Page 67 of Fire of the Fox

“Well?” he asked.

I nodded. “It’s good.”

“Told you that you might like it.”

Swallowing another sip, I twirled the stem of the glass. “Have you heard anything back about Jonah?”

“Not enough. As far as my guy can tell, he’s working for someone who’s tasked him with tracking you down. We already knew that, of course. He doesn’t meet up with whoever has hired him. They just make calls, and he hasn’t said why he’s after you.”

That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “So, we still know nothing?”

Rune watched me, mulling over something in his head. Leaning forward, he crossed his arms over the table. “The only reason he’d want to take someone out is either if he had something personal against them, which he doesn’t in this case since you didn’t know him, or if they were Water Fae.”

“But I’m not Water Fae, either. I’m not Fae at all. I’m human.”

He pursed his lips. “Are you sure?”

Narrowing my eyes, I clenched my fists. “Yes. I think I’d know if I were some kind of magical creature, Rune.”

Taking a deep breath, I worked to calm my frustration. Sure, it was weird that a Fae was after me, and it didn’t make sense that I had some sort of magical aura. But I was human.

Doubt crept in despite my reassurances. There was no reason for me to question who or what I was, but what if someone in my blood line really came from Fae? I could have this whole other side to myself that I didn’t even know about, all because I didn’t know who I was. Not knowing who I came from or where had always left a hole in my heart, but now it drew up even more questions. I’d never been more frustrated about it than I was now.

Chewing on my lip, I met Rune’s patient eyes. “Is there a way to see if I come from Fae? If Jonah really is after me because I descend from Fae or something like that, is there a way we can test it?”

He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “You want to test yourself? To see if you’re Fae?”

“I don’t know. Yes? I’m so confused, and I want definitive answers for myself to prove I’m normal.”

His brow furrowed, and he took a minute to think it over. His eyes never left mine. “If you did have some sort of Fae in you, it would most likely be related to water judging by your attraction to it. I guess there’s a way we can test the theory.”

I swallowed hard. If that were the case, if I had Water Fae in me, that would make me Rune’s enemy. And not just his. I’d be Akira’s, Bassel’s, and Marlow’s, too. I’d be the enemy of my fox. These were probably irrational fears since I was 99.9 percent sure I was human, but until I was certain, doubt was going to weigh me down.

I had to find out who I was.

Rune pulled out his phone and sent a long text to someone. He locked his phone back and set it to the side. Meeting my eyes again, he gave me an encouraging smile. “We’ll figure it out. Just give me a bit to set some things up.”

“I wish Jonah could be here to witness the test. Maybe then he’d see he’s made a mistake and leave me be.”

Rune shrugged and glanced across the river to the dark trees. “Who knows. He may be watching from the shadows right now.”

The idea sent chills down my arms. Neither of us spoke for a while. Rune stared off into the passing treeline as if he actually believed Jonah was out there. I was busy trying to sort out my own mess of worries and thoughts. It seemed that mound of emotions kept getting larger and larger.

Rune’s phone buzzed on the table, bringing us both back to the here and now. After reading whatever it said, he took a deep breath and looked at me. “Test time.”

Slightly nervous since I didn’t know what the test would actually consist of, I was slow to stand.

He walked over to the railing of the boat before looking back at me. He waved for me to join him, so I forced myself to move and walk over to him.

Standing beside him, I peered down into the dark water as the boat moved through it. When I looked down at the rushing current, something deep in my core wanted to reach out and run my hand through the cold waves. That part urged me to be calm, but it was also that part of me that sent a jolt of terror through my heart.

What could those feelings and desires mean?

Rune turned me to face him. He put my back against the railing, and before I could even register what he was doing, he grabbed me by the waist. He lifted me up, and I gasped as fear took hold of me. He sat me on the edge of the railing, so I clutched tightly to his shoulders. My breath hitched in my throat as dark water churned below. Was he out of his mind?

With frantic eyes, I shouted, “What are you doing? Let me down before I fall!”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. You wanted to test it. This is how.”

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