Page 161 of Lifebound

“But mortals normally can’t handle fae magic. I’ve never heard of it, at least—which doesn’t really mean much. I don’t know a whole lot about fae affairs with mortals, but Lyall does. That’s why it’s important you don’t speak about this with anyone other than him—and only when you’re all alone. Do you understand? Only when you’re alone so nobody else hears.”

He was scaring me shitless. “But why? What would they do to me?”

He gripped my face in his hands. “Nobody else hears except the prince. Promise me.”

“I-I promise,” I whispered because it sounded to me like I didn’t even want to know what would happen if someone else found out.

And nobody would. I’d kept this a secret all this time, and I would continue to do so. Never mind that now I feltfilthyall of a sudden, to understand that I shouldn’t have been able to do this at all. Never mind that I feltless of a personnow because I had no ideawhatI was, no idea what this light in my hands and this warmth that spread over me made me.

“Good girl,” Rune said and kissed my lips. “You’re going to be okay, Wildcat. We’re almost there.”

I closed my eyes and lingered on his lips for another moment just to get the energy and the courage I needed to move on. To move past this. To not want to dwell on it forever until I drove myself insane.

“Where are we?” I finally asked.

Rune slowly pushed my hair behind my head and analyzed every inch of me as the bird flew closer to give him more light. It was painful the way he looked at me now. It fucking broke my heart, and I didn’t even know why.

“We’re atop the Mercove, very close to the Seelie border. I’m going to carry you down the rocks, and we should get there in less than an hour.”

“Rune,” I whispered, touching his face with my fingertips again. “What happens after?” The words hurt on the way out. It felt like they took a part of my soul with them.

He was silent for a long time.

“I don’t know.”

The tears came at me again, relentless. It shouldn’t be this fucking hard to talk about this, should it?

“Am I ever going to see you again?” I whispered with barely any voice.

“You will.” He brought his lips close to mine. “But you need to see the prince first. You need to talk to him.”

“Rune, I don’t c?—”

“No, Wildcat. I will accept no words, no promises—not now.”

“Why not?”

“Because it wouldn’t be fair to you,” he said, and I laughed. Bitterly, but I laughed.

“What do you think—that I’ll see a fae prince and I’ll fall head over heels in love with him and forget everything that ever happened before that moment?” Because he seriously was delusional if he did.

Rune forced himself to smile. “You’ll be all right, Wildcat. Whatever happens after, you will be okay.”

That was definitely not the answer I was looking for, but when I put aside the impatience and the desperation, I realized he was right. I had no idea what the hell was happening here, and the prince still needed my help. Once he woke up, I could talk to him, and he could give me answers.

And maybe Rune was afraid that he’dwantme or that I’d want him—which, honestly, was just ridiculous—but I had faith that the prince would help me find a solution to this whole mess. He’d help me understand our bond and this fae magic thing I wasn’t supposed to have, and I was sure he’d help me find a way that was…lessheartbreaking than just leaving Rune here and saying goodbye forever.

I had faith.

“So will you, Mr. Moody,” I said and kissed his lips one more time.

He held us there, didn’t let us move for a long time, to capture the moment with our minds forever. The wind blowing, the rhythm of our hearts, the light of that bird that flew restlessly over us, the warmth and softness of each other’s lips.

Eventually, he stood and pulled me to my feet. Eventually, he stepped behind me and let me look around at where we were, and my breath caught in my throat all over again.

“This is the Mercove,” he said, pointing ahead beyond the large piece of rock we were on, at the sea full of glowing water below it. Rocks came out of the surface everywhere, some as high as the one we stood on, but none as wide. The water itself wasn’t glowing—just the fish swimming in it. And the sea went on forever. In the dark, I couldn’t see the end of it at all. “The dragon mountains are beyond, at the edge of Verenthia,” Rune continued. “Bloomsridge is to the left, and here, to the right…” Slowly, he turned me with his hands on my shoulders. “That’s the Seelie Court.”

“Holy motherfucking shit, Rune!”

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