes were metallic-like, shining brightly. When she fluttered her wings, golden dust sprinkled across my skin.

"Wendy?" I said, completely flabbergasted.

Should I address her formally seeing as I was in the presence of a queen?

I tried it. "Your Majesty…" My voice came out as a squeak.

Wendy took off, flying up to be level with my face. "No need for that, Orion. Wendy will do. I like Wendy."

By the stars, she sounded exactly like Julie Andrews! I flashed back to a happy evening watching The Princess Diaries a few years back—having imported it from Earth on DVD. Goodness, I loved that movie, and it kickstarted an obsession with the rest of Miss Andrews' work.

"I, erm…" What did I say to my friend?

"Thank you for finding me when you did." She turned her tiny body to face the biggest tree with the hole carved into it. "Come inside. We'll talk while I work."

Work. Her work meant making honey, which in turn meant Miko stood a chance of?—

My mate. My mate wasn't safe. Fear chewed on my soul, pushing me toward the edge of losing my mind.

"Miko?" I reached out to him, searching for a connecting point. " Please answer me. I'm so scared. I don't… I can't… Please be okay…" Goodness. The tears came hot and fast.

"Follow me," Wendy said, flying toward the tree.

I followed, the dead leaves crunching under my feet.

"Miko, please ."

A slight crackle, the thumping of his heartbeat breaking through.

Yes. That was him. Still alive, still fighting on.

"Miko?"

Oh, stars! What if this distracted him and?—

"Ori?"

His voice brought me to a stop, relief slamming into me like a battering ram.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I am, now I've heard your voice."

"Same, cherrypie."

I wiped the tears away, giggling. "What about you?"

"Picked up Basil's scent. Going after him right now."

"Sorry. I'm distracting you."

"You're boosting me."

I smiled.

"What's up on your end?" he asked.

"Wendy's awake," I said.

A crackle in our connection sounded like a gasp. "She is?"

"I'm not sure what happens next."

The queen bee hovered by the big tree.

"I'm following her into a tree. Think she's about to start making the honey."

"Shit," Miko said. "The astonished kind of shit."

I giggled again. " Agreed."

"And the yeti?"

"She's dead. I'll save that story for when I see you."

He growled. "Even if she is dead, I really want to kill her. Did she hurt you?"

"I'm okay."

Another protective growl. "I'm coming after you real soon."

"I'm coming for you," I countered.

"I love you."

I wanted to cry again. " Love you, too. "

"I'd better get back to this. I don't want to stop talking but…" He sighed. " Fuck."

"I can't wait for the reunion," I answered.

"See? You're boosting me again."

I felt it, a surge of happiness peppered with love, and just a pinch of lust.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

"Goodbye for now," I said. "Love you, love you, love you."

"I love you, Orion Bloom. Looking forward to kissing you again. Bye."

We ended the connection.

"Is everything okay?" Wendy asked, flying back over, scattering golden dust everywhere.

I nodded. "Sorry. I'm ready now."

Movement in the trees, those damn watching orbs still spying on us.

Wendy buzzed, the sound similar to her beeps. "Ignore them."

"Is the king spying on us?"

"Yes. Probably."

Oh, stars. "Aren't you worried?"

She flew forward a little bit. "I've been worrying my entire life, Orion. Come inside, we'll talk. It's about time I got to work on saving Miko's life."