My fingers tightened on Rune’s chest as my heart raced until it became so painful I worried it would break through my ribs. It became hard to breathe as worst-case scenarios raced through my head that I couldn’t keep up.
I shook him, tears stinging my eyes.
“Wake up!” I screamed with a sob at the tail end of my command.
Rune didn’t wake up like the redheaded man said he would. When I reached through our link, there was still emptiness.
My stomach twisted, and my chest tightened like I was about to cry while throwing up.
Focus, focus, focus,I chanted and felt another panic attack coming.
Twigs snapped in the woods nearly. I gasped and jerked my gaze to where I heard the noise. There was more rustling somewhere else that made my heart race harder against my chest. Pins and needles stung under my armpits and above my upper lip, indicating the adrenaline pumping through my veins again.
We weren’t safe.Hewasn’t safe yet.
My eyes shot up toward the direction I heard more twigs and branches snapping. I shuddered, realizing the sound was similar to when the cast were being hunted at night in the woods in theBlair Witchmovie. I didn’t want to wait to see if I was going to hear children laughing next.
My fingers trembled, and pins and needles went through my body the more I tried to calm down. The opposite happened as branches snapped again followed by a screech. It was far away, but if it was one of those creepy things I killed before I got here, then I didn’t have much time.
Rune showed no sign of waking up, and as I brushed through our link, nothing.
I had to keep him safe... I had to protect him until he came to.
In the back of my mind, my awful doubtful voice told me Rune wasn’t coming back. The siren was consuming his soul for who knew how long before I got here.
I checked his breathing and watched the shallow rise and fall of his chest. My stomach twisted again, and I was so close to puking. Instead, I reached over him and unwound the belt his sword hung from and struggled to secure it to my waist. It was too large, and every time I tried to buckle it, it fell loose. Cussing under my breath, I threw the belt over my shoulder so it went across my back and secured it enough that the sword’s grip would be easy to grab from behind my shoulder with my right hand.
After my third attempt to try and sheath my sword, I finally got it and grabbed Rune by the shoulders, dragging him out of the water. I stumbled and huffed with each backward step. He was as heavy as a damn horse, and with each shuffle back, he got heavier, making my arms tremble from the exertion. The only thing that kept me going was the screeching and snaps in the woods as whatever was out there got closer.
“Wake up,” I begged Rune breathlessly. “Please.”
Nothing.
I jumped when the screech came closer and I could hear fast footfalls. I bit back a sob and shuffled farther back.
My head swam as a ringing in my ears started from the lowest pitch and slowly went higher. The numbness I felt without Rune’s touch intensified through my limbs. I blinked hard as I swayed, praying somewhere in the back of my mind I didn’t pass out. But the black spots in my vision as it blurred around the edges said I was seconds away from losing consciousness.
Instead of what I thought would happen, I found myself stopping and reaching down to grab Rune by his amor’s straps on his chest. With some leg power, I lifted him with a grunt and settled him over one of my shoulders not blocking my sword, then ran. His scent of incense and wilderness filled my nose and helped drive me to get him to safety.
My head was still foggy and swam like I had one too many drinks as I carried Rune through the dark and foggy woods. Not once did I stumble or slow down. My breathing became better the more I sprinted and wove around bushes, fallen limbs, and trees. It was like my body knew the right steps and where to go. His weight didn’t hurt or slow me down. My fingers dug into his thigh by my head to hold on to him tighter.
The screeching became farther away until I didn’t hear it anymore. I was able to relax and breathe a little easier. But my stomach still twisted, and my very soul hurt like I’d been stabbed over and over again. Rune still wasn’t responding... he wasn’t waking up.
“Reach through the link,”the voices whispered.“Give him a piece of our soul to replace what she stole from him.”
I didn’t hesitate as I searched for his familiar touch in our link. He didn’t reach for me as I forced my mind into his. It was dark, but his warmth was the same. I felt the remnants of his pleasure and him sinking into an endless dark abyss because of the siren who disguised herself as me. As I pushed myself into his mind, I found a good bit of his soul missing, like she sank her teeth in and tore it away.The fucking bitch. If I could go back in time and kill her before she got her hands on him, I would.
My heart thundered, and my soul felt the echo of pain he experienced as she consumed him. He couldn’t move or make a sound while he was aware of what was happening—other than the pleasured groans—as she ate him.
I imagined myself reaching into my chest, my fingertips brushing my soul and carefully pulling out a piece that would make Rune complete and whole again. It didn’t hurt me as the piece detached like I assumed it would. Instead, it felt like the weight of the world was lightened from my shoulders a bit. I carefully placed the wispy piece into the missing chunk in Rune’s soul, watching in my mind’s eyes and feeling through the sensations as it fit perfectly.
The two became one as they wove together seamlessly. It was beautiful feeling my soft with his rough. My light with his dark. My loneliness with his comfort. Our love became stronger than ever as it overwhelmed me with the merging.
What I felt before when our souls brushed each other wasn’t anything compared to now, which was the equivalent of us holding each other and never letting go. Everywhere we touched was stitched with an unbreakable thread that nothing could cut. His warmth was mine and slammed every door and window open for me tofeeleverything. For me to faceeverything.
His touch brushed inside my mind and dragged his finger over my cheek as he rose from the darkness he had disappeared into. My heart hammered until it became hard to breathe as I warred with myself to stop and check on Rune. His head hung down my back while I held onto his lower half in a bruising grip, but I felt his awareness as he came to.
“Rune,” I called, losing my breath.
