Page 83 of Boundless

“And Vair?” Because it occurred to me now that Vair would have known that I was here already. He’d have found me, even before Rune did. He always knew, and…

I looked around us, at the forest, the trees, but there was no silver-white snow lynx walking toward me.

“Nilah,” Rune whispered, calling my eyes to his fist that he’d raised between us as he slowly opened his fingers. Except therewas no bird made out of blueish-white light in the middle of his palm, waiting to greet me. Instead, there was this cube made of what I first thought was white stone, but no. It felt smoother when I picked it up, possibly marble, and it wasn’t just a square piece, but it was engraved all over. Almost like those Minecraft animals.

On one side was the engraving of a face I knew well.

It was Vair’s face. Vair’s eyes. Vair’s whiskers, and Vair’s ears.

“I’m sorry,” Rune was whispering, but his voice seemed to be coming from very far away, and I couldn’t even see the cube in my hand anymore because there were too many tears competing to come out of my eyes first. They turned the world into a blurry mess, and my legs refused to hold me, and my heart was beating like it might want to break me from the inside.

The eyes, the shape of his jaws, his ears, his tail—the little cube was indeed Vair, and it was wrong.

Vair was an animal. A silver-white snow lynx,nota piece of marble.

My mind was shutting down so fast. The pain was so much, sobig,like an ocean sucking me under while I struggled to breathe, to hold on, to stay above the surface.

What the hell is happening?!asked a voice in my head, and I didn’t know, but it happened fast. It happened all at once until I was completely lost in the darkness and couldn’t even hold onto Rune’s voice anymore.

My eyes opened only halfwayand I was calm. I was half seated and I was moving, but I was secured tightly with an arm aroundmy back. Rune’s arm. My head was against his chest, just under his chin, and my legs were over his, my ass against the edge of the saddle.

We were riding on a horse together. Just like we did that time.

Something inside me ached, but my thoughts were still muddy, my vision still blurry. My heart was light, though. Feather light now.

Breathing in deeply, I let the scent of him wake me up all the way. My God, I’d missed him more than I knew how to even understand. He smelled of old leather and shadows andsecrets, and one hundred percent Rune. He was warm. He was safe.

He was my home.

Tears pricked the back of my eyes even before I remembered the last time I’d been awake. You’d think by now nothing would surprise me anymore. You’d think having witnessed all I’d witnessed since I entered Mysthaven with Maera, I’d reach the limit of what could shock me, but no.

What used to be Vair was now a small cube made of marble, and I had no clue what the hell to make of it.

“Good morning, Wildcat. Did you rest?”

His voice slipped into my ears like it was trying to seduce me. I smiled despite the pain in my chest, and I moved despite how heavy my limbs felt. I straightened up a little and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, pressed my lips to the side of his neck, felt alive when he nearly crushed me to his chest with all his strength to keep me there.

“I think so,” I finally said. “You’re here.” Whereverherewas—it didn’t really matter.

The horse we were riding stopped moving. Rune’s lips pressed against mine gently.

“I’m sorry, wildling. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner.”

“I don’t care,” I said because I really didn’t. He had reasons, I was sure he did. Good ones—and they still didn’t matter.

“I do,” Rune said, eyes squeezed shut like he was in pain.

I knew it hurt him. I knew how he felt—exactly howIfelt when he needed my help and I couldn’t be there.

“Why didn’t you? I was on Earth. I was banished, I couldn’t…” My voice trailed off.

Something about the look in Rune’s eyes. The piece of marble in my hand.

“I know,” he whispered, grabbing my face in his hand as he looked at me, analyzed my every feature. “We’d been trying to get the curse off you. The Midnight Palace wouldn’t let me leave, but I was trying to break the curse from the throne room with Vair. When it finally broke, he took the hit.” My poor heart. “He chose to.”

My eyes closed. A wave of tears slipped from the corners and made a mess of me within seconds. I squeezed the marble in my hand with all my strength until it hurt, and I still didn’t stop.

The asshole.