Page 75 of Fire of the Fox

When he saw I was awake, his eyes warmed, and he whispered, “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I shook my head to tell him it was fine, but I quickly regretted it because the motion made a terrible throbbing start where I’d busted my forehead on the forest floor. I squeezed my eyes shut and brought my hand up to the wound. It was then I realized my hand had been wrapped with gauze. There was a small piece also taped to the spot where my head had split open, but it still hurt beyond the soft material.

“Is your head hurting?” Akira asked, his eyes looking all around the spot I held.

Taking a few steadying breaths, I nodded.

He frowned, his eyes full of understanding. “I washed out the gash and put some gauze on it, but I was waiting until you woke up to see if you needed any pain reliever. We weren’t sure if you would want to go to the hospital or not, so Rune decided to bring you back here until you came to. I went ahead and assessed your condition. You have a lot of bruising but no broken bones, which is good news.”

“Pain reliever would be nice.”

I tried taking a deep breath, but that sent a pang across my ribs and sides. My stomach and back were killing me from where Jonah had mercilessly kicked me. Everything felt bruised and battered.

I was honestly still in shock over the fact that I managed to come out alive. When I’d decided to stay and confront Jonah for answers, I’d underestimated his drive to get the job done, as well as his supernatural speed. I’d expected to have time to talk rationally, but I guessed Jonah wasn’t of sound mind.

Looking back at my friend, I said, “No thanks to the hospital. I’d rather take some medicine and get sleep here.”

Doctors and needles were not my friends.

Akira nodded and turned to leave the room.

“Where’s Rune?” I asked.

He turned back to me as his brow pinched slightly with worry. Not meeting my eyes, he fiddled with the bracelet he wore. “I guess you could say Rune’s taking some time to cool down.”

“Cool down?”

He let out a heavy sigh and walked back to the bed. He sat down on the edge, and he chewed on his lip with a furrowed brow. “He’s pretty upset about what happened, obviously. We all are, but I haven’t seen him so angry in a long time. When he came back with you, he had me fix up all your wounds, and I changed you out of your bloody clothes.”

I looked down. The covers obscured what I wore on my lower half, but judging by the comfort, I could tell it must be loose-fitting sweatpants. I also sported a large, black t-shirt. The clothes were no doubt some of Rune’s. The fact that I was wearing his clothes and lying in his bed should’ve made my heart dance, but I found it hard to be happy at a time like this.

My eyes met Akira’s again as he continued, “When I took you from him, he turned back into his Fae form before going on a rampage about what happened. You could have a bonfire for days with all the shit he’s setting on fire. I think he partially blames himself for what happened. He wishes he had gotten there in time to stop Jonah.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “He got there as soon as he could. He doesn’t drive a jet. It’s not his fault.”

“He’s proud of you, you know.”

My heart kicked up a notch. “He is?”

Akira nodded. “You were sneaky, smart, and a badass. Calling him and feeding him details like where you were and who was there. Standing your ground against a Fae and refusing to give up. He’s proud of you. But still pissed and upset. He’s a confused ball of feelings right now—something he’s not used to.”

I swallowed my emotions. I’d made Rune proud? That in itself was like a hearty dose of medicine. At first, I’d viewed tonight as a failure on my part. I hadn’t been strong enough to hold my own. I’d needed help. Rune didn’t see it that way. He was proud. He’d seen my strengths tonight, not my faults. He’d seen me as brave and strong, not helpless and weak. Biting back a sob, I realized he was right. Sure, I’d gotten beat, but by no means had I been weak.

Akira leaned back on his hands and looked at me for a moment. Pursing his lips, he was hesitant to say, “He said you told him to stop when he was attacking Dax.”

I met Akira’s eyes and nodded.

He gave me a small smile. “I think that’s something else he’s mad about. The fact that you defended Dax after everything he’s done to you. I think he’s pissed at himself, too, for actually listening.”

“I know Dax has done a lot of messed up stuff, but he didn’t deserve to be killed. I mean, do Fae usually kill humans when we piss them off?”

Akira stared at me, bewildered by what I’d said. His brow furrowed, and he gave a small laugh. Nodding, he said, “Human, hmm?”

Oh right. Dax wasn’t human. That was going to take some getting used to. I felt so blind for not knowing, but then again, how could I have known? All this time, he’d been Water Fae, and I partially wondered if he somehow knew something about me. Could he know why I had a faint magical aura? We’d been around each other for years. Surely, he knew or suspected something.

“Not human,” I sighed. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around him being Fae.”

“That’s understandable. Honestly, there’s more to explain regarding that—things we realized tonight—but I’ll leave that to Rune.”

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