I hated that I was a wimp but it honestly couldn’t be helped at this point in my life—it was what it was.
He stopped, and I almost slammed right into his back. If I hadn’t been so sweaty, I might have rubbed on him like a cat… Maybe.
“Do you feel anything?”
Besides romantic tension and the occasional mosquito that was big enough to take me into the sky?No, not really.I pressed my lips together as I took a few more steps away from him. One date with beignets and I was a puddle. I had serious issues with food that I needed to sort out in therapy or something. I also should have brought bug spray with me. Was there a spell or something that could keep the bugs off of me?
Ancestors, I hoped so.
“No, I don’t think so.” I swatted at a gnat flying in front of my face just as the water exploded beside the boardwalk. This time, I was in full wimp mode. A shriek erupted from my throat, and I pressed my sweaty body against Rune’s back.
His shoulders shook with his silent laughter, and I cringed. This was not looking good. I closed my eyes for a beat beforeI practically peeled my clammy body from him. There went the romantic tension.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I would really like to see this wolf business through, so it would be in both of our best interests to not become alligator lunch.”
He turned his sharp gaze on me, and I felt myself shrink back a little. What did I do now? How long could I manage to keep this story up?
“The alligators aren’t going to mess with you.” He leaned in slightly, and for a brief moment, I wondered if he was going to kiss me. Instead, he brushed a strand of slightly damp hair from the side of my face behind my ear. I wanted to cringe; he’d touched my swamp hair. How gross. But it was also kind of sweet at the same time. “Your magic should keep them away. They can sense it.”
Oh, ancestors. I was really going to die now, I just knew it. They were going to reveal me as a fraud. Somehow, I kept the panic off of my face and smiled. “Oh great.”
If the alligators didn’t eat me alive, my secret sure would.
I took a deep breath and tried to steady my erratic heartbeat. He turned back toward the path, and I shook my limbs out.
“The alligators won’t get me, but what about the wolves?” It was supposed to be a light-hearted comment, but I could feel the darkness crawling toward us as the words left my mouth.
Rune looked over his shoulder at me and held his finger to his lips. “Shhh.”
The sounds of the insects rose to a scream as we continued deeper into the swamp. I swore I could see the shadows closing in on me too. The only reassuring thing about this little trip was that I was with the Voodoo King…
A small voice in my head whispered—the last Voodoo King was killed by the wolves.
Uh oh.
Rune stopped and ran his hand down his face. “I don’t know what we are doing out here. I thought maybe we would feel something. I thought maybe you would feel something, but now I just feel like I’ve put us both in unnecessary danger.”
“The wolves might not be here?” I tried.
He shook his head. “The chances that they are out here are very slim. But there is a chance, even if it is very small.” He planted his hands on his hips, his eyes scanning the trees and water around us. The water had settled, and the splashing was now nonexistent. Maybe Rune’s magic had scared them off. “They found my father’s body on the other side of the Mississippi River in Bayou Segnette State Park.” He paced in front of me. “I thought this would be far enough away, but the longer we are out here, the more I’m unsure of myself.”
I grabbed his hand in mine and forced him to stop marching in place. “We will be okay. You need me… and I’m here, so let’s see what all of this is about, okay?”
His hand tightened slightly around mine before he exhaled a shaky breath and nodded once. “Alright.”
I didn’t let go. Not right away. Maybe I should have. But right now, in this heavy, pulsing swamp, with the air thick as molasses and the shadows breathing around us, I didn’t want to feel alone.
We moved together this time—side by side—as we pushed deeper along the boardwalk trail. Every step made the noise of the swamp change: less humming, more… whispering. The kind of sound that made your skin prickle like it waslistening back.
Rune squeezed my hand once before he spoke low. It was barely audible over the sounds of the screaming insects around us.
“They shouldn't be able to pass through the wards,” he murmured. “Unless something’s helping them.”
My mouth went dry. “Something like what?”
He didn’t answer, and his whole body went tense again.
I followed his gaze—and that’s when I saw it too.
