Page 51 of Fractured (Royal Sins #3)

thirty-one

My heart pounded.

Rune still held me by the hand, and we were a good five feet away from the edge, but I could still feel the water spraying me on the way down, even though we stood in front of the thinnest stream.

For a moment there, I thought I might be in one of those sci-fi movies, looking at outer space from the windows of a spaceship.

Except this was not a spaceship—this was a flat world full of magic, and there was no glass to shield me from the darkness, the stars twinkling in the distance, the water that poured from somewhere above our heads.

“Holy shit, Rune,” I breathed, both terrified at what I was seeing here, and madly curious to see more.

I stepped closer, only a little bit, and the water that sprayed me as it fell gave me courage.

The rocks underneath our feet were dark and big and sturdy—they were not going to let us go.

We were not going to fall into the abyss below Verenthia.

“It’s quite something,” Rune said, slowly nudging me to move even closer, that half smile on his face that I’d missed so much. The stubble really did look good on him. Gave him a rougher look. Dirtier. Sexy as hell.

“How is this even possible? How far below the sea are we? How much farther does Verenthia even go?” Because I was not going to get close enough to be able to see below. No, thank you. I’d rather have my sanity intact for a bit longer.

“Not far, actually. These mining sites were made centuries ago. They dug into the biggest rocks underwater and used a lot of magic to create access to these caves. As far as I know there are close to a hundred, but only about twenty of them are able to be mined,” Rune explained.

“Why? It’s obvious they tried here—look at all those discarded tools.” I looked back at the abandoned carriage for a moment. “Why did they leave?”

“Because they’re too big,” Rune said, stomping his foot onto the ground—and we were indeed standing on a vein of black crystals going through the stone that shimmered like it had glitter underneath its surface.

“Because it’s impossible to break them to smaller pieces without heavy machinery and serious magic—both of which could collapse the walls or cave the floor. ”

“Fuck, Rune, fuck!” The idea that it was even possible to cave the floor of this place…

“Hey, look at me. It’s impossible to do without a lot of heavy force and magic. We’re not going anywhere. This cave has been here for at least three centuries.”

Three centuries. That was three hundred years.

“Breathe, wilding. We’re not going anywhere,” Rune repeated, stepping in front of me, taking my face in his hands. His eyes were wide, clear, bluer and brighter than what was beyond the water pouring relentlessly behind him .

“Maybe we should try to break one ourselves, just a small piece, for when this is over and we make our way back to the Neutral Lands. We could pay Miriam the noxin a visit. This is what she asked for, right?”

“I’ve already sent Miriam a dark diamond,” Rune said.

I turned to look at him. “You have? When?”

“Just before we left the Seelie Court. My messenger confirmed that she received it,” he simply said.

My God, this man. “You’re amazing, you know that?” I was in awe of him.

“Mhmm,” he breathed against my hair.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against his chest. I really did adore him—and I was so glad that Miriam was going to be okay, too. She’s been so sweet, had helped us so much when we most needed it.

But just the thought of everything I’ve gone through to come here, and everything I still had to go through to get out…

“This is getting to be a lot,” I whispered, holding onto his wrists as I closed my eyes.

And he knew exactly what to do to make it a little less—he moved closer and pressed those soft lips everywhere on my face. Cheeks and eyes and forehead and lips—I didn’t even breathe while he warmed every inch of me with his kisses. They really were life.

“I know, Wildcat. It’s not fair to you.”

“I’m an actual vessel for half the soul of a dead queen—and it’s not even funny anymore. It’s just…insane.” My voice rose with each word, and even though we were alone, I still flinched at the echo of my words. Insane-insane-insane— like saying it once just didn’t cut it.

“The dead queen I, apparently, really killed. Let’s not forget that.” He sounded almost sad when he said that, but his smile didn’t falter. Pretty sure it was for my benefit.

I could have laughed. Closing my eyes, I leaned in and kissed his lips, holding his hands on my face still.

“This is some soap opera shit. I fall in love with the guy who killed a woman whose split soul somehow lives within me. If anybody heard me say those words out loud at home, they would laugh in my face, and probably institutionalize me.” Or, you know, just continue to call me cuckoo.

