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What the fuck is going on?
“Rune?” My throat stings. “Rune, what’s going on?” He’s staring at me, hands pressing so hard on my wrists that it hurts a little. I wince and he doesn’t miss it.
He blinks like he’s trying to clear his mind of whatever he just saw and slowly releases me. I stay lying down and watch him as he rubs his face and slicks his dark strands of hair back.
I try again. “What’s wrong? What happened?” The panic from my dream is still very much pulsing through my veins, but it’s calming down.
He lets his arms find me again and he pulls me up so I’m sitting, cupping the back of my head and pulling me into a hug like I’m precious. When he pulls me away, it’s only to kiss me.
“What’s going on, pup? You’ve been having night terrors almost every night. I was waiting until you decided to tell me yourself, but I don’t think I can let this go on.”
He knew about my nightmares?
“You knew? Wait, so that first night that you barged in…” My eyes widen. That night finally makes sense. He gives me a sympathetic look and nods guiltily.
“I didn’t know what the fuck was happening. I thought you were being attacked and then I was pissed because you looked so mad at me.”Gods… Well, that puts an end to that, I guess.
“Are you okay?”I nod.“You were malice itself, pup. Evil incarnate. I’ve only seen such horror once in my entire existence.”
My eyes flick open, my horror and confusion dancing with his.
I pull back. “What do you meanevil? I’m the Goddess of Life, or have you missed the memo?”
He furrows his brows at me, always so fucking serious. But Rune leans into me again anyway, our tongues eagerly searching for one another.“Stop with the sass. This isn’t normal… something’s wrong. Were you dreaming?”
I try to keep the darker, scarier parts of my dream in the back of my mind, but manage to give a small nod. Rune stares at me with his crimson eyes, and as I gaze into them, I wonder how I ever found him so haunting.
“Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?”He pulls away and kisses me on the cheek before standing and pulling his sweater over his head. I shake my head and frown at him.
“Are you leaving?” I sound so desperate and I hate it, but… “I don’t want to be alone.”
He stops at my door and looks back at me. My broken organ throbs with the anguish in his gaze. Did I scare him that badly? I have to fist my hands in the sheets to keep from grabbing my chest.
All I get is a somber look and then he opens the door. I hear him enter his room. I sit up more in bed and listen as he rustles through his desk, grabbing something and returning to my room. He flicks the light on and I wince against the bright invasion.
He sets down a white cloth and gives me a sleep-filled smile. He looks tired, like he’s had more than one sleepless night, and my stomach clenches with guilt.
“What’s that for?”
He kneels on the bed and tilts my chin up to kiss me.“You said you wanted a tattoo, right?”
My heart leaps and my nightmares are already fading to the farthest parts of my mind. “You do them yourself?” My eyes widen and I’m looking at all his ink with new eyes. The dark swirls look like haunting shadows over his skin, like he’s painted all his demons across his body like a story. “You’re so amazing, you know that?”
His lips kick up in a proud grin.
“Do you do it with magic?”
He nods and brings up his hand. His index finger glows with his dark red aura, which sharpens into a thin blade. He holds up his other hand and cuts the pad of his middle finger. I stare at him like he’s performing some kind of crazy ritual, because this isnothow they do it on the human side of the realms.
He leans in to kiss me and I’m eager to feel his lips again.“My blood will burn into your skin and remain as a tattoo. Where do you want it, pup?”
I shudder and pull back. “Will it hurt?” My brows pinch. I know it probably won’t hurt in comparison to some of the other pain I’ve had. Fuck, I experienced dying and Violet’s torture, so it can’t be that bad.
He gives me a sympathetic look and nods a little.
“Okay, I guess it’s fine as long as it’s you doing it.” I smile at him warmly. “Can you do one down my spine?”
Rune nods thoughtfully and waits for more.
