Violet Eyes

54: Rising Tensions

The next morning, Nyx left Nate's room quietly so as to not wake him. A small bit of movement caught her eye down the hall, she looked to see Orion for the first time since they all got back.

"Hey, where have you been?" She asked him, catching his attention. Orion shuffled uncomfortably for a moment and was struggling to look Nyx in the eye.

"I uh...I'm not sure I belong here, that's all." He said quietly as he glanced at her. Nyx narrowed her eyes slightly before she turned her body towards him.

"What makes you think that?" She asked him as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's just...everyone here keeps staring at me. They look at me like I'm a criminal, I mean, they're right but..." Orion trailed off and didn't finish his sentence.

"They are not right, Orion." Nyx said with a calm tone, causing Orion to look up at her with a nervous curl to his lips. "You of all people should know that you aren't to blame for any of this. Kuroi was the one who forced you into this, you didn't have a choice. I probably would've done the same thing if I was in your situation." Nyx spoke calmly to try and alleviate some of Orion's worries. It seemed to work slightly, his shoulders relaxed and he took a deep breath. Nyx approached him slowly and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, bud. It'll get easier, you're still new here. And if anyone ever gives you any trouble, come find one of us and we'll throw them out the nearest window." Nyx said with a small smile, Orion tensed for a moment before a nervous smile spread across his lips.

"Thanks." He said quietly with a nod before he walked down the hall to go outside.

Nyx watched him leave until she couldn't see him anymore, she stared off into space for a moment before she turned and entered her room. Nyx closed her door behind her and lifted her shirt up over her head. She dropped the shirt into the ground as she walked into her bathroom. She needed a shower, even if it meant she was alone with her thoughts. She turned on the water and finished stripping out of her stale clothes. After she had adjusted the water to a comfortable temperature, she stepped inside. The subtle headache she had almost instantly subsided as the hot water pelted her head and ran down her back. Nyx closed her eyes as the warmth started to soothe her troubled mind, but it still started to wander. Mostly, she was worried about Oliver, which confused her. He was such a sarcastic and vindictive ass, but she was still worried. The fear she felt when Oliver was split open from Orion's dragons...the realization she had when he was on the verge of death and only told her to run. He had rushed her back to Sanctuary after Kuroi ran her through, didn't even wash the blood of his hands before he knew she was okay...but now he was avoiding her, even acting rudely towards her.

After Nyx had finished cleaning herself, she stepped out of the shower as she wrapped a thick black towel around herself. Her attention was quickly caught by her phone screen lighting up from an incoming text. She looked at the screen and saw a message from her mother.

Come to my office as soon as possible, I have a new mission for you.

Nyx groaned softly as she shut her eyes, she was irritated that her mother wasn't giving her more time to recover. Then, she thought that it may be possible that this was a mission that was rather important, so she was entrusting it to Nyx and Oliver. Well, it'll give me a chance to talk to him. She thought to herself as she stepped out of her bathroom to get her clothes. After getting dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a black tank top, she opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a hair tie. She pulled up her long black hair into a ponytail before she picked up her phone and slid it into her back pocket.

As Nyx stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, she ran into Rhys. "Oh, hey. What have you been up to?" She asked him casually as they stopped in the lobby to chat.