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“Hmm? Oh, the rider… Well, he looked fit and wore civilian clothes. He rode the most beautiful Hollow I’ve ever seen. Looked a lot like the white one that protected the Life Goddess the night we took her.”
I sit up and fist the blanket beneath me. “What was he doing?” Moro… That had to have been Moro, or Wren maybe. They’ve been silent for so long and I still don’t really know what to expect when I face them again. Their friendships meant a lot to me and it burns a hole in my soul having to be a puppet for Violet.
It’s better this way though. Let me be their villain… As long as they’re all still breathing, I don’t fucking care.
“He was coming out of some cave and that was it—disappeared into the forest right after.”
I picture the region in my head and don’t recall any caves. Fuck—just when I thought I could rest. “Thanks, Kol. I’m going to go check it out. If Violet asks, just let her know I went back to the glades.”
Kol dips his head and I don’t wait for him to leave before I’m leaping off the balcony and into the cold night sky.
Whatever you guys are up to, just don’t fucking come here… Not yet.
Don’t make her force me to kill you.
11
Elodie
I’m busy gawking at Rune all day.
Since our moment together a few nights ago, I’ve been struggling to reel in the lustful thoughts I’ve been having for him. He protected me from Arulius’s bruising grasp and fought for me.
Ten thousand points Rune—negative a million Arulius.
He leans against my wall, heartbreakingly handsome with his arms crossed over his chest.
He’s not as refined and orderly as Arulius. I like that about him. His hair is always messy and he absolutely refuses to wear guard attire. He is either in a slouchy sweater or hooded cloak most days. Rebellious as hell. I hope he never loses that part of him.
I didn’t get to see Rune much yesterday—at first I thought he was still sleeping, but I saw red horns down in the streets beneath my window and it was him. He was with a group of other Dreadiuses, and seeing him with some of his own friends filled my heart with an ache for my own. He smiled and they shared food easily, beautiful women swooning over him the way I wish I could. They kissed his cheeks and tried to latch onto his arms.
It’s easy to forget that I’m not the main character of everyone else’s story, but gods, I wish I was one of his. Watching him live a normal life outside of being my guard hurt…
I’ve grown to really enjoy his presence. Whatever kind of relationship we’ve formed has surpassed what it should be—but maybe after I’m saved from this horrible place we can besomething.
I tilt my head back and look at him from over my shoulder. He’s boring holes through me again, as per usual.
“Rune, you don’t have to watch me so closely, you know. I’m not going to try to sneak off to the library or anything. Don’t you have anything else to do? It’s your day off, right?” I stare out the window as creatures begin to gather below for the winter festival.
He doesn’t reply—obviously.
“Why don’t you go to the festival with your friends?” I turn to look at him. He smiled more easily with them than he does around me. It sucks because I’d like to think he enjoys my company as much as I do his, but I get it.
He’s my guard—I’m his prisoner.
That’s all we are, even if I get small glimpses of more…
These were the cards we’d been dealt.
He lowers his head and looks away coldly from me to stare at the corner where the floor and wall meet. I roll my eyes and think how I can get him to go have fun tonight. He deserves it.
I lean against the window, the glass cooling the skin on my back. “How about your brother then?”
He glances quickly at me and furrows his brow as an answer. Like I’m a damned fool for even thinking such absurdities. I agree, Kol is an asshole.
“Yeah, I figured as much.” I chuckle softly.
I walk over to my bed, crawl to the center, and lie on my stomach. When he shifts his head to watch me, I pat the spot next to me for him to come sit. He pushes off the stone wall and sits next to me obediently.
