Runebreaker

Chapter 27 Caught

CAUGHT

“Aelie, wait!”

I shoved through dancing fae, ignoring their startled looks. My shoulder slammed into a male, and I pushed past him, gasping for air. I stumbled behind a table, knocking a goblet to the ground. Wine splattered the moss.

I glanced back through the blur of tears. Kairos stood in the center of the dancing, scanning the crowd. Then someone called his name, a courtier demanding his attention.

I ran.

The kitchen garden, where was it again? East. My boots skidded on wet grass as I rounded the corner. There. The old well, half-hidden by overgrown rosemary.

I dropped to my knees, breath hitching with sobs I was trying to swallow. Crying. Like some weak girl.

Kairos had given himself up for a century. Endured humiliation and gods knew what else to save his people. And what had I done? Let myself be manipulated by pretty words and allow Vaeris to carve a death sentence onto my skin.

How pathetic I must look to Kairos.

My fingers scrabbled at the loose stone near the base. It wouldn’t budge.

“Come on.”

The stone gave. I thrust my hand into the hollow, fumbling.

Please be there.

My fingers closed around canvas. I yanked the satchel out with a choked sound. I looked at the castle, my heart twisting, then at the trees.

I hit the woods at full speed. The forest swallowed me whole. Didn’t care. I just needed to get away from him, from the pity flashing across his face, from hearing how easily Vaeris had twisted me around his finger.

Twigs snapped. The hem of my dress caught on a branch. I ripped it free.

Doesn’t matter. Keep moving.

If I slowed down, he’d catch me.

My side screamed. The pain throbbed with every step, but I pushed harder.

The trees thinned. A clearing opened before me, the still water nestled between jagged stones.

The hairs on my neck prickled. I turned, scanning the darkness. Nothing moved. No sounds but my own ragged breathing and the wind whispering through leaves.

Mist curled around my ankles, then higher. It stroked my collarbone—warm, almost alive. It felt…good. Was this the starfire, or something else? The touch brushed lower, teasing along my neckline, and a shudder wracked through me.

I forced another step, but the tendrils held me in place. White thickened around me, swallowing the trees, everything except me. Mist twisted over my skin like grasping fingers.

A shadow slithered inside the fog. Then a figure emerged—tall, broad-shouldered, but not the savage I expected. Kairos looked…broken.

My stomach plummeted. “No.”

His amber eyes found mine through the haze. He walked toward me slowly.

“Let me go, damn you!”

“I can’t do that.” His voice was hoarse.

He halted in front of me, his brow furrowing. His eyes held nothing but pain. His hand lifted. It trembled as he wiped the tears clinging to my cheek, and I pinched my lips tight.

His throat bobbed. “Aelie.”

I jerked back. “Don’t touch me.”

His gaze traveled everywhere but my face, stopping on my shoulder. He froze. Then he grabbed the leather strap, easing the satchel off me.

“You want to run?” He pulled a dagger from his belt. “Fine. Land one hit on me first. Then I’ll let you stumble into the darkness.”

Kairos offered it to me, hilt first.

I licked my lips. “What?”

“Strike me, and I’ll release you.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Afraid you’ll lose?”

Mist wriggled from my wrists and ankles as he released me. I snatched the dagger. The blade was extremely sharp.

He stepped back. “If you’re serious about leaving, you’ll have to show me you can handle yourself.”

“I don’t want to fight you.”

His mouth curved. “I know.”

“Not because I care about you. It’s not a fair battle.”

“Life isn’t fair, my princess.”

I blinked. “Princess? I’m not some pampered royal.”

“I give you more luxury than you’ve ever known in your life, and it still isn’t enough.”

My grip tightened on the hilt.

He circled me slowly. “You’d rather wander through a forest that wants to kill you than stay in a castle where I treat you like a queen.”

Heat flared in my chest and I lunged, slashing at him.

He sidestepped out of reach.

