Page 70 of Whispers of the Water

“No, no,” she said, waving her hand around. “The two girls from the bathroom. The ones from your school.”

“You have friends here?” Rune asked, raising a surprised brow. “Did you want them to join us?”

The lies gathering on my shoulders weighed down my heart. Rune’s genuine offer didn’t help. As soon as he saw Dallas, he’d recognize her, and since he knew she was Water Fae, there would be no predicting what would happen.

I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. I’m sure they’re doing their own thing.”

“Oh, come on,” Yasmine laughed. “You should have them join. I mean, it sounds like you guys are really close.”

Don’t say it.

Her lips curved. “Your High—”

“Woah!” Akira shrieked.

He tripped over some unseen obstacle in the grass and fell into Aidan with his hot cup of what smelled like apple cider. The beverage splashed down the front of her golden maxi dress, and she gasped and leapt back.

“Ouch!” she roared, grabbing the front of her dress to pull it away from her skin. Her fuming eyes latched onto Akira, who nibbled nervously on his lip. “You fucking moron!”

Akira straightened and made a play of bonking his head with his fist. “Whoops. That’s me, I guess. Sorry about that.”

Yasmine glared at Akira and the rest of us before placing her hand on Aidan’s back. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

The two of them shoved past all of us.

I met Akira’s eyes over Rune’s shoulder and gave him a thankful smile.

He returned the look and silently mouthed, “I’ve got you.”

Rune turned to Akira and patted his back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m totally fine,” Akira waved his hand dismissively. “That cider was too sweet anyway.”

Rune turned back to me. He gripped both of my hands and pulled me close until there was no room between us. His voice lowered so that only he and I could hear it. “What was that all about?”

Not wanting to talk about this here, I shook my head. “Nothing. We can talk about it later.”

My dismissal of it left a sting on my heart, like the lie was now a brand I wore for all to see. I fidgeted on my feet in an attempt to do something about the nerves darting about inside me. The truth of who I was would be a hard one for him to accept. I didn’t know how long he’d actually loved me, but it was only a handful of weeks at the most. He’d loathed Water Fae for a century.

I swallowed hard as my gaze traced the smooth planes of his face, his hard jawline, the way wisps of his white hair fell across his lashes, and how those golden eyes of his flickered with boundless love. I locked onto those eyes and etched the emotion I saw into my memory. Because this could be the last time I saw him look at me that way should our conversation not go the way I hoped.

Chapter Twenty-Six

AS SOON AS we entered Myra’s home, my anxiety intensified. While the rest of the gang joked and laughed about our day of fun at the festival, I was lost inside myself, trying to rehearse how I’d explain everything to Rune.

Should I come right out and say it like I did with Akira?

Should I start with, “You know I love you, right?” God, no. That will only have him freaking out about what’s going to leave my lips.

“Hey,” Rune said, bumping his shoulder into mine. “Is everything okay? You seem … troubled.”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine. This pumpkin is just heavy.” I hoisted the large pumpkin I’d gotten from the festival higher in my grip to feign being burdened with its weight. In reality, I could almost forget I was holding anything due to my new Fae strength.

Rune chuckled and gripped its stem. “I think I can help with that.” He took it from me and shifted his own until he held both of our pumpkins in the crook of each arm.

We headed for the stairs, but I stopped at the bottom. “Rune?”

He looked back at me.

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