Page 5

Chapter five

T ucked into the south wing, hidden behind a set of enormous, square-arched doors, the castle library felt like stepping into another world.

Or maybe another period in time.

Cavernous, with cathedral ceilings and natural stone tiles, every step echoed throughout the room.

Every hushed breath or gentle page turn resonated with an eerie hollowness.

Thousands of books lined the walls, stacked tidily into recessed bookshelves.

All except for one stretch of space on the upper gallery that bowed outward, as if the library itself had taken a deep breath and never exhaled.

Veiled in muted earth tones, the only splashes of color came from leather-wrapped spines, their titles embossed in gold foil.

Above the swell, soft, silvery light filtered through the triple panes of the crown-shaped window, blanketing the room in a sort of gloomy academia.

And for the past week, it had been the backdrop of Keegan’s afterlife.

He ate at the mahogany coffee table in front of the fireplace, a fork in one hand and a book in the other.

He napped on the velvet settee.

He pored over words in languages he couldn’t read, in subjects he didn’t understand, until his eyes crossed and his temples throbbed.

“This is pointless.”

Slamming closed a heavy tome wrapped in burgundy leather, he crossed his arms and glared at the offending cover.

The title, A Reflection of Magic , had sounded promising, but it had nothing to do with mirror spells.

Rather, it had turned out to be little more than a soapbox thesis on the morality and ethics of magic.

Seated directly across from him at the long table, Rune looked up from his own reading.

“Let’s take a break.”

“I don’t need a break,” he snapped.

“I need answers.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Rune had been right there beside him all week, just as devoted to finding answers.

When he’d had every reason to give up on the fool’s errand, he’d stayed.

Not because of duty, but because it mattered to Keegan.

“I’m sorry.” Leaning forward, he reached across the table to grip his mate’s hand.

“I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to hurt my feelings.” A crooked smile curved one side of his mouth as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Keegan’s hand.

“I’m not telling you to give up, kaelaer. I’m saying take a break.”

He understood what his mate meant, but it still felt like giving up.

Like he wasn’t doing enough.

For all he knew, Noah was dead-dead.

Utterly, totally, erased from existence like the souls who touched the waters from the River Acheron.

Before he had been made aware of the dangers, he had almost met the same fate.

Just the thought of what could have happened still sent a chill through him.

Without him, who would save his brother?

He also felt guilty for kicking Finn.

In general, but more specifically, for assaulting the vampire when he had only been trying to save him from himself.

They really should post a sign at the dock or something.

Yet, while he had no evidence that Noah had survived and ended up somewhere horrible, the idea lingered, infecting him and festering like an open wound.

And wherever he had gone, he was trapped there alongside a raging psychopath with just enough understanding of magic to make her dangerous.

So, yes, resting felt like failure.

Worse, it felt like betrayal.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re exhausted.” Pushing away, Rune rose to his feet and rounded the end of the table.

“Come on,” he urged, holding his hand out.

“The world won’t implode if you close your eyes for ten minutes.”

With a resigned sigh, he took the lifeline, gripping Rune’s hand and allowing himself to be led away from the table to the seating area by the fireplace.

Instead of the plush sofa, however, Rune lowered himself into one of the oversized armchairs with a rounded back and high sides.

Confused but accepting, Keegan turned, intending to find his own place to curl up, but his mate caught him by the wrist, toppling him right into the shifter’s lap.

Rune repositioned him easily, turning him so that his thighs straddled the male’s hips and his knees pressed into the chair cushion.

“What are you doing?”

Not that he minded.

They had been dancing around each other all week with soft touches and looks that lingered a little too long.

Keegan wanted more. He craved it.

He just didn’t know how to ask for it.

“I’m going to tell you something, and I need to make sure you hear it.”

His pulse immediately spiked, and his mouth turned arid as his stomach clenched with apprehension.

Whatever it was, he already knew he didn’t want to hear it, but he didn’t exactly have a choice either.

He nodded.

“What happened to Noah wasn’t your fault.”

Okay, not what he had expected, but neither was it true.

“You’re wrong. If I had just left well enough alone, none of this would have happened.”

Resting his hands on Keegan’s hips, Rune squeezed, gently kneading the flesh as he studied him.