I gritted my teeth, adjusting my stance. I shifted, feinting to the left before slicing toward his shoulder. He evaded me. With a small push, he shoved me off balance and I stumbled, catching myself before I hit the ground.

Kairos tsked. “Your footwork is sloppy.”

“You’re not fighting in a dress.”

“Then lose it.”

“You wish.”

I stabbed. He dodged. I brought my knee up, aiming for his groin.

He caught my knee. “Better.”

He released me, and I switched the blade to my other hand. Utterly useless. I’d never fought with a blade before. I had no chance whatsoever against him. Stronger, faster, and hundreds of years of experience.

I wiped my hand and transferred the dagger. Swinging in a wide arc, I aimed for his shoulder.

He seized my wrist. “You’re not even trying.”

“I don’t know how!”

“Proves my point.”

I wrenched myself free and slashed at him.

He grabbed me and jerked me into his arms. I slammed into the hard line of his body. The dagger was in my hand, but it didn’t matter—he had me pinned tight.

“What now?” he purred.

I twisted, struggling. One arm banded around my waist, anchoring me against him, while the other slid up over my ribs, to the thundering beat of my heart.

Then higher.

“Stop,” I whispered.

“You’ve got a blade in your hand. Use it.”

I gripped the hilt tighter, but my arm wouldn’t move.

“What’s it going to be?” he murmured. “Drive it home, or admit you can’t do this?”

“I hate you.”

His grip loosened slightly. “You’re still not using the blade.”

I tried to twist, throwing my weight. He adjusted easily, shaking with laughter. I thrashed harder, accomplishing nothing except pressing myself more firmly against him. Finally, I sagged against him.

“Giving up already?” he taunted.

I panted. “You’re too strong.”

“If you can’t get through me, you don’t stand a chance in the Mirenwilde.”

His palm drifted to my stomach, settling there.

A dark thrill swooped low in my belly, making my thighs clench.

No, not this.

His fingers splayed wider, and tingles skated across my body. His thumb made a lazy circle below my navel. My lips parted.

“Try again?” he asked quietly.

I couldn’t speak.

“Or would you rather I do this?”

His hand sailed higher, achingly slow. Over my ribs. He skimmed the underside of my breast and I stilled, every nerve ending blazing to life.

I watched his hand, transfixed, as it explored me. Heat flooded my core. I didn’t want to pull away. Gods help me, I wanted him to keep going.

He froze. Then his chest expanded against my back and his thumb traced another circle.

His nose brushed my neck. “You smell…so perfect. Like honey.”

“What?”

“Your…scent. Fae senses. We can…” He inhaled and breathed out slowly. “Fuck.”

I didn’t move. I had no idea what was happening.

“Aelie,” he said in a strained voice. “Don’t get worked up.”

The arm around my waist tightened. He was hard everywhere. His cock jabbed into my hip.

“You should—” He drew in a shaky breath. “You should be grateful I have any restraint left. Because if I didn’t—”

He cut himself off, tensing.

“I’d have you on your back,” he said, strangled. “Your thighs spread for me. My mouth—my mouth between them.”

I turned in his arms.

His eyes had darkened, pupils blown so wide barely any amber remained. The civilized mask he always wore cracked, leaving something wild and ancient staring at me.

I dropped the dagger—damn.

He pressed his forehead against mine. “Say the word, and I’ll drop to my knees and show you what it’s like to be worshipped.”

He didn’t resemble Kairos anymore. There was no trace of the controlled fury in that black stare, just hunger.

My skin felt too tight and hot.

His arms began to shake. His fingers dug into my waist, and a desperate ache bloomed under his grip.

What the hell?

A low sound rumbled from his chest, and my thighs clenched. The noise went straight to my core, making me gasp. He needed to snap out of whatever had seized him. We both did.

I stared at his arm, the ink curling over taut skin.

Make him furious.

I leaned in, my mouth brushing his tattoos. He shuddered violently as I parted my lips, my teeth grazing him.

