Page 51 of Fire of the Fox

“Shut up, you jerk,” I laughed, punching him in the arm.

“Ow!” His laugh was deep and smooth, and he rubbed at his arm. “See? I actually felt that.”

I rolled my eyes and got up to get my bottle of water. As I watched Rune down his own drink, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was like when first learning to fight. Was he quick-tempered? Did he have moments of doubt? Akira had mentioned a war between their kind and Water Fae, and Rune had mentioned his experience in combat. Did that mean he’d seen real battle? He was no doubt a fearsome creature.

“What was it like the first time you had to fight someone?” I asked.

He paused in the middle of readjusting his hair tie. His gaze was glued to the floor, but it was unseeing. I could tell my question had transported him to a different place, and I wondered what it had resurfaced for him.

“My first fight,” Rune mumbled. He shook his head and gave a humorless laugh. “What a day that was.”

“Was your first time against Water Fae?”

“Yeah.” He nodded and finally met my eyes. “Yeah, it was. It was a day that really changed my attitude, and it’s one I’ll probably never forget.”

“Can you tell me about it? If it’s not too painful. I’d really like to know more about Fae and—” I paused, unsure if I should continue. I decided since I was asking him to open up, I should do the same, so I finished, “And about you.”

Rune’s eyes didn’t waver from mine, and there was no retort or brushing off my words. That surprised me but also seemed to poke at the feelings growing in my chest. It could be because he saw this as an opportunity to show me more of himself for the sake of the charade we were preparing for, which is really why I should’ve asked. I think we both secretly knew there was more to it.

“I was really naive back then,” Rune started. He moved to the center of the mats and rested his arm against his knee as he sat down. His amber eyes were on mine, but they also held a solemn look as he thought back to that time.

“I was already a century old, but up until that point, war hadn’t been a part of my personal life. I’d, of course, seen humans fight and witnessed struggles between small classes of Fae. But I’d never been actively involved in full-blown combat until that day. It was something I had trained for because Land Fae sensed a battle coming with Water Fae. I was young and dumb, though. The idea of finally being able to fight and show off my skills was what I cared about. It almost didn’t feel real when word spread that war was on our doorstep. All I was focused on was being powerful and strong.”

He paused and swallowed hard before finishing, “I wanted to make my dad proud.”

The sentiment was bittersweet. There had been so many days I’d wanted the same thing. I had wanted to make Greg and Wendy proud, to show them my art wasn’t pointless. After a while, I had given up on that. I had realized they’d never be proud of what I loved, but maybe—just maybe—my real parents would’ve been. That became my new drive. Even if they weren’t there to see all the work I’d done, I could regale them with stories and pictures one day. I’d find them and give them a reason to be proud of me. Or so I liked to dream.

“Not that I needed to fight to make him proud,” Rune continued. “I can’t even tell you how many times he told me, strength or no strength, power or no power, win or lose, he would always be proud of me.”

Rune stopped to take a deep breath. Talking about his dad was never an easy task. I knew how hard that could be.

I moved closer to where he sat and found my place directly beside him. Wanting to provide support and comfort, I grabbed his hand and squeezed.

His eyes found mine again, and they warmed at the edges.

“Anyway, my day of battle came sooner than I expected. There was a small village of Dove Fae in the forests along the East Coast. They were peaceful beings who wanted harmony and balance. They always stayed out of trouble and had no urge to fight. The Water Fae, whom they’d welcomed into their village at that point, didn’t care.

“Water Fae soldiers wiped out that entire community. There wasn’t a single Dove Fae left alive. Babies, children, mothers, fathers, grandparents. When we found the town like that, the air polluted with the stench of blood, we knew we had to avenge those innocent lives. We had to stop that group of Water Fae before they slaughtered more communities.

“We tracked them until they made camp. As soon as their guard was down, the group of Fox Fae soldiers I was a part of moved in. I must’ve killed a handful of Water Fae within minutes. It put my power on full display, but it also made me feel sick. I didn’t like taking lives after all. It was harder than I thought it would be, watching a person’s life fade from their eyes and knowing it was because of me.”

A heavy weight settled on my chest. While Rune and I were training, it was simply for self-defense. I couldn’t imagine ever taking a life. The burden that must cause and the guilt you’d no doubt feel had to be indescribable. I couldn’t ever begin to fathom how Rune dealt with it all.

“So, what did you do?” I asked after some silence had passed. “Did you decide you couldn’t fight anymore?”

“I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t stop because there were other Fox Fae with me who needed me. I decided I’d figure out what to do once we all made it out of there safely. That was before I discovered what awaited in the Water Fae captain’s tent.”

Dread pricked at my insides like shards of ice. I swallowed hard and leaned forward. “What was in there?”

“We had been wrong. There was a life left from the Dove Fae village. The captain of the Water Fae soldiers had taken a trophy. A woman named Mei, and she … she was actually a family friend. The captain laughed when he saw how surprised I was. He told me that she was there for the taking and that he had every right to indulge in his ‘spoils of war.’

“When I saw her and the state she was in, I snapped. I wiped out at least a dozen more Water Fae, including the captain himself. My team spared no life that day, and I haven’t since. Not when it comes to Water Fae.”

My blood ran cold. This had been Rune’s first taste of combat, and it had been devastating. It made me sick even listening to the summarized, less-graphic version. To have actually been there, to have witnessed a friend being held and tortured, must’ve been traumatizing to say the least. It had left such a profound mark on him. To him, the Water Fae were creatures who seemed to take what they wanted with no regard for others. What a dangerous way of life. I hoped I never had to meet a Water Fae, at least not one like that captain.

It was also hard to process how much loss of life Rune had witnessed and been a part of. What kind of scars had it left on his heart? I knew he did it out of loyalty to his kind and to protect those he loved, but it still had to leave wounds behind. Perhaps that was part of the reason he was always so guarded and distant. He’d seen so much devastation in his life that it was hard for him to see and indulge in the goodness out there.

“What happened to Mei?” I asked when he didn’t continue.

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