Page 5 of Witch Unbound
A bar.
New Arrivals.
I arched a brow. “Ironic much?”
Loke shrugged. “New souls seem to find it comforting, and they tend to hang about until their old memories are completely buried and the new ones assimilated.”
The implications of what Loke had been trying to explain to me hit home. “This is a world.”
He smiled. “Yes, Cora.”
“A world like earth, and…do the souls here think they were born here?”
“Yes. There are many layers to a supernatural existence. Our souls are different from human souls and we have many lives.”
And Rune was here, living a new life. For a moment I was thrown. What right did I have to pull him from this new world? He could be happy. He might have someone… The thought was needles digging into my heart.
Maybe it was selfish to steal him from this new phase in his existence, but I didn’t fucking care. He belonged with me.
Loke’s expression was somber. “Be quick, Cora, and good luck.”
I crossed the street to the bar, and with a final look over my shoulder, pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Chapter Two
The inside of the bar was retro décor, with a jukebox flashing in a corner and loads of framed photographs plastered to the wall above it. The bar itself ran along the left side of the room, with lights hanging down from the ceiling and high-backed stools pushed up against it, most of which were occupied.
Guitar music played and people stood or sat about, drinks in hand, chatting, laughing, eating food. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. No one glanced my way as I stepped further into the bar. Most people had their attention on something up ahead.Someoneup ahead. Probably whoever was playing the guitar. Wait. Rune played guitar. Could it be?
This was where being short was a disadvantage. I dove into the crowd, weaving my way toward the front, toward the music. Toward Rune, I hoped.
I was halfway there when the crowd parted for a moment and I caught a glimpse of a man sitting on a stool on the stage. His head was bowed as he played, golden hair catching the light.
My heart leapt.
Rune?
The gap in the crowd closed, cutting off my view, but the pounding of my pulse told me I was right. I’d found Rune. I just needed to get close enough for him to see me. He’d see me and he’d remember me.
“Excuse me, sorry.” I pushed through. Almost there.
A smooth baritone rose up to mingle with the dulcet notes of the guitar, and I froze as every hair on my body quivered. Rune sang with emotion, and the ambient hum in the room quieted until the only sound was his voice echoing and reverberating around us.
For a moment I was enraptured, caught up in the melody and captivated by the words that tugged deep at my soul, but then my heart galvanized me into action. I slipped through the crowd with ease now that everyone was enthralled and broke out of the throng to stand on the edge of the circle of light that haloed Rune.
Because, yes, it was Rune.MyRune. Golden hair pulled back in a messy tail, face tipped up to the ceiling, eyes closed as he sang his heart out for the crowd.
It was suddenly harder to draw breath, even though my heart was working double time. I’d seen him in my dreams, touched him and tasted him, and I’d held him just before he’d died, but this…This was Rune’s soul, bright, vibrant, and powerful, and it lit up the whole damn room.
Every atom in my body screamed at him to open his eyes and look at me. To see me.
And as the final note fell from his lips, he dropped his chin and looked out into the crowd. There was a long beat of silence before the place erupted with applause.
His mouth moved in athank youas he stood and unhooked his guitar strap from his neck. I took a deep breath and stepped into the light.
See me, Rune. Please.
His gaze zeroed in on me and my heart shot up into my throat. “Rune…”
