Page 74 of Fire of the Fox

My eyes darted from the man I loved to the one I once thought I did. Dax was a dick. He was pure scum for what he’d done. Even so, I couldn’t let Rune kill him. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing Dax had died at Rune’s hands.

Pushing myself up from the dirt, I groaned at the electrocuting pain that shot down my back and through my limbs. At the sound of me moving, Rune whipped his head in my direction. As soon as our eyes met, his face fell until he looked as if he were the one in pain.

“Rune.” I cringed, my voice hoarse and shaking.

He rushed to my side, extinguishing the fire from his hands. He was slow to reach out to me, careful of where he touched me.

With shaking hands, I grabbed onto his arms and looked up into his eyes. “Don’t. Don’t hurt him anymore. It was Jonah who did this, not him. Leave him be. Please.”

“Why?” he asked in a quivering breath. “Why do you defend him after everything he’s done to you?”

I reached up and cupped his cheek before realizing how bloody and dirty my hand was. I went to pull it back, but he covered my hand with his own, holding it to his cheek. His desperate eyes never once wavered from mine.

Dax didn’t deserve to die just for being a dirtbag. And Rune didn’t deserve yet another mark marring his soul with another life taken by his hands. There had been enough death.

Taking a steadying breath, I whispered, “Please don’t. Let’s go. I want to go home with you. I don’t want to go back to my dorm.”

My mind and body were exhausted. More than anything, I just wanted to wash the grime off, collapse in a soft bed, and fall asleep with some type of pain medicine. But, more than that, I wanted, needed, Rune by my side. The comfort of his nearness was my safe haven right now.

Rune glanced over his shoulder at Dax, who was still passed out. He glared at Dax’s unmoving body, then turned back to me with eyes radiating concern. I could tell he wanted to fillet Dax in a bed of fire, but he cared more about me in this moment than his hate for Dax.

“Okay,” he said, an orange flame circling around him. The fire didn’t burn my skin, despite brushing over me where I held onto him. When it disappeared, he was in his human form.

He gently scooped me up, bringing me close to his chest. Intense pain still gripped me, but the warmth coming off him was soothing. He cradled me to him as he retreated from the woods. His car was in the middle of the cul-de-sac lane, driver’s door flung open, and the car still running.

“Bria?” a familiar voice called.

Peering over Rune’s shoulder, I found Dallas standing by the dorm doors. As soon as she saw me, her green eyes went wide, and she raced to us in a stumbling mess of high heels.

“Oh my God! What happened? You’re bleeding everywhere!”

“There was an accident, that’s all.”

I couldn’t tell her what happened. She didn’t know Fae existed, and I couldn’t bring her into this ridiculous world where humans who knew the truth got tracked down by psycho Fae.

Rune walked around her to the passenger door. He knelt down to open it, taking care to not jostle me around. Once the door was open wide enough, he carefully placed me in the seat.

My head lolled to the side, and I peeked around him at Dallas.

Tears slid down her cheeks.

She threw a skeptical and icy glare at Rune.

Sensing what she was getting at, I explained, “It wasn’t him. I had a run in with some mugger.” Sure, that sounded convincing. “I’m going to Rune’s for tonight. See if Rance can come stay with you, okay?”

Rune stepped back once I was buckled. Dallas knelt down next to me and gently wrapped her hand around mine. Instantly, I was hit with a whiff of alcohol. She’d been partying, so I wasn’t surprised to see her so drunk. Even so, the strong smell of booze had the contents of my stomach roiling.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.

My eyes slipped closed, and it was hard to get them back open. “It’s not your fault. Go inside. I’ll be okay.”

She said something else, but I didn’t hear her. I was drifting, floating to somewhere warmer and less painful. My breathing had become soft and shallow. I was falling sideways as the world fell in the other direction. Before I knew it, everything had gone dark, leaving me to dream and float.

I dreamed of Rune. His kiss, his touch, his protective hold. I was surrounded by him and his light. No pain. No sadness, frustration, or confusion. Just him and me in our own little world made of light.

Chapter Thirty-One

MY EYES SLOWLY fluttered open. My right eye was swollen, so I couldn’t open it as far as the other. Even so, I knew where I was. A small light illuminated Rune’s room in a soft glow. Akira stood next to me, gently pulling the covers up to my chin.

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