With a furious burst, I yank at the restraints locking my wrists. The loud clang echoes through the chamber to mock me. Orion isn’t even technically a Gemini. My whole damn profile was off because of ashift in the sky. And I completely overlooked a thirteenth constellation.
I draw in another shaky breath to stem the fury, and a flash of light guides my gaze across the dark. Awkwardly using my shoulder, I clear the tangle of strands from my eyes. My jacket lies on the floor, right where Orion left it discarded. And underneath—my phone lighting up with a call.
Frantic, I extend my leg, straining to reach the hem with my toe. Years of punishing discipline rush back. Yet despite all my rigorous practice, my muscles burn from neglect, falling short.
I slump against the telescope pier, wrists throbbing. Calming myself further, I mentally comb through everything that happened before, desperately searching for any way out of this.
…when the celestial bodies align in syzygy, I can’t be anywhere near you.
Orion’s words come back to me, ominous and damning.Syzygy.Alignment.His fixation on symmetry was a blatant warning.
I should’ve recognized the pattern.
The law of symmetry was right there, a rule written in his fucking stars. We don’t simply crave balance and harmony?—
Weneedit.
Just as celestial bodies align during an eclipse, our minds seek that same balance, unifying opposite aspects. Jungian psychology, the unity of opposites. Conscious and unconscious. Masculine and feminine. Shadow and self. What that innate desire for symmetry drives us toward: completeness.
For every good, there’s a bad.
For every truth, a delusion.
For every prey, a predator.
And my hunter…
He needed his victim.
A hot surge of anger floods the constricted chamber of my heart. Orion failed to complete his ritual with his last victim. He wouldn’t just be compelled to finish it—he’dneedto. The compulsion too strong to deny.
Any feelings he harbors for me simply became warped, entangling me deeper into his fixation.
From the first moment I laid eyes on Orion, I recognized the break in him. And I manipulated it, employing dark psychological tactics to infiltrate his habitat. My methods worked so damn well, in fact, I infiltrated straight into his obsession—as his fuckingvictim.
God, I really didnotsee that coming. Especially when I spent the past few days focused on trying to help him. I just thought we had enough time.
But Orion is driven by his need to complete the pattern, to fill the void. He can’t stop searching for what’s lost, what’s missing?—
Shit.
At the thought, I twist my body, angling my cuffed wrists enough that I can dig my fingers into my skirt pocket, groping for the object hidden there.
Pinching the slender brass between my fingertips, I painstakingly pick at the left cuff lock. Thankful I had the patience to learn how.Thank you, Darby.
When the locking mechanism clicks, I slide my wrist free, not giving myself a moment to brace before I tear the tape away from my mouth. I stifle a cry and immediately drag in a full breath to fill my lungs before I pick the second cuff, slipping it off my wrist.
One second where I savor the relief, then I make a dash toward my phone. I toss my umbrella and jacket aside and grab the device, my heart clenching as I light the cracked screen.
One missed call from Darby.
A torrent of rage and panic batters my resolve.No—not yet.
I claw my fingers through my tangle of hair, facing the bank of windows. The storm has subsided to a misty rain, leaving behind a bruised sky in its aftermath. Dark clouds block most of the sun, one thin blade of light bleeding through.
Determined, I flip the phone over to pop out the SIM card. If Darby has this number, then he’s already tracking me. I halt as the screen illuminates again, his number displayed across the screen. Dread clamps my ribs like a vise.
Indecision weighs on my shoulders as I stare at the phone, taking measured steps toward one of the panoramic windows. Resigned, I accept the call and bring the phone to my ear.
