Page 92 of Whispers of the Water

I held my head higher. “No.”

Smirking, he grabbed my hand with his free one, and together, we made our way downstairs. As soon as we made it to the grand staircase, Myra rounded the bottom banister. Her eyes immediately narrowed when she saw us descending the steps. “Rune. We missed you at dinner,” she said.

We stopped walking once we were face to face with Myra.

Rune’s voice was devoid of remorse as he responded, “We had dinner with our friends.”

“How …” Myra paused as her eyes found me, “convenient.”

I tilted my chin up a hair, refusing to let her get to me.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Rune said, capturing his mother’s attention once more. “We were in the middle of something.”

We turned to make our exit. When our backs were to Myra, her unusually bright voice followed us. “By the way, I was in my study just now, and I noticed a person hiding among the trees by the lake. It was a Water Fae, no doubt. I know it’s been some time since you’ve had your taste of blood, Rune. Why don’t you go take care of her for me? Bring back her head so I can add it to my collection. She had lovely red hair.”

My blood ran cold, and it took everything in me not to react.

Rune pulled me along as he tossed over his shoulder, “Yeah, I’ll handle it.”

We weaved through the hallways, but they practically blended together. I couldn’t seem to take in a full breath, and my heart beat wildly in my chest.

As soon as we entered the vacant kitchen, Rune tossed the tray on the counter and whipped around to face me. He quickly cupped my cheeks as my breaths came out fast and hard.

“Bria, baby, calm down,” Rune whispered.

“Dallas,” I panted in between gasps. White starbursts started dancing across my vision as my head grew fuzzier. The room spun around me, and I fought to catch the breath that seemed to be running away from me. “Dallas.”

Water suddenly erupted out of the sink across the room. It gushed from the silver faucet and barreled toward us. The water bled onto my skin, and I could feel its calming touch soothing me, but my panic kept it from fully taking root.

“Fuck,” Rune hissed under his breath. He quickly pulled me into a tight hug, which encased his arms and chest in the growing ball of water. “I’m here. I’m right here, Bria. Breathe.”

It took every ounce of strength inside of me to focus on Rune’s words. I repeated each one in my head, and I tried to inhale and exhale to the beat of his heart pounding within his chest. Between the current of the water and Rune’s strong embrace, I was able to rein in my alarm enough to get my breathing back under control. Once I could feel air moving through my lungs again, I silently ordered the water back to the sink. It followed my command, slipping down the drain, and eventually, only small drops fell from the faucet in a slow pit-pat.

Rune didn’t let go of me. He held me firmly to him as he said, “Dallas is okay. Let’s go call her. You need to hear that she’s okay.”

I tried to nod, but I had no idea if I managed to move or not.

Dallas.

She’d been spotted.

By Myra.

Myra wanted to … hang Dallas’s head. She wanted to add it to that sick wall in her office. The mere idea had my dinner trying to climb back up my throat. Dallas was in danger. All of the Water Fae were, and I was the reason they were here. Their lives were endangered because of me. If something happened to them …

“Bria.”

I looked up at the sudden sound of Rune’s voice, and when I did, I was shocked to see we were in our room. Water dripped from his damp arms and the front of his shirt due to the episode in the kitchen, and I briefly wondered if we’d made a puddle throughout the house.

Rune held my phone out to me. “Call Dallas.”

I nodded slowly and took the phone with quivering fingers. I dialed her number and held my breath as the phone rang—a noise that seemed to last years.

“Gummy worm?”

The tension in my chest cracked wide open at the sound of her voice, and I fell to my knees as tears spilled over my eyes.

“Bria? What’s wrong? I’m coming with—”

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