The voice is barely a whisper, but I’d know it anywhere.Rhune.
I’m not sure why I’m able to hear him, or what the pain in my chest means, but I know there’s something seriously wrong with Rhune.
“Nyx!” I scream, racing out of the room and through the tunnels. “Dravik!”
I barrel into the main room, slamming into Dravik’s burly chest so hard I’m nearly knocked backward onto the floor. Dravik reaches out at the last moment, stabilizing me as he gazes down at my wide-eyed expression. “What’s wrong, Willow?”
“Rhune.” I pant, trying desperately to get enough breath. “Rhune is… he’s in trouble. He needs help.”
Nyx frowns, but then his body stiffens, his skin shuddering and eyes slamming closed as his face screws up in pain. At the same moment, Dravik claps a hand over his chest, his lips twitching in a frown as his eyes flash with a similar agony.
“My gods,” Nyx whispers. “I… I can feel him now. Rhune… what have I done…?”
“What are you talking about?” Dravik demands. “What did you do?”
“I can’t explain now,” Nyx says, already moving toward the exit, his wings flaring in preparation. “I have to go. He’s… ”
He doesn’t have to finish, because I already know. I knew it the moment I felt him through the bond.
Rhune is dying.
“Go,” I say, pushing Dravik toward the tunnel. “I’ll be fine here by myself. Go and help Nyx.”
“Are you sure you will be safe?”
“I’ll hole myself up in Rhune’s bedroom with Kevin if it makes you feel better. Now,go.”
Dravik nods stiffly, heading toward the entrance of the tunnel where Nyx is waiting. Nyx flies out first, followed closely by his brother, and the two disappear into the raging storm above.
And there is nothing I can do but wait.
My eyes sting from how long I’ve been staring at the tunnel entrance, praying for someone to come through. Even though I promised Dravik I’d go to Rhune’s room and wait, I found it impossible once I was in there. Sitting in his room surrounded by his things, his scent… It made the anxiety worse. At least out here in the main room, I’ll know the very moment they come back.
Rhune is fine. He has to be fine.
The bond we share is still thrumming in my chest—one of the only things that gives me hope. However, it seems to be growing weaker the longer I sit here.
I’m trying to convince myself that it’s just my paranoia, and that everything is going to be fine.But that thread just keeps getting weaker…
I pull my knees closer to my chest, trying to hold back my tears. I know if I never told Rhune to go away and give me space, he would have never gone to the living realm, and he would never be in danger. In a way, I feel responsible—but I remindmyself that I neededspace and time to get my feelings and thoughts in order.
Still, it doesn’t make my pain go away.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please let him be okay.”
Kevin bleats, nuzzling his face into my side as if to say, “It’s going to be okay. You still have me.”
I reach down, scratching the top of his head with a weak smile. “Thanks, Kevin.”
Even though my furry friend is optimistic, I can’t shake the gnawing dread in the back of my mind. What will happen to me if Rhune dies? Will I die, too? Will my heart fracture beyond repair? Will I lose my mind?
Will I ever be able to love again?
I let out a deep breath, watching the cloud of vapor swirl and dissipate into the frigid air.Please, please be okay, Rhune…
Kevin nudges my side, and I turn to face him with a frown. “What is it? You’re already getting pets.”
He lets out a bleat and nudges me again, this time far more insistently. “What? You hungry?”
