Page 138 of Taken By Touch and Torment

He released my cheeks, and I instantly melted into him, putting my head on his chest. All of him held all of me—his arms and those creeping, sneaky shadows—and a part of me wanted to hide, to disappear into him rather than face this perilous destiny.

And that was why I loved Rune more than anyone had ever loved another. Because he would never allow me to lose myself in him. Rune wanted Scarlett, not a broken-down extension of himself.

“I love you so much it hurts,” I said.

“Dramatic.”

I laughed, breaking away to glare up at him. “Oh, are we ignoring the fact that you’re the tortured writer and hopeless romantic here? Should I pull quotes from all those love letters?”

He smiled, his eyes sparking. “Did you memorize them?”

I shrugged. “Some of them. Others I copied down before they disappeared. I need you to never write to me in disappearing ink ever again. I want to drown in your words just as deeply as you wish to drown in my voice.”

“Yes, Mistress Scarlett,” he teased.

I wrinkled my nose. “Please don’t. Gods.”

His gaze moved slowly from my eyes over my face before he stepped back to appraise my body.

His shadows bled into the air, and if I were to dissociate for a moment, I might see just how terrifying Rune appeared to anyone else.

“I hate this,” he said, his tone as sharp as my daggers.

“I know.”

“Scarlett Hale, the trouble you will be in if you don’t come home to me,” he said, all the violence of the realm in his tone. “I will drag you back to this fucking plane of existence from anywhere in the cosmos. And I could say you wouldn’t enjoy your punishment, but knowing you and your sick little desires, I’m not sure of that.”

I rolled my eyes. “My sick little desires, huh?”

“Mm,” he said. He grabbed my waist as he stunned me with a kiss that squeezed out my every last drop of oxygen. “Yes, my incorrigible slut.”

I laughed. “Incorrigible slut,” I repeated. I grinned and wished we could stay here, laughing, forever.

I went back in for Rune’s lips, promising him with my body that we would have forever. I didn’t know if fate gave much of a shit about what we deserved, but by the gods, I hoped the stars saw how much Rune and I were meant to spend eternity together.

I didn’t want to dwell on goodbyes. Not only because they made me itchy and hot from discomfort, but also because I refused to make a huge production out of my departure.

I would be back soon. And then we’d all look silly and melodramatic.

I’d had one last session with Belise this morning, working through tools to soothe trauma responses and keep a clear head. Similarly, I’d met with Sadie, who’d burned bundles of herbs and twirled them in circles around my body for clarity. She’d also delivered one of her classic pep talks, going through scenarios with me that were more difficult to discuss with Rune.

I was as prepared as I’d ever be.

As I hugged Snow in the grand foyer, I wondered when the shift had happened—the shift from victim to powerful, dangerous woman.

I thought perhaps it had happened slowly, over time.

“You don’t need my faith, but I’ll give it anyway,” Snow said. She was in a casual black dress and platform boots, her trademark pentacle necklace around her neck. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

“You’re the wisest,” I said.

Snow smiled, shaking her head. “Well, you don’t know many people.”

“The humblest too.”

She laughed. Her eyes brimmed with tears. I whispered that I loved her and turned away.

“We’re not hugging,” I said to Mason, standing on the bottom steps with Uriah.

---