“I don’t know what that is, but I do like the beginning of that second sentence,” Rune said, and my heart broke all over again.

“We’ll have time to talk about soap operas and institutions,” I whispered against his lips. “Right now, I just want to know how you are.”

“I’m perfect,” he said without missing a beat. “You’re here. I’m perfect.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. “I didn’t look for you right away when the Ice Palace let me go.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Rune said, leaning away from me for a second to look at my face. “Lyall had eyes on me the whole time. He’d have seen you if you’d come after me.”

Right. The prince I came all the way here to fucking save was still looking for me and he was still trying to get Rune killed for whatever fucked up reason.

“The stars know what they’re doing,” he said, and I laughed a little—how could I not?

“You mean those stars?” I moved to the side to look beyond the water falling, and I was mind-blown at the view all over again.

“Not those specifically,” Rune said, putting his arm over my shoulder. “But Reme and Emer—they do. ”

“Can we see them from here?” I wondered.

“No, I don’t think so. Unless you want to get very close to the edge.”

“Yeah, no thank you. I’m fine right there,” I said, just the idea giving me a sense of vertigo. “I’m cool with not seeing the stars who’ve somehow fucked my life up beyond recognition in a matter of weeks. I am fine .”

“Yes, you are, wildling,” Rune said with a grin, and with his fingers under my chin, he turned my head to kiss me.

I got that he was trying to distract me, to give me a break from my own self, but damn, I was a willing victim.

“That stubble looks really good on you,” I whispered. “Maybe you should keep it.”

“As you wish,” he said, and he slid the tip of his tongue over my lower lip, igniting me from within.

“Rune,” I whispered, my need for him growing the tighter he held me against his side and kissed me.

“We have time, Wildcat. Let’s not think right now,” he said, and that did sound a lot like fucking heaven, but…

“We need to find a way back to the Neutral Lands. We need to leave. Lyall is after us and we’re in the Midnight?—”

“Hush, wildling.” He kissed me harder. “Don’t think. Breathe with me.”

How could I say no?

The last time we’d been together had been in a cave. It had been at least seven days, but to me it felt like I hadn’t seen him in months. So, when he pulled me to him and we were chest to chest, lips touching, arms around one another, I melted into him like I was made for that very thing.

Rune deepened the kiss, and his tongue in my mouth did wonders to erase every fear, every doubt, every bit of confusion that had been building up in me while we’d been apart.

Everything from the moment I thought he’d stabbed me in the chest became undone under the soft pressure of his kisses.

He handed me his very soul with every movement, and when he touched me, it felt like he pulled me out of a shell I had no idea I’d been in.

Then we were moving.

Rune pulled me as he walked backward, and I forgot all about the fact that we were in a cave, and the ground was uneven. He must have been seeing somehow though, because his step didn’t falter, and his foot didn’t catch on a single piece of rock, and neither did mine.

The sound of water pouring filled my ears. Suddenly he spun me around, put me against the wall, and it was smooth against my back, not a single sharp edge bit into my skin. My eyes were closed, mind completely lost to his kisses and the touch of his hands as they roamed up and down my body.

Then he slipped one under my shirt. The rough skin of his hand felt like heaven against my stomach. He squeezed my waist hard enough to make me moan. I opened my eyes halfway, needing to see his face when he pulled the shirt off my body—and I saw exactly how close we were to the edge.

No wonder all I could hear was the water—we were barely two feet away from the edge of the cave, where the water poured down the heaviest.

And my back wasn’t against stone at all—it was against a large piece of crystal, dark, with shimmer underneath the surface, which was as smooth as if it had just been polished.

Rune’s eyes caught the little light, and it made them look like they were gemstones, too, far more precious to me than anything one could find in this cave.

Every word of complaint died on my tongue. The edge was not that close, anyway. We’d survive.

He took off my shirt lightning fast and crashed his lips to mine again, this time violently. Impatiently. Like he was done being gentle—and fuck, I was here for it.

I kissed him back with the same urge and slipped my hands underneath his shirt, touched his smooth skin, the curves of his muscles underneath. God, I was burning.