Page 32 of Fire of the Fox

Rune’s eyes met mine. They dripped with what could only be described as pure venom, and I really didn’t want to find out what would happen when he turned that silent rage into action. Not wanting to see that look in his gaze anymore, I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted him back to his old self. I wanted the teasing smirk, the sincere moments of honesty, and eyes that grew softer with time instead of harder with contempt. This wasn’t the same Rune from before.

There had to be something I could do to turn this around.

Instinctively, my mind went to water. Water always soothed me and calmed me down. I didn’t think it would necessarily do the same for Rune, but I had to do something to get him to stop looking at me with such malice.

With a semi-plan in my head, I shoved myself out of Akira’s arms and ran for the kitchen. Akira, Bassel, and Marlow protested, but Rune laughed. Was my running from him amusing? His laugh sent chills along my spine as I dug in the cabinets, trying to find a cup. When I found a glass, I held it under the faucet to fill it up. As soon as I turned around, Rune stood in the center of the kitchen. The entryway to the kitchen was blocked by a wall of fire, so Akira, Bassel, and Marlow were shouting from the other side of it.

Something akin to mocking amusement danced in Rune’s eyes as he glanced at the glass of water in my hand. He chuckled and said, “That water won’t put out my fire.”

Taking a deep breath, I dared to take a step forward. He watched me with a curious pinch of his eyes, and when I was an arm’s length away, I held out the glass to him. He looked from the water to me as one of his dark fox ears twitched in confusion. Any other time, I would’ve laughed at such an outrageous sight, but right now, I was too on edge to find any humor in this.

I tried giving my best smile but was sure he could see right through it. “Water always helps me when I need to clear my head. I don’t know how to calm you down, so I figured I’d get you some water.”

He straightened and narrowed his eyes at me. His full tail flicked behind him as he asked, “Why are you not afraid?”

I swallowed as tears pricked the edges of my eyes. I held back that sign of weakness. “I am. I’m terrified, actually, but I don’t want to see what will happen if I make you any angrier. If I tried to leave or escape, that would just make things worse I’m sure, so here I am, trying to make things better. None of this makes any sense to me, and to be honest, I still feel like this is a dream or that I’m hallucinating.

“If that isn’t the case, though, and this is real, I want to understand. I’m sorry for making you so angry and not being what you thought I was. Whatever I have to do to make you calm down and not be so angry, I will do it, Rune. Just, please. Calm down.”

His guarded eyes watched me carefully, and I took the chance to look over his fox features again. His fluffy, black tail reached the floor, and from this close, the white tips on each individual hair were clearly visible. The pointed fox ears on top of his head twitched slightly as he watched me. I glanced down at his fingernails. They were still sharpened to deadly points. My stomach churned at the idea of him using those claws to shred my skin, which I wasn’t dismissing as a potential result of this meeting.

He glanced down at the glass, then turned his attention back to me. Finally, he narrowed his eyes, and the corner of his mouth rose in a grimace, exposing his fang-like canines. He gave an irritated flick of his wrist over his shoulder, and the flames barricading the door went out.

Akira, Bassel, and Marlow all came running into the kitchen. They were still in their Fae forms, and when they saw that I was alive and well, they gave a unanimous sigh of relief.

Akira’s relieved hold of his shoulders quickly straightened as he glared at Rune. “What the hell? I can’t believe you kept us out with your fire.”

Rune rolled his eyes and left the kitchen.

Marlow dashed over and took me by the shoulders. He gave a relieved sigh after looking me over from head to toe. “He didn’t burn you or kill you. That’s good.”

My eyes went wide, so Bassel punched him in the arm.

Marlow pouted as he clutched his arm. “Ouch! What did you do that for?”

Bassel gestured to me with his furry, striped hands. “Why would you say that to her?”

Marlow rolled his eyes. “Well, I mean it is Rune we’re talking about. He’s a Fox Fae after all. They aren’t exactly known for being nice.”

Akira joined us, and he hugged me tightly. He let me go and used his feathers to brush away at my clothes, despite there being nothing to brush away. As I watched the three of them interact, I became confident in my earlier decision to still trust them.

Rune was another story.

Chapter Fifteen

“CAN YOU PLEASE explain this to me?” I finally asked. Passing my gaze between the three of them, I took a deep breath. “I don’t understand any of it. How is this even real?”

Akira nodded and said, “Of course. Why don’t we go sit down in the living room? It would probably be better if you were sitting.”

I hesitated. “What if Rune is in there?”

Akira shook his head and rolled his narrowed eyes. “Rune may be scary, but he’s all bark and no bite. He won’t actually hurt you.”

Akira took my hand and led me back into the living room. Rune was leaning against the far wall, glaring at us as we walked in. Akira sneered at him and dropped my hand. He quickly turned, flapping his wings hard. The single beat of the feathers sent a giant gust of wind soaring in Rune’s direction. Rune merely rolled his eyes and twirled his hand in the air. At the same time, a funnel of fire met the wind halfway and sliced it down the middle, causing the wind to move out and away from Rune.

Rune glared at Akira. “Why would you try to fight me? First of all, that pathetic human is no reason to pick a fight with your best friend, and secondly, you know that I won’t fight back. Not with you at least.”

Akira led me to the couch where he had me sit down. My cautious gaze was locked on Rune the whole time. He stared back at me, his eyes dripping with fiery venom.

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