by DC Little
Mercy’s mother reached out to Orion. “Your father is not dead, my boy.” She choked on a sob. “He’s been waiting for your return and will be overjoyed to see you.”
Orion took a step back. His head whipped from face to face. “What do you mean, he’s not dead?”
No one said anything. What could they say? Shock froze Mercy in place. Time seemed to stop or at least slow down to a pace where each breath seemed to last an eternity. Hunter was Orion? The boy she had clung to as a toddler, the boy his mom cried over most nights, the reason his father saw himself as a failure, the boy that Butler’s heart wrenched for every day, the boy that she...that she… She bent over, leaning against her thighs, gasping for breath.
Strong hands wrapped around her pulling her up. “It’s okay, Little Sis. Just breathe.” Tucker whispered, and she saw his eyes assessing the situation. “The truth is now known?”
“The truth?” Orion spat out. “You knew this whole time...you knew…”
Tucker shook his head. “No, my friend. I only had suspicions. You are Orion?”
“I am.” He stood tall, shoulders back, and only slightly unbalanced.
“I think…” Her father pulled her shivering mom back into his arms. “I think we should all go inside and figure this out.”
Orion took a few steps back, shaking his head. Mercy felt his fear, his confusion, and the depth of his heartache as if it were her own. With a reassuring squeeze from Tucker, she took a tentative step toward Hunter...no, Orion...as if he were a wild creature.
“I am not sure what lies they fed you,” she said, taking another slow step toward him.
His eyes shifted from one person to the next, but avoided hers.
“My family has been praying for you, hoping for you, and waiting for you for years.” Slowly, each step brought her closer to him, she didn’t know why, but the need to touch him overpowered any of her own wild emotions.
Orion took half a step back, but his eyes finally landed on hers, and she held his gaze possessively, not letting him go.
“Please, let me explain what happened all those years ago. I will tell you everything.”
Orion shook his head, his eyes widening further, but she was close enough now. She shot an arm out and grasped his hand. The spark between them was so fierce, she thought for sure the others could feel it or see it. The contact brought his eyes right back to hers, and her heart broke as his lip trembled.
She may not fully remember the day that the coalition men ripped Orion from her arms, but a part of her did, a part of her mourned for him for the last eighteen years, and a part recognized the homecoming as soon as she had laid eyes on him trapped under that tree. Why hadn’t she been aware?
“You’re home now. Everything is going to be okay.”
She pulled him into an embrace. Their bodies quivered with the contact. She felt like the earth shook, the heavens opened, and everything disappeared except him...the Orion she had been waiting for her entire life.
>>>—ORION—<<<
Stunned, Orion let Mercy lead him away. He heard Chantry argue, but Mercy stood her ground, saying this was something Orion didn’t need to go through surrounded by strangers. The thought slipped into his muddled mind; she didn’t see herself as a stranger, and it warmed him, giving him something solid to hold on to.
His entire life had been a lie. He saw the Old Man’s scarred face, inches from his own, calling him a worthless orphan, telling him how his father had been shot in the back by someone he had called a friend. Chantry. But Orion wasn’t fatherless…
His dad was alive.
He shook his head, his mind unable to wrap around the news.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Mercy said, still holding his hand and pulling him inside their dwelling.
She sat him down on his furs, busying herself with putting herbs in the pot she almost constantly had going for tea. The shelter erupted in earthy scents, and he knew that smell now as chamomile. Bending his knees, he supported his elbows and held his spinning head.
With everything that he had been told, all the rock-his-world information, he really only had one thought repeating over and over...he didn’t have to kill Mercy’s dad. The bubble of relief came out as a wicked, releasing laugh. It shook his belly, his chest, and finally flew from his mouth with a sound of insanity.
Mercy came to his side. “I’m not sure what you find so funny.”
Her comment only made him laugh harder until he fell to his side, semi-wrapped around her seated figure in convulsing humor. He tried to speak, but only laughter erupted, shaking him until his sides hurt.