“Tyr took a bullet to the eye once while protecting Orrin.”

“Oh, my god!”

He had no idea what that had to do with him, Noah, or the man in the moon.

But while he didn’t know the Guardian apart from the stories he’d heard, he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Rune lifted a hand, waving away his concern.

“It grew back.”

He made it sound like a regular Tuesday at the office.

As if the fact that it had healed in any way lessened the trauma of being shot in the face.

Furthermore, he still didn’t know what point Rune was trying to make.

“Orrin blamed himself for a long time.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Exactly.”

Keegan huffed and rolled his eyes.

“It’s not the same thing.” He extended his index finger and poked himself in the chest. “I’m the one that said yes. To the sketchy meeting in the middle of the night. To the summoning ritual. To the tether.” He jabbed himself again, harder this time.

“I’m the one who dragged Noah into this!”

“Or,” Rune said, his tone sharp and unyielding.

“This female found you. Preyed on you. Used your grief to manipulate you by offering you the one thing no one could say no to.”

“But I let her,” he shot back, his nostrils flaring and his eyes stinging.

“If I hadn’t been so weak, no—”

His words ended in a gasp when Rune grabbed the back of his neck and brought their mouths together in a kiss filled with quiet authority.

It wasn’t demanding or possessive, just a light whisper, but for some reason, that simple touch was what finally broke him.

The tears he fought back spilled over to track down his cheeks, and his lips parted in a quiet sob.

Rune didn’t pull away, though.

He didn’t coddle him.

He just swallowed down every hitch and hiccup as he traced the seam of Keegan’s mouth with his tongue.

It was comfort and longing mixed with a gentle promise, and he clung to it, drowned in it.

Wrapping his arms around Rune’s neck, he leaned into him, giving himself over to the feelings coursing through him.

Rune growled his approval and wound an arm around his waist, surrounding him in strength and steadiness as he deepened the kiss, pillaging the depths of Keegan’s mouth.

“You aren’t weak,” Rune murmured to him when they finally broke apart.

“But you don’t always have to be strong either. You can lean on me.”

He wanted that, and it sounded great in theory, but for how long?

At what point did the newness wear off and all those soft feelings turn to bitterness and resentment?

When did his problems become burdens rather than riddles to be solved?

“I just don’t want to annoy you.”

“I won’t patronize you by telling you that won’t happen. We’re probably going to piss each other off, and things aren’t always going to be easy. I don’t have any problem speaking my mind, though, and from what I’ve observed, neither do you.”

Keegan chuckled wetly and wiped at his eyes.

“That sounds pretty accurate.”

“I may not always like what you have to say, but I still want to hear it.” Gripping Keegan’s jaw, he urged his head up, waiting for him to meet his gaze before he continued.

“You seem to be under the misassumption that this is temporary.” A growl slipped into his voice, and his beautiful blue eyes flared with golden light.

“It’s not.”

Then he sealed the vow with another kiss, this one harder, more forceful, the kind that simultaneously tamed and consumed.

It was rough, demanding, and filled with natural dominance that earned submission rather than demanded it.

The type of kiss that screamed of possession and left Rune’s name branded across his soul.

“You are mine, kaelaer .” His mate’s eyes flashed again, shining with an ethereal glow, making him look like a dark, vengeful god.

“Not mine for now. Not mine for a little while. Mine .”

The confident tone resonated deep within him, igniting a part of his psyche driven by pure instinct, and he shivered as the weight of the words settled over him.

“I believe you,” he panted, his hands shaking and his heart throbbing in his throat.

“I believe you.”

He wanted to say more, to stake his own claim, but before the thoughts could fully form, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

Lifting his head, he stared over Rune’s shoulder and frowned, unsure of what he was seeing.

It wasn’t fog or smoke.

Just…darkness. It seeped into the library, bleeding across the walls and swallowing everything in its path.

Impenetrable and absolute, it extinguished every source of light, leaving only emptiness in its wake as it crept closer.

Keegan tensed, his body primed for flight, but he didn’t have anywhere to go.

The blackness surrounded them, pressing in on them from all sides.

“Shh,” Rune soothed, rubbing his hands comfortingly over Keegan’s arms. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt you.”

