My attention jerked back to Rune as he strode toward the door, moving me around like a choreographed dance he’d been doing since he began walking. The fluidity of moving me in a position to shield me as one of the men who fought Slátra saw me and began striding in our direction with an outstretched hand toward me. He brought his sword up to block Rune’s blow, shoving Rune’s sword away before he yelled with a strike to my Viking soulmate.
Rune moved where I only saw his back and got an eyeful of his cape. I didn’t try to look around him because I didn’t want to risk my safety or his. My stomach churned and rolled with worry over him and a little for me because if there was one way I didn’t want to die again, it was from being stabbed or cut into pieces.
Rune moved me backward with him, where my back hit against the wall as he fought off the enemy. He jerked forward in what I would guess was a killing blow because of the nasty sound of flesh meeting flesh and the low death groan from the man who tried to grab me.
Slátra’s booming laugh drowned out the sounds of death but morphed into a deep, growly yell that matched all the battle cries I heard from shows.
A warrior’s cry of victory.
“Get her out of here,” Hluti shouted.
Grabbing my hand, Rune dragged me away with him. My eyes strayed from him to the dead bodies where Slátra stood. The man who fought Rune had no face. It was like Rune’s fist had beaten it to a bloody pulp and gone right through it, cracking open his skull so his brain matter spilled out.
My stomach churned, and I was close to puking before Rune moved me again in his hold to dance away from more people as they crowded into the small house. We were two feet from leaving before they came in.
Where the hell did all these people come from?
Howdid they find us?
I jumped as metal sang right by my ear. Jerking my head toward the sound, I noticed Rune had blocked a blow directed at me from someone who crept past him to get to me. My stomach dropped, and my mouth went dry as my heart missed a few beats from how close of a call that was.
Pressing myself to Rune’s back, I clung to him as he moved us around, keeping me from being exposed as everyone fought to get to me. It was hard to keep up with what was happening and where everyone was.
Over the grunts and yells of everyone fighting, my pulse thundered in my ears until it became the only thing I heard. My chest was so tight that every breath hurt, and I was close to puking from the adrenaline.
Rune dragged me out of the house, and I barely noticed the dead bodies in pieces. One of their heads was turned toward us, blank eyes on me. My breath caught, and shivers swept up my spine.
Where did they come from?
Oh god, where was Harper?
“We’re flashing. Open the link,” Rune ordered, his hand on mine tightening.
I gasped for breaths, my fingers curling harder into Rune’s hand as he rushed me away from the house, only for us to be blocked off by a group. I glanced at the house that was feet away from me, searching for Slátra and Hluti, who I hadn’t seen coming out with us.
“Loose!” one man yelled.
That wasn’t good. Oh god, that didn’t sound good.
Right as our surroundings were bleeding away and into the familiar darkness of flashing, it pulsed as Rune jerked with a snarl. He grabbed a dart from his neck and yanked it out. Throwing it to the side, he stumbled, searching for my hand again.
“Rune?” I took his hand with my trembling one, steadying him again as he stumbled.
My body became light, churning my already upset stomach as something twisted inside me like someone rammed their fist into me and grabbed onto my soul. The air in my lungs burst out as I was ripped away from Rune, pulled by some invisible force.
I couldn’t make a sound from the hold it had on me. Only open my mouth on a breathless scream, reaching out for Rune, who whipped around, his eyes wide for a split second before they narrowed. The blues of them darkened until they were black and bled into the whites of his eyes.
My back slammed into something hard before a large arm curled around me, holding me against an oversized man who smelled like blood and sweat. My heart missed a few beats before it doubled its pace, leaving my chest tight and making it hard for me to draw in a breath as I watched Rune with terror.
I couldn’t move.
Why couldn’t I move?
Breathing was getting harder, no matter how much I tried to gasp for breaths.
Rune drew his lips back in a snarl, ignoring everyone in the large group who cornered us. He swayed in his spot, white-knuckling his sword as he glared at the man who held me. Slátra and Hluti had come out at some point, mowing down the group with broad strokes of their swords.
There were so many of them here.
