Page 82 of Fire of the Fox

It was Sunday morning, and everyone was still asleep, except for me, Rune, and Akira. The three of us were sitting in the living room, drinking coffee and enjoying the normalcy of an early Sunday morning.

“So,” I started, looking in Rune’s direction. It was time to address the elephant in the room. “What are we going to do about me looking like this? If Fae heal quickly, your family’s obviously going to wonder how I’m beat up. We leave in six days, which isn’t enough time for me to heal.”

“I wondered the same thing at first,” Rune said. He stuffed his hand into the box of Cheerios he was holding and tossed me a few, which I happily popped into my mouth. “After talking to Avana, she assured me she could make you look normal.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “It’s just appearance-wise. She can’t actually heal your wounds, so while you’ll look fine, you’ll still be injured under all that magic.”

I processed that information. So, I’d look fine and dandy, but underneath that, I’d still be a pummeled grape. Good to know. Hopefully, no one wanted to hug me too tightly. That thought had me wanting to giggle, because that would never happen. His family? Wanting to hug me? Yeah, not gonna happen. I’d be fine.

My phone buzzed on the floor next to me, and guilt settled in the pit of my stomach. It was the thirteenth text from Dallas since Friday night. After telling her I was fine Saturday morning, she’d been blowing up my phone with calls and texts, all of which I’d ignored. It didn’t take much imagination to guess that she was trying to convince me to come back. I wasn’t ready to talk things out with her yet, so I kept ignoring her like a coward.

“There!” Akira beamed, putting the final touch on my hair.

He settled on a high ponytail, and even put in a bow that he had lying around.

Smiling up at him, I thanked him.

“Looks good,” Rune said. “I like the bow.”

Cheeks flushing and heart warming, I ducked my head to hide the massive smile plastered on my lips. “Thanks.”

“Whenever you’re feeling up to it, I can drive you back to campus to get all your bags.”

I downed the last of my coffee and nodded. “I’m ready to go now. It’ll be nice to wear my own clothes, no offense.”

Smirking, he stood up. “I like you wearing my clothes, but I get it. Give me a second to get changed, and we’ll head out.”

Akira helped me stand while Rune put on some real clothes. Rune reappeared in a dark t-shirt that fit his body beautifully and some low-hung jeans that made my imagination run wild. I had to look away quickly, otherwise I’d risk being caught drooling.

After hugging Akira and promising we’d do nails with Avana when I got back, I followed Rune to the door. My body was still stiff in places, the pain a faint-but-constant reminder that I needed to take it easy. The aching wasn’t as defined as yesterday; so as long as I didn’t go running any marathons, I’d be fine. That didn’t stop Rune from walking right next to me, just in case I had any trouble getting to the car.

It was only nine on a Sunday morning, so if Dallas stuck to her usual Sunday routine, she’d still be over at Rance’s place. I prayed that’s where she was, because my mental state could not handle seeing her yet. I mean, what would I say? Hey, Dallas, you’re Fae? That’s awesome! Thanks for hiding it all these years! Want a cookie?

She’d no doubt also wonder how I was so understanding of Fae, which would bring up Rune and the others. Seeing as how they were sworn enemies, I couldn’t have her finding out my boyfri—er, friend, was Land Fae.

But what if it was too late?

If Dax still had his memories after being slammed into a tree, he’d recall that Rune was Fox Fae. I still didn’t know if Dallas and Dax were in on each other’s real identities, but if they were, he may have already told her about Rune.

What if Dallas wanted to hurt Rune now?

I let out a frustrated sigh as we pulled onto campus.

Rune glanced over at me, his eyes concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. “Just a lot on my mind, I guess.”

Parking the car in front of my dorm, he turned to me. “Want me to help you gather your stuff?”

“It’s fine. I need to do a few things before I head back to your house anyways.”

He frowned. “Are you sure? I can wait if you want.”

“You hate waiting on things. I’m fine, really. You head home. I’ll see you later.”

He looked warily at the building. He swallowed hard and found my eyes again. “Your room isn’t on one of the upper floors, is it?”

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