Page 44 of Realm Walker's Awakening

My eyes widened by a fraction, and my stomach twisted. My palms tingled, and my legs were trembling. No matter how much I tried to stop it, I couldn’t.

I didn’t want her to die.

“How do you know that?” I rasped.

“Trust me,elskan mín.”

I wanted to believe him. To trust him that nothing would happen to her. That she wouldn’t lose her life...

Because of me.

But it seemed like we were always attacked when we least expected it. We were being followed and struck on all sides. How could he possibly protect her while he was dragged away by some creature and the others were fighting off others from reaching me?

How could he?

That was too much responsibility. But now we didn’t have a choice, and I hated myself for that. If I hadn’t said hi to her, if I hadn’t talked to Harper, then she’d be safe and not thrown over Hluti’s shoulder. I didn’t even know why Hluti and the others were dead set on bringing her. They didn’t see me talk to her, so what was their deal?

I swallowed hard, trying to catch my breath as my eyes flicked around, yet not seeing anything.

What did I do? WhatshouldI do to keep Harper safe?

“So you fight and protect them,”the same feminine voices from earlier whispered.

I inhaled sharply, jolting from the whisper that was followed by a crack of thunder that rattled my teeth and vibrated under my feet. My heart raced faster than a hummingbird’s wings as I glanced around in the semi-lit parking lot with only a handful of cars near the back.

“Calling the portal,” Rune said. “You know whatever it is, that it’s not real. I’ve got you, beauty. You’re safe.”

Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I nodded. I couldn’t seem to care about the portal right now. All I focused on was the voices and who the hell it was.

Before, I heard Estrid. Myself.

But I couldn’t seem to catch who it was this time. It sounded a little like Estrid, but with the second voice, it was hard to make it out.

Not that I should care. Not that it was important.

The messages were important.

I had died fighting and trying to protect someone. What if I tried again, and I died a second time?

It’d be worth it.

The torrential rain stopped suddenly; the wind died, and it became still and quiet.

I swallowed hard, glancing at the sky, noticing the greenish tint to the clouds and the darkness making the city lights look brighter. Goosebumps broke out along my arms, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I pushed back some of the wet hair from my face, watching green lightning arc through the clouds. It was bright enough that it blinded me for a few seconds as I blinked rapidly to clear the black dots in my vision.

Thunder clapped, making me jump closer to Rune’s side, my hand grabbing his cape at his back. He wrapped his arm around me, tucking me closer to him.

“Guys... we need to get the hell inside,” Harper called nervously. I wanted to go to her. I wanted to turn to her and get her down from Hluti’s hold, but my feet were like cinder blocks and couldn’t move as I stared wide-eyed at the sky that was turning greener with the clouds moving.

My fingers curled into Rune’s back, my pulse loud in my ears. I tried to slow my breathing to calm down.

It’s not real. It’s just a portal,I chanted to myself.

It didn’t fucking matter. It still scared me no matter how normal it was in the Midwest.

Wind in the near distance sounded like a freight train, and the closer it came, the louder it got. It started whipping against us, making it hard to keep my eyes open. My stomach dipped like going down the first hill of a rollercoaster.

There was no space between Rune and me, but I still pushed myself harder into his side, needing the safety of his arms wrapped around me. Like it was a habit of his, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me princess style. Holding me close to his chest, he began striding toward the tornado.