Page 44 of Calling of the Crown

Rune stiffened next to me, and my stomach tightened with a fresh wave of unease. My gaze zeroed in on Rune, whose jaw hardened and brow creased. I felt like the world was suddenly falling out from beneath my feet, because that was something that—foolishly—hadn’t occurred to me. I’d been so focused on what I needed to say and do, I never stopped to consider Rune and his past. Rune had seen countless battles with Water Fae, and his family was a high-ranked one in the war between Land and Water Fae. With all Water Fae returning home, it wouldn’t be improbable to think that some could recognize him from those fights and, consequently, already hate him.

“Rune?” I said softly, placing a hand on his arm. “Are you—”

“It won’t be an issue,” Rune mumbled. His eyes immediately focused on the floor.

Angus raised a bushy dark brow. “Oh? How can you be sure?”

“I just am,” Rune growled and bared his canines as his attention snapped back to Angus.

The corners of Angus’s eyes tightened a fraction, and he tipped his chin up a hair higher.

Before Angus could respond, I quickly said, “Let’s table this. We need to get downstairs. Everyone is waiting on us.”

The tension between Rune and Angus didn’t clear until Angus made his way into the hallway with Jesiah following him. I grabbed Rune’s hand and gave it a squeeze before pulling him along with me. Dallas and Rance trailed after us, and our group essentially sandwiched us so that Rune and I were guarded in the front and back as we traveled the halls to the ballroom.

Rune’s muscles were still tight, and his eyes were far from my own as he stared ahead yet seemed to see nothing. I glanced over my shoulder at Dallas and waved my free hand by my side to signal for her and Rance to back off slightly. Her green eyes caught my message, and she nodded before she and Rance slowed to put distance between us. I also let Jesiah and Angus get ahead some before I looked up at my Fox.

“Rune,” I probed gently, dropping my voice so that only he could hear.

His eyes peeked sideways at me, and unmistakable trouble clouded them.

Squeezing his hand, I gave him a playful smile and asked, “What’s going through that pretty head of yours?”

He looked away from me again, and my heart clenched painfully when he didn’t even crack a smile at my teasing.

Swallowing hard, I asked, “Does this have to do with what Angus said?”

Rune’s frown deepened, and his shoulders stiffened.

When he didn’t answer, I held his hand tighter and grabbed his arm with my other. “Talk to me, Rune.”

“No one will recognize me, because there’s no one left to do so.”

Brow furrowing, I questioned, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, there are no Water Fae here who would recognize me from encounters in combat. They’re all dead.”

The statement came out harsh. Cold. Angry. Yet I knew every one of those emotions was directed at himself.

“The Fae I faced didn’t live to talk about our fights,” Rune spat bitterly. “Any battle I entered, whether it was a solo mission or one for the elite Fox unit I was a part of, ended the same way. No survivors. People may recognize the Beckett name, but no one will recognize me.”

Guilt suddenly seemed to flood him, pushing all other emotions out. The weight of all the lives Rune had taken in his years bogged him down, and now that he was being faced with them, the remorse was all he seemed to feel.

“That’s part of war, Rune. Do you think you’re the only Fae here who’s taken a life?”

“No, but—”

“But nothing. Look, I won’t pretend to know what it feels like to live with that kind of guilt. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have that burden, but it’s one that was forced on you, just like it was for everyone else. You did what was asked of you for what you believed was the good of your kind. Same for any other Fae who took part in the war.

“Does that make it easier or right? Again, probably not, but that’s what this war has caused. It’s what this division and hatred has resulted in, and it’s why you’re doing something now to end it. You’re working to ensure no more Fae have to die on either side.

“You have a dark past, but so do many here, Rune. I don’t hold that against you, just like I don’t hold it against Angus or Dallas or anyone else. So stop holding it against yourself.”

“It’s not that easy,” he whispered.

“I know. But I’m going to be here to remind you until it sticks. You are a good man with a complicated past, Rune Beckett, and that’s all it is. Your past. What matters today is who you are now, what you’re going to do from this day forward, and, hopefully, that will be saving lives.”

He swallowed hard, and after a few beats of silence, he nodded. I knew he was still worried and stuck inside his head, but, hopefully, my words were at least a small comfort.

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