Page 62 of Calling of the Crown

Akira’s dark eyes dimmed with worry as they met mine. “Let’s just say I’ve never seen him like this. No one could console him. Not me. Not Ardley. Not even the twins.”

The mere idea of Rune so lost to his own sorrow that not even his brothers could help was gut-wrenching. Dread seeped into my bones, and I found myself almost afraid to see Rune. Not because I feared him and what he may do to me, but because I was terrified to see him that hurt. I was afraid to see him in so much pain that he’d been driven to a state of madness.

I clenched my teeth and picked up my pace as I swept through the halls. “Let’s hurry.”

The two of us raced outside of the palace and to the private rear shoreline. From there, I saw plumes of black smoke rising into the air from somewhere out at sea. The sight made my heart sink, because I knew it was Rune.

“Bria,” Akira said slowly. “Rune is my best friend. I love him fiercely, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help him right now. I tried. He’s—He’s not himself right now. I just want you to be prepared in case he … well, in case he attacks or something when we get there.”

The tightness in my chest only grew. Everyone seemed to think Rune was a danger right now, and I suddenly realized that if that were the case, taking Akira with me was putting him at risk. I refused to do that, so with a wary glance toward the distant smoke, I ordered, “You wait here. I’m going to go alone. Give me an hour. If I’m not back by then, fly overhead to check on things.” I pulled Akira into a tight hug and whispered, “I’ll get him back. I promise.”

When I looked at Akira again, I found him smiling with tears brimming his eyes. “I know you will. Be safe.”

I turned to the lapping tide, and as soon as I stepped atop the waves, I was met with solid footing. I didn’t wait a second longer. I held onto my baggy pants and took off across the ocean, my feet slapping against the calm waves. My heart pounded furiously with a desperate need to reach the billowing smoke, and with that intense need, the ocean rose up beneath my feet to engulf my legs up to my waist. Suddenly, it carried me at a blinding speed across the open water toward the island.

As I closed in on the small island, my heart clenched painfully. I could hardly make out the place from all the smoke engulfing the land, but what I could see was alarming. Trees that had clearly been tall and once full of life were now ablaze in fiery clutches, the bark blackening, and the leaves crumbling into ash.

The water brought me into the shallows where it released me and let me finish running the rest of the way to the sandy shore. I reached behind me for the water, and when I felt the tingle of our connection, I swept my arm toward the smoldering trees. The water followed the motion, drenching those trees nearest me. The flames immediately extinguished, but the smoke clouding the island remained. More fires were rampant farther in, and somewhere among those flames was my Fox.

“I’m coming, Rune,” I mumbled.

I covered my mouth and nose with the neck of my shirt and stepped carefully over ash and broken foliage. Hot cinders littered the ground, and I had to take care not to step on them as I went deeper into the burning trees.

The smoke was heavier here, and as I tried to search for Rune, all I saw were shadows veiled by smoke.

“Rune!” I called, but immediately regretted it as smoke filled my lungs. Coughs wracked my body as I tried to inhale clean air but failed. I waved my hands at the smoke all around me, but fanning it did little to clear it away.

Another cough choked me as I stumbled to the ground with a curse. Twigs and more hot cinders pressed into my palms, and I cried out as they bit into my flesh. I shook the glowing ash off to reveal red, bubbling skin, and as I bit back my cry, a low, eerie growl sounded in front of me.

A growl belonging to a beast.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

MY EYES IMMEDIATELY LOCKED ON the trees ahead of me. A figure with glowing gold eyes emerged from the smoke with the calculating prowl of a predator. My spine went rigid as the smoke cleared enough for me to see Rune stalking toward me with lips peeled back in a snarl and clawed hands curled with threat.

“Rune,” I said, slowly getting to my feet. “Rune, it’s me. Bria.”

His glowing eyes tracked my movements, and he bared his canines at me in warning. As I froze in place, I noticed more of the state he was in. His white hair had grown dark with a dusting of soot, matching his black fox ears, and his dark shirt and sweatpants hung in tattered fragments around his frame. Twigs and leaves clung to his fox tail, and fresh, bleeding wounds cut up his arms, torso, and legs. The disheveled hair and clothing paired with his luminous gold eyes and threatening demeanor almost felt feral.

Swallowing hard, I tried taking an easy step toward him. “Rune. It’s—”

He rushed me at an alarming speed, and his clawed hand gripped me by the throat, slamming me back into a tree. I grunted from the hard blow at my back and grabbed at his wrist, trying to pry off his hand. Those glowing eyes were locked on my face, but they didn’t see me right now.

“Rune.” My voice came out faint and hoarse from the pressure clamping my throat. I clawed at his wrist, but he was immovable. “Rune. You … don’t want … to hurt me.”

He growled and leaned in close to inhale deeply. Something in what he smelled triggered something in him. He suddenly jerked back to stare at me like he didn’t believe what he had in his grip, and this time, instead of grabbing at his arm, I reached up to cup his cheeks. His face scrunched with another warning rumble, but I ignored it. My fingers trembled as starbursts began to flash behind my hooded eyes, but I forced my hands to stay firmly on his cheeks. The air had left my lungs, and the world began to spin.

“Rune,” I croaked, fearing it would be the last thing to leave my lips.

Knowing I had little strength left, I moved my hands from his cheeks and onto the back of his neck. I pulled his face toward mine and pressed my lips to his. He went rigid, and his grip grew tighter. Just when I thought darkness was about to claim me, he let go of my throat. I sucked in as much air as I could, but immediately had to cough it back out as smoke filled my lungs.

Before I could recover, Rune gripped me by my baggy tunic. His glowing eyes locked with mine for a brief second before his claws shredded the fabric. The tattered garment fell away, leaving my bare skin exposed to his animalistic stare. He dipped his head, and my toes curled as his tongue slicked up the crease of my breasts. I held onto his shoulders to keep my knees from giving out under the lack of clean air.

“Rune,” I coughed. “The smoke.”

He didn’t seem to hear me. His clawed fingers dug into my hips, and sharp pin pricks of pain flared along my skin as he sank his claws into my flesh and dragged them down my thighs, ripping my pants as he did. I hissed at the burning cuts now dripping blood. He gripped my legs, digging his claws into the back of them as he hoisted them up and around his waist while pressing my bare back into the rough bark of the tree.

“Rune,” I panted, continuing to struggle for fresh air. Sweat coated my brow and skin with the heat of the island on fire around us. The salty moisture mixed with the gashes on my throat and legs, and it elicited a sting I couldn’t ignore.

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