“You are seriously scaring me. Did it push you over the edge? Have you lost your sanity?” Mercy stared down at him, the line between her brows deep with concern.
Orion sucked in a breath, let out a few more chuckles, then sucked in another and another until he felt calm enter him. He kept his eyes hidden from her imploring stare but took the offered mug of tea, grateful for the herbs he knew would calm him.
Mercy waited patiently, ever watchful, as he drank his tea until it was more than halfway emptied. He sighed, letting the relaxing herbs work their magic and allowing himself the peace of release. Finally, he met her eyes.
“Laughing is better than crying.” He shrugged, but he felt anything besides lackadaisical. Everything he ever believed was being tested right here, right now. It didn’t surprise him that he found it easier to believe these strangers more than the man who had raised him. The scoundrel probably had never told the truth in his life.
He nodded to Mercy, her green eyes intense. She drew in a breath and began the story without further prompting.
“I was two when it happened, so I don’t remember it myself, but the story has been told countless times, and I feel it.” She rested her hand over her heart.
He nodded, moving into a comfortable position, focusing on the sound of her voice rather than the emotions he knew the story would pull out of him.
“My mom and I were gathering flowers in the woods. Tyler and Hannah were being matched that day. Two men,” she paused, looking at him, “coalition men, attacked my mom and me, capturing us.”
“Why are you grinning?” he asked. Thinking of her as a toddler being captured did not seem to hold any humor.
“This is my favorite part.”
“Being kidnapped?” he asked.
“No, at two years old, I had already learned to shoot a bow, and I shot one of my tiny arrows at the guy. It stuck in his chest.”
Orion felt some tension ease as he let the grin tug at his lips. “I can actually believe that.”
Mercy let out a small, laughing sigh. “It only drew blood, but it made an impression.” She sat back and turned her gaze down to the fur she had pulled over her lap. “They took us back to their camp. That’s...that’s where you and I met for the first time.”
“What do you mean? We’ve never met until you found me pinned under that tree.”
Mercy nodded and lifted her eyes to him. “You were four or five. They held you and your dad prisoner.”
“I...I don’t remember that. That’s not…” how the story went, he finished in his head. “My dad and your dad were friends?”
“The best. My dad put your dad in charge of us, my mom, Tuck, and myself, whenever he had to leave. He trusted Uncle Butler with his life...with our lives. Of course, I didn’t remember him from that time, I was just a baby.”
“So, if my dad and your dad…” Orion clenched his jaw. It was so hard to see that in his mind. “Were friends...and my dad lived with you here...then how did he end up a prisoner of the coalition?”
“It’s a long story. In the World Before, Uncle Butler was a soldier under my dad’s command. Then after the Great Sun Storm, your dad worked for the coalition...he had to in order to keep you and your mom safe and fed. Then Uncle Butler found my dad and Arland and all the others. He escaped. My dad helped him fake his death so the coalition would care for you and your mom, at least
that was the promise the coalition had made. We didn’t know about your sister.”
“Faked his death? The timeline seems off...he faked his death, but then the coalition captured him again?”
“Yes, it was always Uncle Butler’s intent...your dad’s intent, to get you and your mom. At that time, Arland was the sole leader. He had a council that made decisions, and they decided your father couldn’t leave.”
“If that doesn’t sound familiar,” Orion muttered.
“You’ll understand more in a minute. My dad said he couldn’t keep a man from his family, because he would never be kept away himself. He had promised my mom he would never leave us again...so, he helped your dad escape.”
“Your dad helped my dad escape Zion?”
“Not here, that was First Camp.” Mercy dropped her gaze to her hands.
“There is so much.” Orion rubbed his head. “Go back to when we met.”
“You were brave, all the stories say so. You fought for your dad. He was badly beaten...really badly. He still bears the scars and the consequences. Since they had found our camp, they were...they were going to kill your dad.”
