Page 141 of Lifebound

“I have plenty,” Rune said, and he let go of me for a moment to go to her. He put his hands on her arms and lowered his forehead to hers. It must have been some kind of greeting because Raja put her hands over his, and they both closed their eyes for a moment.

“Thank you, Raja,” Rune said, and stepped back.

“No thanks needed,” she said. “Ever.”

“I’ll send word whenever I can.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Her hand slowly moved up to his face, and for a moment, the expression in her eyes changed. Became softer. “Be careful and be fast.”

“I will,” Rune promised and offered her one of those rare full smiles before he turned to me. “Ready?”

Not even close, but I nodded anyway. “Let’s go.”

He reached for my hand and I took it. Raja looked down at me with those sharp arches on her brows but said nothing. It would have been easier to just keep my mouth shut and let Rune lead me away, but I thought I might regret it later if I left without a word because this woman really seemed to care about Rune.

“Thank you, Raja. I hope I’ll be able to return the favor one day.” Which was probably never going to happen, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say.

Nothing, not even ayou’re welcome,but I wasn’t offended. I just followed Rune into the dark hole in the ground and the side of the tree.

Stairs.

I was holding my breath, squeezing his hand with both of mine, and the three birds flew ahead of us to reveal where we were going. Stairs underneath my feet, small and made of dirt, and the darkness stretched far beyond where the light of the birds reached, but Rune kept on moving slowly. Steadily. His every step precise.

It wasn’t until the tenth step that we heard the sound from behind us—the ground and the tree closing again, locking us underground.

Not going to lie, I was scared shitless, and I’d stopped moving without even realizing it.

Suddenly Rune was in front of me, the birds flying silently over his head. “Look at me, Wildcat,” he said. “We’re safe here. I’ve been in this tunnel more than twenty times now. We’re safe. Look.”

He stepped behind me and kept his hands on my shoulders as the birds flew farther and farther away to show me that the tunnel was indeed over ten feet wide, and the ceiling made out of dirt was almost twice as high as the ceiling in that carriage. There was only soil and thin roots coming through on all sides, but that’s it.

Dirt and rocks—nothing else.

“How does Raja know about this tunnel again?” I asked, and my voice echoed infinitely, but no other sound came back at us from anywhere.

“Because she is Blackwater’s Keeper of Secrets,” he said. “This tunnel was built by the fae to travel back and forth between most territories of upper Verenthia. Nobody uses it anymore because there are very few alliances between the species that live here today. Only a couple vampires knew about the existence of this tunnel until Raja took her title.”

Stepping to my side, he brought the leather bag forward and pulled something out—a pair of soft looking brown boots that went up to the knee.

Here I thought he’d only brought food and water in it.

“I basically stole these from her drawer, but I doubt she’ll mind. I think they’ll fit you right,” Rune said, and suddenly he was on his knees in front of me.

“Are you serious? You stole from Raja?! She’s going to be furious!”

But Rune didn’t care when he pulled up my wounded leg that I no longer even felt throbbing and took off my sneaker.

“By the time she gets back home, we’ll be long gone.” He looked up at me, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Put your foot in.”

Yes, he was holding the boot up for me, and I wasnotabout to tell him that I could do it myself. No, sir, because the sight of him on his knees like that appealed to some wild and deep instinct inside me that I couldn’t control at all. So, I put my foot in the boot and watched him smooth the leather against my leg.

I was in awe of this man.

“How’s that? Does it fit?”

“Perfectly,” I said, and I was already out of breath.

“Thought so. I measured your foot at the lake,” he said as he wrapped the long laces around my leg and tied them into a ribbon in front of my shin.

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