Edge of Betrayal

Elena's Point of view:

The words hurt deeply and stayed in the tense stillness separating us. The weight of what he omitted hurt in my chest.

Though it felt like Orion was creating a wall between us brick by brick, isolating me to rescue me from a threat I couldn even define, his protectiveness was as irritating as it was appealing.

I retreated, the cold emptiness of distance replacing the comfort of his presence.

"You are not shielding me, even if you believe you are. You are simply rendering me disposable.

His head swung up, agony blazing in his eyes. " Elena, you are not disposable. You are everything.Then act as though it were natural. I yelled, the emotional barrier cracking.

"Stop treating me like some delicate porcelain doll and tell me what's really going on!""Can't!" Orion screamed, his voice thundering across the chamber.

"Because, should you know the truth, you would despise me!"His admission shocked me into stillness.

As I scrutinized him, looking for the lie, the exaggeration, but there was none, my throat constricted.

"What reality?" I wanted, approaching closely.

"What could be so horrible you think I would hate you?

"He turned aside, his shoulders slanted like though his secrets were smothering him. "I can't...... Cannot or won't?" I questioned, my voice more cutting than I had meant.

Orion whirled back, desperation flaring in his eyes. "Two! Since Elena, I lose everything if I lose you.

And knowing what I have done..." His voice stopped, the unsaid words floating like a noose.

My heart raced. Ask me.Reaching out, his hands shook as they clasped my face. "Elena, I won't stop you from leaving after this.

But you have to know... your father is dead because of me.My lungs gasped sharply as the breath left them, his words striking me like a sledgehammer.

My vision fogged, the room whirl-around me.I said, "You're lying," my voice breaking.

"I wish I were," he responded, regretting his tone. "But the truth is what it is. Death of your father, it was not an accident. It was a communication message.

A cautionary tale. Furthermore, it was designed for me.

The window broke behind us, shards shooting like jagged confetti before I could absorb his words.

Orion dragged me to the floor, his arms covering me as a bullet stuck in the wall where I had been standing.

"Stay down!" he said, his voice shrill with demand.As anarchy tore around us, my heart surged.

Outside the broken glass, shadows shifted in response to the faint gleam of weapons catching moonlight.

Orion said, "They found us," his jaw hardening as he went for his rifle.

"who?" I insisted, terror tumbling through my voice."The ones who wish to bring their work to completion.

"The door sprung open as he spoke, and a tall man with a hood covered face entered.

They raised a little gadget, the flickering red light giving the dark chamber a ghostly glow.

"Orion," the man murmured, their voice mechanical and icy.

"You have one minute to choose, her life or yours.

"The gadget beeped angrily, each sound a countdown to something disastrous.Orion's hold on me grew stronger as his eye locked with mine.

"Elena, run whatever comes of course.

No! I started to cry; my voice broke. " Not without you!

Run!" he said, eyes begging even as the beeping of the gadget accelerated.The person under the hood laughed grimly.

"Time's running out."The chamber exploded in brilliant light, then, I felt the stinging pain of terror go across me as the blazing light flooded the room.

The countdown had finished. As the tension thickened the air, my heart thudded violently, every second felt like an eternity.

The device's quiet hum seemed to me if it were alive, ready to attack.I watched Orion, his face austere, eyes fixed on me. Elena, go out right now! His voice broke with urgency and desperation pouring through his typically stern manner.

"Not without you!" I yelled, hands shaking as I went for him.

But before I could move on, the corridor outside the chamber echoed a huge crash. I felt a chilly shudder slink down my spine as the flat door shook fiercely.

Under his breath, Orion swore and drew me closer.

"They are here." Too late is what it is.

The man carrying the gadget suddenly moved forward, the brilliant light highlighting their face. I froze as a familiar, terrible smile emerged across their lips.

"You...." Whispers, the awareness striking me like a smack across the face. It was impossible.

It astounded me.Someone I had assumed to be far gone was the person before me, the one behind so much of the anarchy.

" Surprised to see me, Elena?" The voice of the person was sarcastic, frigid.

"Did you really feel you could easily escape your past?

"I drew back, my head whirling. This was the last person I had ever anticipated seeing once more.

I had thought they were dead; they had been part of the shadows, dragging threads behind the scenes.

Here they were, living, facing me, clutching my fate in their hands.Orion's mouth closed as he moved forward, his hold on me tightening.

"What do you desire, Cole?" His speech sounded like a deep growl with hardly restrained anger.

Cole grinned slowly and dangerously, and my blood froze. "I want what you have been withholding from me.

I desire Elena.The gadget beeped once again, louder this time, indicating the end was almost before I could digest his remarks.

The earth under me felt to be shaking, as though it too understood that everything was going to shift.

"Time's up," Cole murmured, his hand groping for the trigger.

Panic flickering in Orion's eyes, I could see the choice he was debating.

"No! I yelled, but too late. My chest constricted, the strain intolerable as the air around us seemed to spark with power.

The sound of far-off sirens rang in the distance as Cole's finger hung over the button.

Orion said, almost audibly, "Backup's on the way."But would that happen in time?