“The coalition beat him, made him give up the camp, and then decided to kill him, anyway?” Orion tried to make sense of it.
“Yes.”
“What coalition was this?” Someone that vile sounded too close to the man he knew too well.
“I don’t know the names of coalitions. We only know the one. The one that was led by the man named Meyers.”
Orion choked, coughing and gasping, not being able to draw in a breath. Mercy pounded his back and rubbed it until he calmed and could breathe again.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Of course, nothing surprised him where Meyers was concerned, but why had the Old Man lied to him?
“Yes. Couldn’t be more sure of anything. Meyers is my dad’s sworn enemy. The only one he has.”
Orion could only nod. His head swam, and he felt like he was going to lose the tea that had calmed him. Without it, he’d probably be hyperventilating.
“Meyers gave the orders to kill your father, but my mom slipped your dad my little knife. They hadn’t thought to search the two-year-old for weapons. Past my bow, at least.” She gave a small smirk before continuing. “Your dad used the small knife to kill the two guards that came to execute him, and he escaped.”
Orion leaned forward, drawn back into the story. “He left me?”
“He knew the only chance of our survival was to get my dad. We would have slowed him down. He blamed himself...for Meyers finding us. He made my mom promise to take care of you.” Mercy looked down at her hands. “She hasn’t been the same since that day, from what I’m told. There are still nights I can hear her calling your name during a nightmare.”
Orion did his best to wrap his head around everything. Why didn’t he remember any of this? Yet fragments came in brief spurts. He could see it as Mercy described the memory, smell a mixture of sweat and blood, and taste the fear.
“We huddled together, you and I, as my mom held us. When we heard the single shot, you screamed. My mom thought they had killed your dad.”
“But they didn’t?”
“They did their best. He has no use of his right arm because the shot went through his shoulder blade. If it wasn’t for my dad carrying Uncle Butler to First Camp, and Lexi and Laurie fixing his wounds, he would not have made it.”
Orion let the words sink in. Chantry hadn’t shot his dad; he had saved him. Meyers had killed him or tried to...or at least his men under his orders. Everything was a lie. For what purpose? To take his mom as his woman? To raise Orion as his own? It didn’t make sense.
“The Old Man...he...he told me that Ch...your dad shot my dad in the back. That your dad killed him.” Orion rubbed his temples, wishing he could make more sense of what Mercy told him.
Mercy laid a hand on his, the warmth and underlying tingling distracting him from the pain that tore at his chest and pounded in his head.
“I’m sorry he lied to you. I can’t imagine growing up thinking my dad was dead.”
He looked up at her, hating that his eyes stung with unshed tears. “Why...why didn’t he come back for us?”
“He couldn’t. It took him so long to recover. They weren’t sure he would. As it is, he is in no condition to fight a coalition.” Mercy dropped her gaze, and he swore he saw a tear drop into her lap. “His pain is so great. I feel it...every time I’m near him.”
She squeezed his hand, wiped her eyes, got up to fiddle with the fire, and then brought a fur to wrap around him. “You’re cold.”
“So...what happened to...us?” he asked.
Mercy sat down across from him again, close enough for her knees to rest against his. “Meyers attacked our camp. There was a great battle. It was a day that no one looks on with pride. We do not enjoy taking lives, but our families’ lives were at stake. So, my people killed...they almost wiped out the entire coalition attack force.”
“While we were still being held captive?”
“Yes, while the rest of the camp fought the last of the coalition, my dad came with Tucker and Ryan to rescue us.”
“Who’s Ryan?”
“Long story, but he was a kid back then. You’ll meet him. Right now he is on a hunt…with your dad.” She stopped.
“So, I haven’t met him. I was wondering if I had met him and didn’t know…”
“I think you will know. I’m ashamed, I didn’t see it before.”
