Page 15

fourteen

My eyes opened, but it took a few blinks until I was able to see anything.

Trees. Branches full of colorful leaves. Yellow, blue, green, purple— real leaves, not plastic.

My body moved on its own and I raised a hand toward the purple leaf that was hanging from the branch right over my head, the tip of it pointing at my face. I reached my index finger and touched it.

Yes, definitely real. A purple leaf, thick and glossy, the small white lights around me reflecting on its surface like it was a mirror.

I didn’t even find said lights floating about me strange until I’d inspected that leaf thoroughly. Until the memories came back to me, and I was more certain by the second that I’d been dreaming. The only thing that didn’t let me fully believe it was that leaf.

And also the fact that I wasn’t in my bed.

Instead, I was sitting on a branch. I’d somehow climbed halfway up a tree, and I was sitting on a branch thick enough to fit me comfortably, and my back was against the trunk.

Panic settled over my shoulders, taking my breath away. I held onto the wood of the branch below me and took in my surroundings—more trees, a sky grey with the coming day, and small balls of white light floating all around the tree I was on, just hovering in the air.

The ground was most likely about thirty feet down from where I’d been sleeping, and my instincts didn’t let me think at all. Or plan. Or wonder what could be down there, or what had put me up here—no, no, I didn’t think. I just started climbing down the tree like my entire body was on fire, and if I didn’t make it down to the ground very soon, I was going to turn to ashes.

Climbing wasn’t hard. I made it all the way to the branch closest to the ground, which was thin and it would barely fit my sneaker. I was still high up, possibly ten feet, but I decided to jump instead of expecting that little thing to hold my weight.

Never mind logic or trying to take my time and figure out another way—I was just certain that I was in a hurry, and I needed to get down there right now.

I did.

My arms were wrapped around my head and I hit the ground rolling. By some miracle, I managed to stop three seconds in and jump to my feet, with just some pain on my right side, but nothing that disabled me from moving. From running.

Bile rose up my throat as the memories rushed through me—those beasts with the large fangs and red eyes, and the horse, the way he’d felt while I’d been wrapped around his neck, the stranger with the indigo eyes…

I ran.

No, I had no idea where the hell I was going, and all the trees around me were equally big and colorful and terrifying, but we’d seen lights somewhere close by when I was still with Helid, and lights meant people.

Or at least fae.

Light meant safety, and I had to find it. I had to get to them as fast as I could.

“Where do you think you’re going, mortal?”

My entire body locked down and I almost fell on my face—just when I’d started to gain some momentum.

I turned around, eyes wide and unblinking, searching the darkness, the trees.

There was nobody there.

My heart hammered in my chest. I had no idea where I was or if I was dreaming, if I’d heard that voice or if it had just been in my mind. The panic, the fear was pulling me under fast, and I didn’t know what else to do except run. To the edges of the world if I had to, just run.

Then…

“Up here.”

I turned to the side and looked up.

My eyes found him immediately—the indigo-eyed stranger was sitting on a branch with his legs crossed, close enough that I’d have seen him if I’d just thought to look up a moment ago.

He was there. I hadn’t made him up. He was real.

And he was moving.

The way he threw himself to the side of the branch and held himself on it with one hand only could have been a trick of the darkness. Then he let go, just like that, possibly twenty feet off the ground. He landed on his feet, just slightly leaned forward, before he straightened his shoulders again and fixed his shirt.

He had something in his other hand, too—a bag.

My army-green backpack that I’d used for school for a year now. The same one I’d taken with me to go save a fucking fae prince.

“Who are you?” I breathed because he was there and he was real and he’d known the name of that horse. Which could only mean he’d been to the same place where that horse had been, the same place where Helid had been.

Which meant he wasn’t going to kill me.

Maybe. Hopefully.

God, please, if you save me this time, I promise I’ll be good…

“I’m the guy who saved your life a few hours ago. How much of it do you remember? You seemed pretty shaken up.” The corner of his lips turned up just slightly.

