Page 84 of Boundless

The fuckingasshole!

He knew what would happen. He knew he wouldn’t survive it. Raja barely had when she broke Rune’s curse, and that’s while those dragon bones took most of the hit when the magic fired back. He knew he wouldn’t survive it, and he did it anyway.

“I’m sorry, Wildcat. I was prepared for it, but he didn’t give me a chance. He absorbed the curse as it came—I couldn’t stop it,” Rune whispered, and I knew that. He wouldn’t have even known because nobody else could hear Vair speak but me. But even if he could, he wouldn’t be able to stop it. Vair was a stubborn creature. He’d have found a way around whatever Rune tried.

God, I was shaking. If he hadn’t held me as tightly as he did, I would have fallen apart limb by limb. I was breaking.

The horse continued to move. The tears didn’t stop coming—couldn’tstop, but it was okay. Rune kept me against his chest, his lips pressed to the top of my head, and he let me come undone, then put myself back together again.

It took a while, but eventually I stopped shaking.

A little longer, and the tears had dried on my cheeks, too.

My face felt swollen. I had no idea how long I’d cried, or how long we’d ridden, or how far we’d come—all I knew was Rune. His arms and his warmth and his scent and his kisses. His whispers in my ear.

When I finally gathered strength to sit upright and look around, the sight of all those soldiers lining both sides of a wide bridge took my breath away.

“Steady,” Rune said—must have felt me freezing. “We’re safe. We’re in the Midnight Court, Wildling. We’re okay.”

I moved.

Holding onto his shoulders, I pushed myself up and to the side, and I sat on his lap with my back to his chest, the saddle just barely wide enough to fit me.

My God, we really were in front of the gates to the Midnight Court. The sky above us was dark, no moon in sight, and behind us was Maera, riding on one of the wolves. One of thetwowolves, not four. Only two, which made me think the others had spread out to search for something.

Maera smiled when our eyes met, and it was forced. She was not comfortable, and it was easy to see from the way she held her shoulders.

I tried to smile back before I faced forward again, a little panicked, a lot afraid.

“Rune, are you sure they won’t stop us? They won’t stop Maera?” Because there were over a dozen soldiers in front of us, on the sides of that bridge that I’d crossed alongside Vair the lasttime I was in the Midnight Court. The gates were open, and the soldiers were all armed, all watching us, waiting…

“I’m sure. We’re safe, I promise you. Please don’t be afraid, wildling.”

His every word rang true—and then it hit me.

I turned halfway, looked up at him as he stared ahead, his arms at my sides, a hand on the horse’s reins, the other around my waist, just under my breasts.

“You’re…”

“The king, yes,” Rune said, and again, he flinched, just like before. “We’re going to be okay.”

Yes, because he’s the actual Midnight King.

And the soldiers on the sides of the bridge bowed their heads when we were close enough, while the large gates on the other side opened wider.

Nothing about this place had changed. The border of the kingdom didn’t rise like a wall, but it sank, carved deep into the land for over fifty feet. It wasn’t a river. There was no water here, just a large hole wrapped around the edge of the Midnight Court.

The horse we rode on was as big as all horses I’d seen in the fae realm, except its coat was a black so deep he could have been made out of the night sky itself. He held his head up and his every step was precise. Rune made sure I didn’t slip off the saddle, but I was still terrified of what we’d find when we crossed through those large gates.

The Midnight Court was dark.

Last time, there had been only guards and the people who’d come through with their carriages. This time, there were plenty of guards as well, but there was also a huge crowd right off the gates, and they were all there to see Rune.

A bad feeling settled in my gut. I squeezed Rune’s hand over my stomach, and my magic reacted right away, tearing down my arms with such strength I had to grit my teeth to keep thepain inside. Every alarm in my head was ringing. I expected the worst, of course. I except to be attacked any second, and…

Then the people stepped back and bowed.

We passed down the wide, cobbled path, and the soldiers remained on either side of it, and behind them the crowds of countless Midnight fae were bowing their heads, their hands to their chests.