Page 13 of Realm Walker's Awakening

“Awaken,” Death whispered.

His words were like a spark from a match, lighting me up and burning with the borrowed power. It rushed through me, helping me as I envisioned the wounds on my body stitched from the inside out. The fire in my lungs receded, making it easier to breathe. The death rattles in my every breath stopped and were finally clear.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard a sharp intake of a breath.

All my wounds were healed. All but one anyway.

It was the one thing that was difficult and took more concentration.

The broken-off piece of glass in my chest, reaching my lung.

“She’s breathing.”Rune’s voice was full of disbelief and echoed from far away but close at the same time. It was hard to wrap my mind around it and reminded me of times when sleep eluded me and I felt drunk from being awake for days on end.

In my mind, I swallowed hard as I put all of my energy and thoughts into pushing the shard out of my lung and chest. The sensation of my body rising inch by slow inch to the surface. It was right there.

I was right there.And all I needed was to get this shard out.

“Rune,”I whispered in my mind, searching for our link.

He inhaled sharply. Large hands grabbed me, pulling me up the rest of the way and breaking through the surface.

“Isa.” His voice shook, and I knew tears were in his eyes.

No. Please . . . I didn’t want him to cry. I wanted his smiles and to see his dimples again. This time around, I’d kiss those dimples instead of longing to do it.

He wasmine. And I was allowed to touch and worship him like he did to me.

With his handsome face in my mind and my desire to see him again, I was able to do one more final push, and the shard popped out. The wound closed without me having to focus on it while I sucked in a deep breath that no longer held any pain. It didn’t feel like I was drowning in my blood anymore and not able to breathe through the god-awful pain from the wounds.

My head swam, and my stomach twisted until I was queasy. Pins and needles swept through my body as a rush of adrenaline hit me like a brick wall. I heard myself whimper and felt my heavy hands reaching up for Rune.

A large hand cupped my face, and his thumb stroked at a spot on my cheek in soothing circles.

“Open your eyes, beauty,” Rune rasped.

I fought to swallow back the bile as it rose.

Blinking my eyes open, I squinted for a second as I stared up at Rune before I closed my eyes from the spinning. My hands weren’t up as far as I thought they were. They were still by my sides when I thought I was raising them for Rune.

My lips parted as I wanted to say Rune’s name or something, anything, but when I did, I pressed my lips together as the bile rose in my throat again. My head spun around faster.

Through our link, Rune knew. He moved me with gentleness until I was on my hands and knees. He held back my hair with one hand, and with the other, he held me as I swayed. I puked, whimpering and gagging between heaves. I was so embarrassed that he was watching me, but through our link, he comforted me, blanketing me with his love and lack of judgment.

He rubbed my back as I stopped, spitting a few times, tasting copper, with my eyes still squeezed shut. I heard heavy footsteps and men talking, but I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t make out what they said and who they were.

Everything was off. I felt like I had gone to take a ten-minute nap but slept for six hours instead and now worried I missed the school bus.

My sense of time was off.

When I was done spitting and went to sit back, Rune grabbed me and eased me around so I was in his arms. I cracked open my eyes, peering up at him through blurry vision. He was covered in blood, and his ocean eyes held pain.

“How?”Rune croaked and squeezed me closer to him in his trembling arms. “How did you come back? You died... I held you as you died. Again.”

I blinked, looking him over again. He was on his knees, leaning back on his heels, cradling me in his arms with my lower half resting on his thighs. But when I peered down at his hand that slid from my side to my stomach, it was covered in blood. My blood. My eyes snapped back to his face, and my lower lip wobbled as I grabbed his wrist after he cupped my cheek again.

There was so much I wanted to tell him.

“Rune...” I whispered on a shaky breath. “I’m so—”