Hold on a minute…was he making fun of me?!

Because nothing—and I mean nothing got to me faster.

“I was, actually. I was hanging onto the neck of a fucking horse the size of a damn house.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest and, yeah, I was afraid, but I was also angry. So angry I didn’t give a shit who heard.

There was something about people making fun of me. I would not stand for it.

“And in case you didn’t notice, guy-who-saved-my-life-a-few-hours-ago, your trees have colorful leaves on them. And I’m here to save a fucking prince, not be chased around by monkey monsters with fangs as big as my damn fingers.” I raised him my middle one—meant to just show him the size. And also to flip him off. “So, yes— shaken up is a perfectly normal and natural reaction, considering.”

The more I spoke the more he smiled.

Now I was starting to really dislike this guy.

“Oh, so that’s funny to you,” I spit.

“It isn’t.” He took a step closer, his eyes on every inch of my body, scrolling up and down. He could make a girl blush. “It’s not funny at all, actually. You did well, mortal. Very well.”

Fuck me sideways.

Did he just praise me?

And what the hell was happening to my anger? It was fading away so fast…

Wait, no—come back!

“Oh.” The word slipped from me just to break the awkward silence that followed. For only like a second, but still.

“It was very obvious that you’ve never ridden before.”

Oh, this guy…

My cheeks flushed. “And Seelie horses can be quite a lot to keep up with.”

Why was my brain the biggest fucking douchebag in the universe? Because he was talking about riding horses, and I was thinking about… other things.

“They are.” I cleared my throat, looked away from his face. Damn it, Nilah.

It was okay, though. I was only having a tiny bit of trouble getting myself under control because he was hot. Hotter than any guy I’d ever seen. Hotter than Brad Pitt.

It was that—and the panic and the fear.

See? Plenty of stuff to blame my reaction on.

“And it was lucky that Aro ran away. He was distressed. Afraid. But he didn’t hurt you.”

Well, no, he hadn’t—because this guy here had caught me in his arms when Aro jumped to get me off his back. Literally.

“Right.” I breathed in deeply, prepared mentally to make eye contact with him again.

I did—and his eyes.

God, why am I being punished? Is it because of what I did with the dog poop two nights ago? No animals were harmed in the planning and carrying out of that punishment, so…

“Thank you, guy-who-saved-my-life-a-few-hours-ago. I appreciate it.” I barely forced the words out in the right order.

He was genuinely surprised. His brows shot up—though I only saw one because his left eye was almost completely hidden behind his messy hair. It was pin straight, but it was also thick and wild and it kinda suited him. Gave him that just-got-out-of-bed type of look, with a dose of after-engaging-in-a-lot-of-activities-all-night-long.

My mind refused to shut up.

Must have been a coping mechanism.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “You’re the Lifebound mortal.”

“Nilah, ” I said. “It’s Nilah, not mortal. ”

Another two steps closer, and my instincts were now confusing the hell out of me. Half of me wanted to back away, keep as much distance as possible between us, while the other half wanted me to get closer just to see his eyes and those lips better, and maybe even touch his hair a little.

Just to see what it felt like.

“All right, then. Nilah.”

Thick, rough, exactly the right tone. This guy was sex on legs.

Again, I cleared my throat. “Yes. And you are?”

“Call me Rune,” he said.

I arched a brow. “Rune? You mean like those characters and symbols from ancient languages?” I’d heard about runes before, had seen a few documentaries. Was pretty sure that I’d read about them, too.

The guy ignored my question completely and instead turned his head to look back where I’d run from.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that we were still in the same forest where those monkey monsters had attacked me.

Holy shit . I looked up and the sky had turned even lighter, though I could see very little of it through the canopy. The forest was dense and there were enough trees on all sides so that I wouldn’t see anything coming until it was too late—just like Helid and his guards hadn’t.

“It’s not safe to stay out here for long. We have to go,” the man said.

This time, I did step closer to him, but not because I was wildly attracted to him or anything. Just because he knew what he was doing, and I didn’t.

