Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune, #2)

by Chloe Gong

Orion flinched. Now it was Rosalind’s turn to clutch his hand in reassurance, interlacing their fingers together.

“You listen to me,” he said, grabbing Rosalind’s face with both hands. “You are bound to me in matrimony. If you break it and descend into another plane of existence, I will chase after you and snatch you back.”

“Says the government, maybe?” Rosalind retorted. “Since when did you care about what the government says?” “The other option is religiously bound matrimony, and I don’t think either of us believes in anything.” I believe in you, Orion thought. Before I put my faith with anything, I would put it with you.

The man who had introduced himself as Marshall was speaking to him, rummaging through a small briefcase on the coffee table. When Orion looked around the hallway, as if there might be someone else instead, Marshall rolled his eyes and gestured for him to come closer.

Orion didn’t realize what was so funny until Benedikt turned to Marshall and gave him a look, at which point Marshall most certainly remembered what Orion was talking about. He held still for a long moment. His expression froze, as if he were mentally running through the night after the drink.

He grabbed Benedikt’s wrist to drag him along, saying, “Wipe that frown away, nae sarang. It’s tarnishing your beautiful face.” “Is my face so beautiful?” Benedikt retorted. He collected his bag too, then waved at Roma and Juliette. It seemed neither he nor Marshall were wanting to make a big matter out of their goodbye. “Was it beautiful that night you were off in the White Flower cabarets instead of at home?” “You were a full year away from saying anything to me—” “So now it’s my fault you were off flirting with other men?” “Jealousy is adorable on you—”

“Don’t worry. They do that all the time.”

“Beloved,” he said at once. “What are you up to?”

“I tainted every vial!”

“If you must be angry at me, be angry that I was willing to risk Oliver’s safety to get Orion back. But I am a double-, triple-, quadruple-crosser by nature. I was never going to aid her fully. I was going to get what we needed, give her the illusion of cooperation, then tug the carpet out from beneath her.”

“Of course I was committed to her beyond what was acceptable for the mission. I was so fascinated because I could see the parts of you in her. I’ve loved you this whole time, just split in two.”

Phoebe kissed him in apology. Though she was still holding the pistol in one hand, her other dug into his hair, holding him as close as she could, her lips pressed right where she could taste blood. For a moment, Silas was frozen, unresponsive. Then he leaned in too,

“Will they punish you for this?” “It doesn’t matter,” he answered without hesitation. “My mission has never been more important than you are.” Her heart was making a racket against her ribs. “Don’t die,” she whispered. “I’m not done hitting you.”

“Whatever happens,” Orion said, “I love you.” “Oh, shut up.”

“Only making sure you didn’t get plucked away, sweetheart. I have confusing news.”

come in. Sweetheart?”

“Let me just start off by saying I am a responsible brother….”

“I don’t mean to alarm you,” Orion wheezed inside the corridor. “But I can’t feel my arms.” “I am plenty alarmed.”

“It’s me!” Alisa exclaimed. “What the hell happened out there? Why are you covered in blood?” “Good news,” Orion supplied from behind her. “It’s mine.”

“I can’t,” he replied weakly. “It swoons when you’re around.”

“Are you hurt?” Silas demanded. Phoebe shook her head. The crash of adrenaline struck hard. Her lip wobbled, an onslaught of tears filling her eyes. “Oh, no, no, no—” Silas wrapped his arms around her again, pressing her tightly into him. “It’s all right. You’re all right.”

“You need to get me more bullets.” “Done.” He kissed her temple, and the sensation overrode everything else that tried to cling to her with heaviness. “I’ll get you the world if you need it.”

“Are you still conscious?” she demanded. “Keep sweet-talking me and I’ll be just fine, beloved.”

“You were the one stubborn enough to say you would descend into another plane of existence to fetch me if I died,” she snapped, as if he could hear her, as if he stood in front of her healthy and well to take her chiding. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, Orion. What are you doing swapping our places?” He had the heart of gold. She was the cataclysmic mess. If asked to turn it around and choose Orion’s life over hers, she would do it, but she didn’t know how. She wasn’t built to be the savior—she was only a girl afraid of the world, and then Orion had come along to pull her out of the pit she had dug herself.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered into the silence. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Your life is mine as mine is yours—do you understand me? You are not allowed to die.”

“Who was yelling at me?” he rasped. “I heard it all the way in the afterlife.”

“Who do you think?” she managed. “It sounded like my wife.”

“Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going to leave?” Rosalind drifted closer. “You heard me earlier?” Orion shook his head. He sighed, bringing her hand up and pressing her fingers to his face. “I didn’t hear anything before I woke up. I’m talking about what you said to me after I’d lost my memories. Eventually you’re going to leave. I won’t. I won’t ever. I just defied death itself to prove my point.”

Phoebe wouldn’t put her gun down, and Silas was still tied to the government. Yet when Phoebe had free time, she was sneaking into his house.

“Beloved, it’s for you.” Rosalind blinked stubbornly. “No, it isn’t.”

The sky itself says I love you. I have loved you since we weren’t actually married, and I can’t bear another day living in a falsity. Please, Rosalind, put me out of my misery.”