Orion saw the sadness in her eyes as she tore her gaze away from him. His mind whirled with the emotions, and he decided sticking to the facts would be best for now. “So, your dad came to rescue us with two kids?”
Mercy shrugged. “They needed everyone else to protect the children and fight back the rest of the coalition. My dad couldn’t wait any longer. He feared Meyers would do something foolish. Tucker wouldn’t stay behind. He and Ryan blamed themselves for my mom and me getting captured.”
“Your dad’s crazy.” He shook his head. One man going against Meyers and his men. Realization hit him then. No wonder the Old Man hated Chantry.
“My dad took several hits. Almost lost his life. He would not allow Meyers to take us...at any cost. He and the boys took out almost everyone left, but two of them grabbed Meyers and, according to Meyers’ orders, a third grabbed you. My mom screamed, ran to steal you back, but the men were too fast. My dad was fading, barely alive. Tucker and Ryan ran toward you, too, but they had run out of arrows, and the coalition men had this machine on wheels that can run faster than any human. They sped away with you and the limp form of Meyers.”
Orion felt it. He felt himself reaching, screaming, not wanting to go with the men. He remembered calling a name...Mercy. Goosebumps broke out on his arms, and a shiver ran down his spine as Mercy continued.
“When your dad and my dad had healed enough, we moved camp...found Zion. Started again, praying that whatever those men wanted with us died along with those that had come after us...along with Meyers.”
“You think Meyers is dead?”
Mercy shot her gaze to him, her eyes intense as she met his. “He’s not?”
Orion swallowed, a hardness growing in his chest. “He raised me. He’s the Old Man.”
Mercy gasped, and he saw her mind working, placing things, and putting pieces together. He waited as she figured it out, holding her gaze and staying strong, watching for the slightest hint of her mind about him changing.
“Meyers sent you here.” It was a statement, and her eyes narrowed. “You were going to kill my dad.”
“That was the objective he gave me. Your dad was who I was looking for.” Orion held her gaze, even as fire from her eyes consumed him. Then his shoulders dropped along with his gaze. “I...I couldn’t do it.”
“Because you were injured.” Her words came through gritted teeth.
“No.” He lifted his eyes once more to hers. “Because of you.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
> >>>—MERCY—<<<
Mercy woke to the sound of Tucker slipping into their dwelling and scrounging around for something amongst his things. At first, she groaned, rolling over to fight back into the sleep that continued to pull her in. As she settled, she woke enough that her memory kicked in, and her eyes shot open.
Hunter is Orion.
The memories of last night flooded in discombobulated timings, and words mixed and out of order. The rush left her gasping for breath as she attempted to make sense of the night’s events, deciphering real happenings from the befuddled dreams she had afterwards.
She wanted to kick herself. She should have known that the guy she had rescued was Orion, should have seen Butler in his frame, in his strong face, his lips, and his mannerisms even. She wondered if a part of her had known but couldn’t believe it. Well, here he was, real and sleeping only feet away.
Rolling over, she caught Tucker’s eyes on her, imploring her, searching to see if she was all right. He set down the weapons he had in his hands and squatted beside her.
“You okay, Little Sis?”
“Other than feeling in the...what does Mom call it...the twilight zone?” Mercy covered a yawn and stretched under her furs.
“Yeah, that’s how she says it.” He glanced at the bundle of furs that was Orion, and her eyes followed his gaze. “I knew he would come.”
“You have been telling Mom and Butler that for years.” She pushed up on an elbow and stared back at him. “Why didn’t you tell me it was him?”
Tucker met her eyes with a small smile. “I didn’t know for sure. I had always wondered if your blue-eyed guy was Orion...guess we know now.”
Mercy lay back. It changed things, him being Orion. She had thought her fanciful, blue-eyed guy was someone who would save her from Choosing Day, but she and Orion already had a connection from when they were super young. It must have been that connection she felt when she looked at him...not the fanciful ones that preoccupied her thoughts when she was alone.