Also, did I mention that he was tall? Like, possibly six four. And broad shoulders, but not too broad.

And big hands. He had big hands.

Pretty sure I mentioned that before.

“Okay, okay, hold on. Can we just back up for a moment? I was traveling with some guys—one of them was Helid, the uncle of a prince, and he had guards. We were traveling together and then the monkey monsters attacked us. I need to find them.”

Suddenly, my stomach fell.

Had Helid and his guards even survived?

“Grogs,” the guy said, his eyes falling on mine— falling , not just stopping there. He pinned me in place with them because they weren’t just a combination of the most beautiful blues that belonged in an ocean, not eyes, but they also had maps in them. They had these thin silver lines going all around his pupils, close to the edges of his irises like maps, the shapes different in each eye. All those shades of blue could have been mountains and hills and rivers and lakes for all I knew.

He had maps for eyes.

“You mean like frogs ?” I said—which was the first thing that popped into my head, of course.

“I mean like grogs,” he said. “They are cave beasts, and they don’t wander so far away from their mountains.”

I paused. “Meaning?”

“Meaning someone brought them here.”

He turned to look behind him again, and I did, too. Nobody there.

“But…but Helid said that we wouldn’t be attacked because we were here by order of the Seelie Queen.”

“Helid was wrong,” Rune said. “Someone knew you were coming, and someone lured those grogs here to kill you.”

Kill you.

My stomach fell all the way to my heels. “How? How would they have known?”

“The same way I did.”

I looked at him. “You were following us?” He simply nodded. “Since when?!”

“Since you entered the forest in Nerith.”

“I—wait, Nerith ?”

“Earth,” he said.

I shook my head, at a loss for a moment. “Why? Why were you following us? And who would have sent those monkey monsters to attack us? Just… why ?”

“A lot of reasons. There are plenty of creatures in Verenthia who despise mortals, don’t think them worthy of stepping onto our soil. The Seelie Queen has enemies, as all royals do. The prince himself might have them as well.” Our eyes locked again, and the way my heart tripped all over herself wasn’t even funny. “Whichever it is, it’s safe to assume that someone doesn’t want him to wake up.”

His every word rang true, and his voice, the way he sounded, was not helping my focus.

“And you ? Who are you?” My own voice shook, not half as powerful as his.

“I’m Rune,” he told me. “And I can take you to the Seelie Court safely if you promise to do exactly as I say.”

He leaned down closer, and my knees grew weak.

My idiot of a brain thought, yes, daddy, which was a joke between me and Betty, which he wouldn’t have understood, so thank God I didn’t say it.

“What about Helid?” I said instead and forced myself to focus now because this was getting out of hand. I understood that half of my idiotic thoughts and analysis were coming from the need to not lose my mind to fear and panic, my own instincts trying to distract me—but this was serious. I was stuck in this forest with a stranger, and I had no idea what came next.

“Helid will be fine. They searched for you for hours. I kept them away,” Rune said.

This time, when my heart skipped a beat, it had nothing to do with his hotness.

I stepped back. “Why did you do that?” His brows rose again as he watched me move farther back. “Why would you—why did you follow us?”

“Are you afraid of me?”

I’m fucking terrified. “No.”

“You should be.” He came closer. “But I will not hurt you, Nilah.”

Talk about ambivalence.

“So, why did you keep Helid away?”

“Because he travels with the royal guard. The same people who orchestrated the grog attack will do it again if they know where you are. The whole land will know exactly where you are at all times if you travel with Helid, even if he takes another dozen guards with. They will attack you again.”

Holy fuck, that actually made sense.

“Which is why I didn’t let them find you. I made them think you died so no one looks for you anymore, and I can take you to the Seelie Court, alive.”

Was I just being stupid or was I right to believe him more capable of doing that than Helid and all those guards?

I shook my head. “And if I say no?”

He gave me a long and hard look. “You came to heal the prince. You’re his Lifebound.”

