Dreamless

soon.
    Helen was unbelievably happy that Orion had finally gotten back in touch with her, but she still felt uneasy. It didn’t feel like he’d forgiven her. She would have given a lot to be able to see his face or hear his voice instead of settling for what had to be a text written hastily while he was driving.
    She came in for a quick landing in her backyard and ran into the house.
    “Do you have any idea what time it is?” Jerry hollered as she bounded past him, heading for the stairs.
    “Four minutes to eleven,” Helen hollered back as she ran up the stairs and straight into the bathroom. “Punish me tomorrow, okay? I really need to get into bed!”
    She could hear her dad mumbling angrily to himself downstairs about how nice things had been when Helen was nine. In a rather loud voice, he remembered how thoughtful she’d been at that age, how she did everything she was supposed to do, and then he asked the ceiling why daughters couldn’t just stay nine forever. Helen ignored him as she washed her face and brushed her teeth.
    Helen couldn’t stop to think about anything but meeting Orion. She had no idea what she was going to say to him, but that didn’t matter. She just had to see him.
    Before entering her room she put on warm socks and boots that she kept in the hallway, just in case it was as cold in there as it was outside. The door stuck. She pushed it open forcibly, making the wood of the lintel groan as she burst through the entryway. Her first steps crunched, like she had stepped on a carpet of corn flakes. Looking around, Helen saw why.
    The entire room was covered in hoarfrost. The dresser, the bed, the floor, even the walls glinted sliver-white with layers of feathery ice. Her breath puffed out in front of her like a billowing cloud of smoke. Tilting her head back in disbelief, Helen saw the small fingers of icicles hanging down like crystalline buds above her bed. It had to be at least ten or fifteen degrees colder in her room than it was outside. How could that even be possible? She suspected it had something to do with the Underworld. Helen remembered that the cave that led to Orion’s portal had been freezing cold.
    Shutting the door behind her and desperately hoping that her room would melt by morning, Helen shivered and pulled back the covers on her bed. Ice flakes rose up and danced around the room, like handfuls of glitter tossed in the air. The clock on her bedside table read 11:11. Zipping her jacket up as high as it would go, Helen gritted her chattering teeth in determination and climbed between the stiff, cold sheets.
    When Helen appeared next to him Orion was already walking down the infinite beach that never led to any sea.
    “Hi,” he said shyly, like it was the first time they had ever met.
    “Hi, yourself,” Helen said back in what she hoped was a spunky way. She was really nervous, and desperate to lighten the mood between them. “So, are we pals again or did you just come down here to tell me where I can shove my quest?”
    Instead of laughing, Orion smiled sadly at her. Helen swallowed down the tight feeling that was building in her throat. She didn’t know what she would do if Orion stopped helping her. She might not ever see him again.
    “I’m sorry ! I’m really, really sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to stab you!”
    That sounded terrible. Helen felt her eyes start stinging. Orion got downright panicky at the sight of her tears. If Helen wasn’t so upset, the expression on his face would have been funny.
    “Whoa! Back up, I’m not mad at you at all. In fact, you should be mad at me .”
    “Why would I be mad at you?” Helen asked, bewildered. She wiped at a leaky eye with the back of her hand and tried to see his face. He wouldn’t look at her.
    “I forced you, Helen. I was trying to—” He broke off and took a moment before starting over. “There have been Scions from the House of Rome who could control hearts so well that even members of enemy Houses could be together and talk to each other like the Furies weren’t even there. I know I’m strong enough to do it too, but I’ve never had anyone to teach me how. I was trying to do it in the cave with you, but instead I did something I promised myself I’d never do to another person. I manipulated you. I made you kiss me, and I’m so sorry.”
    “I’m not,” Helen responded so quickly she nearly cut him off. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she talked over him. “If you hadn’t, I