Page 21 of The Seeker

I didn’t want to see the blood.

Metal hit metal, and there was grunting and moaning. I kept my eyes closed until I felt fingers brushing over my wrists, untying the rope there.

My first instinct was panic, especially as a finger danced over my brand and I braced myself to run.

“Runa, it’s okay, it’s me.” Leif’s soft voice broke through my panic.

A sob emerged from my chest as I sat up, my hands tingling as the blood returned. I reached for the gag, my fingers struggling to grip the fabric.

“Here,” Leif whispered, pulling the cloth from my mouth as tears flowed down my cheeks. “Shh . . . you’re okay.” He pulled me into his chest, running a calming hand down my back.

“She’s okay,” he called to someone over my shoulder, and the words caused me to cry harder.

When my sobs finally abated, I pushed off of his chest, searching Leif’s blue eyes for answers. “Who were they?”

“I don’t know, my heart.” He sighed. “Do you want to see if you recognize them? I don’t.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to look at any dead bodies, and if I hadn’t recognized them alive, I certainly wouldn’t now. “I didn’t know them.”

There was another voice behind me. “They don’t appear to be from around here.”

Leif frowned. “But why would they try to take Runa and nothing else? My jewelry was on the bedside table.”

The man behind me sighed, and I recognized it was Derek. “My guess is they were hoping to ransom her for far more than your personal jewelry would go for. You did just announce that she is with child.”

The words were sobering, and I fought to swallow over the lump in my throat. Had I done this to myself? Was this my punishment for lying?

Leif helped me to my feet, but my legs shook as I tried to take a step forward.

“Here. I’ll carry you.”

Before I could protest, I was in his arms, one supporting my back and the other beneath my knees. I buried my head in his chest. While I would normally protest being carried, my hands were still shaking, and I just wanted to be returned to my bed before I lost it.

We traversed the halls in silence. It wasn’t until Leif led me back into our room as a servant revived the fire that I found my tongue. “Why weren’t you in bed?”

His face crumpled. “I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk.”

His despair was potent, and I knew then that he had no knowledge of what would happen, otherwise he never would have left me.

“I was by the pond when I heard the commotion, and when I looked over . . .” His breath caught as he helped me sit on the bed. “My heart stopped, Runa. You were on the ground and I thought . . . I thought I’d already lost you . . .”

A tear rolled down his cheek, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to brush it away. “Stay with me,” I whispered, my fear of being alone a living, breathing entity.

“Always,” he breathed before disappearing inside the bathroom, returning with a cloth to wash my feet. “Let me help you clean up.”

I nodded, my heart warming at his actions. This was the Leif I’d first met in Adis’s keep two seasons ago. The one who was kind, caring, and a good friend.

He finished, tucking me into bed before moving to his side. The fire was alight, allowing me to see all four corners of the room, something I relished.

Leif pulled me into his chest, and I found myself relaxing into the safety of his embrace, even as my hand drifted to the still warm scar on my wrist.

I wished I’d never met the man he was outside of moments like these.

CHAPTER 8

Iset down the book—the reading of it complete. Well, my real reading had been completed earlier that evening, before Leif had returned to our rooms. But I hadn’t had time to experiment what the true power of the book was before he’d waltzed in.

I would figure it out soon, though. As soon as Leif left me alone.