His mate’s calmness soothed him, but he still worried.

“What is it?”

“Rebes is just in a mood. Again.” He sighed.

“It’ll pass.”

“Reeves? Is that a person?”

“Rebes,” Rune repeated, enunciating the B.

“As in Erebus.”

Oh, okay.

That was fine. Completely normal.

The god of primordial darkness was just in a mood .

Nothing to worry about at all.

“Why is he angry?”

Rune shrugged, his demeanor unbothered.

“He’s a bit of a diva. It doesn’t happen often, but you get used to it.”

Somehow, he doubted that, especially when the darkness finally enveloped the room, plunging them into total blackness and robbing him of his sight.

“It’s okay,” Rune repeated.

“Don’t think about it.”

Kind of hard to do when he felt like he might vibrate out of his skin.

“How?”

“Like this.” Rune’s hands caressed up his arms and over his shoulders to cradle his face, and his warm breath fanned across Keegan’s lips.

“Just focus on me.”

Then their mouths crashed together again, and Rune took advantage of his quiet gasp to plunge inside.

He tasted and teased, stroking his tongue over Keegan’s and retreating, over and over, coaxing him to match the rhythm.

Keegan’s pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out everything else.

Unable to see, he couldn’t anticipate where his mate would touch him next.

Robbed of sight, sounds muted, he could only feel.

Every soft caress zinged across his skin like an electrical current, and every heavy grope burned like liquid fire.

The short stubble that covered his mate’s jaw scratched against his skin as Rune kissed down his neck, eliciting a quiet moan and a deep shiver of desire.

Though he wore loose, comfortable clothing, they felt itchy and restrictive, a barrier between him and his mate he resented.

His cock swelled, throbbing within his soft cotton pants, and even the light pressure of the material was nearly unbearable.

“Rune,” he panted, his voice unusually loud in the darkness.

His fingers flexed, digging into the shifter’s shoulders in an attempt to anchor himself.

“Fuck, I want you.”

His answer came in the form of a deep growl filled with gravel and bass before Rune claimed his mouth again.

He sucked and nibbled at Keegan’s tongue, his bottom lip, drinking him in like the last drop of water in the desert.

Strong, calloused hands slipped into his waistband, sliding over his sensitive skin as they pushed the elastic off his hips.

He groaned when his cock sprang free, his head spinning and his body trembling from the onslaught of sensations.

Every touch overwhelmed.

Every kiss consumed.

It was too much, too intense, pushing him higher and higher until he feared he might not survive the fall.

“You’re so hard,” Rune growled, fisting his hand around Keegan’s length and stroking him from base to crown.

“So hot.” He swiped his thumb over the tip, pressing it against the slit.

“Can you feel how much you’re leaking for me?”

The dirty words spoken in that deep, commanding voice dragged him beneath a wave of carnal pleasure, and he bucked his hips, fucking into the circle of Rune’s hand.

Heart hammering, ears ringing, he gritted his teeth and moaned as his mate stroked him harder, faster, sending him right to the edge.

“Rune. Oh, god. I–I can’t—fuck!”

Rune pushed his other hand between Keegan’s thighs, cradling his aching balls and giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Come for me.”

His body obeyed instantly, igniting like a firework.

Dropping his head back, he moaned loudly, his voice echoing through the library as he painted them both with his release.

Gasping for breath, he collapsed against Rune’s chest, burying his face into the side of the Guardian’s neck as his chest heaved.

Once coherency returned, he slid a hand down his mate’s torso, following the path to the waistband of his leathers.

As he fumbled with the button, however, long fingers closed around his wrist, stopping him.

Keegan frowned and rolled his head to the side, looking up to see his mate’s face, but there was still only darkness.

“Believe me,” Rune said, moving Keegan’s hand up to rest over his racing heart.

“I am more than satisfied.”

“But—”

“Quiet now.” He palmed the back of Keegan’s head and pressed a kiss against his forehead.

“Just let me hold you.”

Although it felt a little selfish, if that was what his mate wanted, Keegan wanted him to have it.

So, he relaxed against him, smiling when the shifter exhaled in a contented sigh.

Being mated wasn’t anything like he’d expected.

Nothing like he’d read about in books.

It was so much better.