“Yes, I know that,” I said. “I came here with Helid because he told me I’d be safe. Apparently, he was wrong—I am not safe. And I need you to answer me right now—what if I say no to that generous offer you just made me?”

He suddenly looked fucking murderous. If I wasn’t scared for my life, I’d have probably told you all about how much the look suited him. It gave a spark to his eye.

“Then I take you to Helid,” he finally said, and I’d been holding my breath without realizing it. “Or, if you so wish, I’ll take you back to Nerith.”

Nerith. Our world was too beautiful for that name, but I didn’t comment.

I just allowed myself to close my eyes and take in a deep breath, hold my hips for a moment and just think. Try to be rational. Reasonable. Logical—whatever. Just try.

“We don’t have much time,” Rune said. “You have to decide—now . ”

“What is it with you lot— now, now, now— why so goddamn impatient? You got some place to be, is that it?” I said, much too loudly, but my anger had free rein over me now because this was absurd and ridiculous and I just wanted to go home and curl up under a blanket.

“ You do.” Rune came closer, towered over me, but now I was pissed off, so I didn’t back away. The anger muddied my self-preservation instincts completely. “You have someplace to be—the Seelie Court. To heal the prince.”

Goddamn sonovabitch.

He was right, of course. There was a reason why I was here, why I’d accepted Helid’s request in the first place.

The prince. The very reason why I was still alive. My savior.

He needs you, a voice in my head whispered, and it was almost foreign, like it didn’t belong to me at all.

Heat gathered in the center of my being, too. I was overwhelmed and scared and panicked, but I couldn’t go back. Not without healing the prince first, paying my debt to him. Thanking him for saving me when he did.

“Why?” I finally whispered. “Why would you want to help me?” Because he’d followed us and Helid had had no idea. He’d hidden me from him, and though this guy’s reasoning made perfect sense, I needed to know why.

“That is a private matter,” he told me, and I laughed. It was bitter but it came from the soul.

“Well, what a coincidence! My business with the prince is a private matter as well, yet you took the liberty to follow me since I left my fucking home.”

Again, he leaned down closer to me, and my fists were shaking at my sides. His eyes fell on my parted lips—could he tell I was breathing far too fast?

Could he possibly be thinking about kissing me?

Ridiculous thought, but still. The way he was staring…

“Your mouth is very dirty.” Oh, hell… “What did the prince do for you? How did he bind you?”

I swallowed hard, and the words came out of me before I even realized I was speaking. “He…he was trying to heal me. They think the binding was an accident. He was just trying to save my life. And he did.”

A pause. His eyes full of colors fell on mine again— so heavy, his gaze.

“He did the same for me,” he finally whispered. “He saved my life when I needed it most. Now I’m going to do whatever it takes to save his.”

Well, fuck. That was not what I was expecting at all.

The next moment lasted forever, like someone had pressed Pause on time, and neither of us blinked, and our eyes were connecting the way eyes normally didn’t—that I knew of.

“Who are you?” I asked because there was more to him—so much more. It was all written in the maps in his eyes, that thin silver line that was shaped almost like a daffodil bloom in his right eye, and a more rounded version of it in his left.

The corner of his lips turned up just slightly, and he came closer and closer, and I looked at his lips—so perfectly mauve and smooth and kissable.

I held my breath as I waited…

“The guy who saved your life a few hours ago.”

Fucking prick.

My eyes closed and I knew I deserved that—I had no idea what the hell had gotten into me—but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t dreaming of kneeing him in the dick. Unfortunately, before I could make up my mind to do it, he moved away. Held up my backpack.

“I used your clothes, cut them and threw them around to confuse the grogs. Tell me your decision.”

I grabbed my backpack—lighter. He had definitely thrown away my only change of clothes.

I was fuming from the ears. “Take me to the prince, asshole.”

Part of me thought he’d be pissed. Part of me wanted him to be.

But Rune just gave me a lopsided smile instead, and said, “This is going to be fun.”

Then he turned around and walked away.