Page 18 of Realm Walker's Awakening

Glancing over my shoulder, I peered at the living room, where I spotted a large shoulder of someone before they disappeared to the kitchen. I hadn’t seen Hlíf since I came back. My eyes shifted to the hallway where the bedrooms were.

My stomach twisted.

“Did he get hurt?” I whispered as I turned my attention back to Rune, finding him already watching me. His blue eyes flicked over my face, his thoughts blocked from me, which brought more insecurity.

“No,” Rune drawled. “I’m talking about your other friend. The one you recklessly gave your life for.”

I released the breath I didn’t realize I held.

Guilt flooded through me, but for all the wrong reasons.

My eyes lowered as my heart dropped to my stomach. Pins and needles swept through my body, and my stomach churned until I felt like I was going to get sick again.

Here I was relieved Hlíf didn’t die while my best friend did.

I shamefully glanced back at him.

He cocked his head, his hands tightening on me as he said, “You know?”

Something thudded in the kitchen, followed by heavy footsteps as someone entered the room. I swallowed, nodding as I averted my gaze from Rune again.

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

“How?” he asked as more of his confusion flooded into me.

Swallowing again at the rising lump in my throat, I nibbled on my lower lip. The memory of being in the In-Between and watching Aaliyah go through what killed her twisted my stomach. Tears stung my eyes.

How could I be here in her home, alive, and not even five minutes ago, riding Rune’s lap like a bitch in heat? How selfish was that of me?

“She knows?”

Footsteps retreated down the hallway. A door opened, and Slátra murmured something that I didn’t catch.

It was only for a split second as I glanced over my shoulder, catching Hluti’s signature scowl gone and replaced with bewilderment. Slátra walked into the room again from the dark hallway, his green eyes landing on me before he looked away with a guilty expression.

What was he guilty about?

In the next second, Rune’s fingers curled under my chin again, bringing my attention back to him. His touch sent warmth, and for whatever reason, him moving me however he wanted was a turn-on. He leaned in with a guarded expression, his other hand resting on my hip. His fingers flexed as a flash of the most unbearable emotional pain slipped from him to me.

I wasn’t sure what it was he felt that brought him pain. But I got a taste of it before he shut it down so I wouldn’t feel it anymore.

Tears stung my eyes, some slipping free.

Why was he hurting?

The memory of his words,“Need to get used to this again,”passed through my mind as either he or I needed to get used to our link.

Rune stared at me, right into my soul, as he asked me with a low, gravelly voice, “You were in the In-Between?”

Swallowing hard, I took a deep breath and nodded.

The memory of being there passed through my mind. An odd chill numbed me as I went through some echo of the panic and turmoil I experienced while there. But just as quickly as it came, Rune’s grip on me tightened, chasing away the cold and replacing it with his heat, filling me like a fire that only needed that small spark.

“You weren’t alone there,” Rune said, his voice flat and chilling.

ChapterFour

Iknew he meant it as a question, but it came out as a fact. He already knew the answer and only needed the confirmation out loud. From the tense energy behind me, the others needed the answer too. I couldfeelthem holding their breath.