“I carried you,” he stated, which caught me off guard.
“I figured you would have let me bleed out than carry me anywhere.” I tried to laugh, but my mouth was dry.
“I can’t let you die.” His jaw twitched from clenching.
Of course he couldn’t let me die. I was the chosen one to save his love, and I hoped he cared enough about Tor to want me alive to rescue him, too.
“Right.” He didn’t need to go into any more detail about his reasons for making sure I was still breathing. It hung in the air between us like a heavy fog. My eyes closed as the fatigue set in.
“I don’t hate you.”
My eyelids flew open immediately and settled on his unreadable expression.
“What?” I needed him to say it again. His response was comical. His eyes rolled and he smirked. It was almost like he was being playful . . . so uncharacteristic for him.
“I must be dead . . . still impaled on an onyx tomb. You just rolled your eyes. The Rune I know would do no such thing,” I teased, and he just shook his head at my ridiculousness.
“I don’t hate you, Sapphira.”
My name. He said my name.
His harsh face softened, and for a moment I didn’t feel like his enemy number one.
“You just remind me of her. It makes me on edge.” The weight of his honesty crushed my chest like he’d sat a mighty boulder on me. His remorse was visible, his breaths full of heavy burdens.
I reminded him of her. The princess.
I cleared my throat. A ball of nerves settled in my belly as I dared to ask my thoughts. “Will you tell me about her?” I wanted to know so many things about her, but he might not be comfortable talking about her to me.
“Another time.”
This interaction was unsettling, even after he was called away but promised to return to help me to my room. We hadn’t fought. Maybe becoming friends was in the realm of reality and not a fantasy after all. The longer I sat on the healer’s bed, I thought about what I had discovered, and the more I concluded I couldn’t do this on my own. I needed to know everything, and I needed help.
Rista, the wonderful and attentive healer, gave me the OK to head back to my room with instructions on how to use the salve in the tin she gave me. Rune appeared as soon as I stood from the bed. The weight on my leg ached in my thigh and shot a tinge of lightning-hot pain up my spine. The normally prickly Rune caught me as I lost my balance. His strong Fae arms scooped me up with no hesitation.
“Don’t jostle her too much, General,” Rista warned, then held the door open for us to go through. Rune carried me like a babe against his chest into the moonlit gardens. The healer’s quarters were just outside the palace. I didn’t blame her for wanting to be away from the commotion that happened within the royal stone walls. The quiet ambiance made for better healing.
“You don’t have to carry me. She said I could walk.” I peered up at his face, expecting him to dump me in the grass. But he didn’t, and I felt just as awkward as I had when he was being kind to me earlier. Unsure of where I was supposed to put my hands, I rested them against my chest. Clinging to him would have brought things between us to a different level . . . a level I wasn’t sure I wanted to cross.
He held me like I was nothing but a feather in his arms, one hand beneath my knees and the other holding my back against him. Instinctively, I breathed in his scent with every breath and found him oddly soothing. He smelled like the waterfall where we had spent time training—crisp, clean, and with a pinch of sandalwood, like he bathed in the cool waters every night.
“You smell nice,” I mumbled as the fatigue from the day overcame me. At least that was my excuse, but I felt safe, resting in his arms, the same feeling I had with Tor lying next to me every night.
I didn’t hear if he stayed silent or grunted. Exhaustion won as we passed through the palace doors.
Chapter Twenty
I managed to clean and dress myself without much trouble in the morning. Rune had brought my sleeping body to my quarters and covered me in the blanket thrown over my small bed.
My mind was too distracted by the racing thoughts of yesterday’s interaction with him to jump when the pounding on my door began. My limp was noticeable but with the salve Rista gave me, there wasn’t much pain in the movement.
Rune waited for me, his expression as frosty as the mountain peaks once again. My shoulders tensed in defense, ready for the old Rune to return.
“You’re going to the library, then taking the afternoon off.” His words were flat, but he didn’t appear aggravated.
“Thank you. Are we uh . . . friends?” I probably shouldn’t have been so blunt. Only I wanted to know if I should guard myself around him or if I could speak more freely . . . maybe even talk to him about Nyx.
He pondered on the word “friends,” not answering me right away. My fingers twitched to slam the door and curl up in bed, hiding from the embarrassing assumption that things had changed between us.
“I don’t have many friends. Most people are afraid of me,” he admitted, making me want to press him for more information about himself. Sure, his personality was like a bush of thorns, but he wouldn’t carry me around tenderly or care for me physically if he was pure evil. Even in her mental state, the queen wouldn’t have him as the general of her armies if he was no better than Verin.
Was it his scars that spoke some Fae language that I couldn’t understand? Had his love for Nyx caused tension between the people? I wanted to know.
“Then consider yourself with one more friend. I know I’m a simple human, but I’ve got charisma,” I joked, smiling at him like I hadn’t before. He studied my upturned lips like they were a weapon pointed at him instead of a simple grin. He didn’t speak, and I decided that was enough for me. I limped over to my shoes to slip them on gently and made my way back to Rune.
“Now that we are friends instead of enemies, feel free to divulge all your inner secrets to me. I’ll even let you in for a sleepover where I can braid your black hairs and have a pillow fight.” I’d seen another side of the general and there was no going back. I was going to joke with him. Maybe Dris was right. Prickly on the outside but the inside? Not so much.
He scoffed at my attempt to lighten his mood and walked toward the library. I wasn’t sure if he realized it or did it on purpose, but his gait lacked its normal long stride, and his steps weren’t as hurried. He was slowing himself for me and my injured leg. Turns out a close call with death was all it took to turn Rune from a beast into a man.
Dris waited for me in front of the magnificent library. There were no goodbyes or glances exchanged as Rune walked off and left me with the excited librarian.
Today her hair was a crazy mess of white waves on her head. Her dress was a pale green that ended above her knees, and she was barefoot.
“I’m so glad you’re OK. I heard about what happened, and I was so worried about you. You seem like you have healed for the most part.” She rushed to my side and gave me her arm in case I needed the extra help to walk. I didn’t but accepted her gesture anyway. It was nice having someone genuinely want to be helpful for nothing in return.
“Thanks, I’m OK. It smarts a bit but the salve Rista gave me really helps. I’m glad today is a calmer day.”