Page 107 of Realm Walker's Awakening
“Isa?” His voice was thick with sleep and weak from what he had gone through.
I spotted the dark outline of the creepy house we were staying in through the last few paces in the woods. I nearly cried from the safety it promised because that meant the others were there and could help Rune. Even though our link was now open and I could feel him, I was scared he’d go downhill and die.
“Please, don’t leave me,”I begged through our link. My grip on him tightened, and I clenched my teeth as a wave of anger went through me.“I won’t allow it. You won’t leave me behind.”The warning held a slight accent I’d heard so many times in my dreams and when Estrid talked to me.
Rune shifted, and he offered me his weak comfort through our link.
Heofferedmecomfort? I was about to yell at him, but out of nowhere, the loud screech of the creepy thing came from my left, and it was too late as it lunged with its long claws directed at me.
There was athump,and something whistled from behind me. I jumped as an arrowthunkedinto the thing, followed by another whistle andthunkand then another. The shadowed creature stumbled and then fell to the ground with a loudthumpwhile making the same soft screech as it died.
It sounded like the freakin’ predator.
I turned in my spot, pulled the sword out of the sheath, and held it at my side as I searched through the darkness for whoever had shot the arrows. The stupidest thing I could do was assume they were an ally. Something shifted, and then heavy footsteps came toward me.
Why wasn’t I moving?
Why wasn’t I turning around and running to the house where the others were?
Why wasn’t Rune making a sound?
It made me sick that this strong Viking god didn’t make a peep or move to help me fight whatever was walking toward us. My legs shook under his weight as the adrenaline wore off, and I stood frozen, trying to get myself to move. To get to him to safety.
Glowing blue eyes were the first thing I saw before Rekja stepped into a soft beam of moonlight. My breath trembled out of me with a soft whimper of relief. The silent man came to me with his bow hooked through his arm on his shoulder. He helped me by grabbing Rune and gently putting him over his shoulder with a nod to me.
He turned to leave toward the house but stopped when I didn’t move because I heard more footsteps. My heart thundered as I expected the worst to happen. For another creature to attack or another siren to come for Rune to finish him off. Instead, Hegnan moved out of the shadows with a calm look directed at me.
“You’ve been busy,” he said, not making any damn sense.
His brown eyes reflected in the moonlight as he walked toward me. I noticed he was wearing a white and brown fur pelt, making his brown hair stand out. Handles of weapons peeked out from under the coat, giving him an intimidating look. I never really talked to him and didn’t know much about him, but every day I was learning new things.
At my confused look, he tilted his head at Rune with his gaze still on me.
I released a shaky breath, nodding.
Hegnan held his arm out in the direction of the house. “Come. Let’s get him healed.”
* * *
I ignoredthe seething Slátra as he scowled at me with his arms crossed over his chest. He had gone after me when I ran to save Rune and circled back when he heard the draugr that Hegnan and Rekja saved me from—which was a zombie but fromWorld War Zkind of shit. Or even a white walker fromGame of Throneswith how inhumanly fast and deadly it was while looking like death.
We only had a few minutes to spare before we had to leave. Even though the draugr probably wouldn’t break through the creepy tree line, the others weren’t comfortable sticking around to find out. I didn’t know why they couldn’t break through the tree line, and when Harper asked, Hluti explained they hid in the shadows and stuck by their graves. But with how far they were running in the long stretch of the woods, he thought that someone was messing with their graves. And that someone was using powerful magic to bend them to their will.
There was a moment of heavy silence between us at the prospect that someone could’ve been waiting for us to come here. I hoped that wasn’t the case and whoever lived here before was some crazy witch who got a little ahead of themselves.
But something stuck out that Hluti said.
They stick to shadows.
Warning bells went off in my mind, but I couldn’t think of why off the top of my head. There was something I wasn’t remembering, and it drove me crazy.
Shadowsrepeated in my head, but it still wasn’t clicking.
I sat at Rune’s side the whole time Hegnan looked over Rune and gave him a mixture of herbs in a drink. When he finished it, Hegnan gave Rune some of the powerful mead to numb his senses from the echo of the pain he still felt. It made my stomach twist and my chest squeeze that Rune was still in some sort of pain.
Did it take some time for my soul to help him? To make him feel better and whole again?
Rune comforted me through our link and soul bond, making me feel worse that he would comfort me when he needed it. So I shut down my thoughts and pushed all my feelings beneath the surface while keeping the link open. I hoped by keeping silent he wouldn’t have access to what I didn’t want him to know through our soul merge.