Then I bit. Hard.

His head fell back, and he hissed a curse. I sank my teeth harder.

He shivered. “Yes.”

What?

He swept my legs out from under me. We hit the ground, breathless. He grabbed my wrists in one brutal grip and pinned them above my head, his body settling between my thighs.

I gasped.

His mouth crashed into mine, his teeth catching my bottom lip. The sharp pain sent a jolt between my legs.

I tried to turn away but his hand fisted in my hair, holding me in place. The pull on my scalp made my eyes flutter. Oh gods, this was real.

I bit his lip in retaliation.

He groaned and kissed me fiercely. His tongue forced its way past my teeth, and his taste flooded my senses. Salt and cedar. My mind careened. I wanted to drown in it. All the fight in me surrendered.

My mouth opened for him. The fist in my hair tightened, and I whimpered.

He released my wrists, and his hands flew to my face. Our tongues collided. Deeper. Dirtier. More. He growled, pressing me into the earth. His mouth trailed over my throat, sucking bruises into my skin. Then he moved lower until he was on my breast.

He gripped the neckline of my dress and tugged. A breeze teased my nipples into aching points. He fondled my breasts, and his thumb dragged over the peak while his tongue lashed my nipple.

I forgot how to fucking breathe. This was happening. His mouth on me. His hands. I should stop this. Should push him off.

A violent shudder rippled through me as his tongue flicked over the sensitive bud, circling once before his mouth closed around it. Then he sucked. Hard.

I choked at the sight of his tongue pleasuring me. My fingers tangled in his hair and wrenched. Then he bit down, and heat pulsed through me.

I moaned.

He surged up, crashing his mouth into mine, and we clutched at each other. I pushed against his chest, and he fell back. He let me rise over him and straddle his hips to take what I wanted.

I kissed him, slower this time. Tasting.

Learning the shape of his lips, the rough sound he made when I nipped at him.

My mouth ran all the way down his neck, where he smelled incredible.

I sucked on his skin, greedy for the taste of him.

Fuck, his scent. His moans. This was madness.

Beautiful, reckless madness. And I didn’t want it to stop.

What am I doing?

I pulled away, panting.

The world came into focus—Kairos, his hair stuck up in wild angles where I’d fisted it, his lips swollen. A red mark bloomed on his neck.

Oh gods.

I scrambled off him. I’d kissed him and I’d wanted it. Climbed on top of him.

Kairos stared at his hands. They were shaking.

I stood, my cheeks flushing. “I don’t understand.”

His jaw clenched. “It’s just a kiss.”

“That wasn’t just a kiss!”

He lurched upright. “And?”

I backed off, yanking my dress into place. “Why can’t I control myself around you?”

This was worse than with Vaeris—the desperation, the need, the hunger for his hands on me.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Panic flickered across his face. “It—it happens. It’s normal.”

“No, it’s not! I don’t—I don’t even like you!”

He flinched. “You don’t have to like someone to want them.”

“That’s not—that doesn’t happen to me. I don’t throw myself at males I can’t stand!”

His chest rose and fell quickly. He pressed a hand against it, grimacing. “Aelie, I feel it too.”

“I hate this!” I shouted. “I hate what you do to me!”

His expression shattered.

I sprinted away from him. If I stayed, I’d get suckered into believing him. I’d let myself think he was different.

The pool. Right there.

It wasn't the same one. The portal was a day’s journey at least—this was just a stupid pond in the middle of a cursed forest.

I threw myself in anyway. I waded deeper, gasping, the water barely reaching my knees. My hands plunged beneath the surface, searching for any hint of magic.

Nothing.

When I’d fallen into the portal, it had been endless. Deep enough to pull me under. Now my feet hit solid stone. I rotated, tapping the surface. Please, get me out of here.

A sloshing sound cut through the silence.

I spun. Kairos strode in the shallows, heading for me. There was nowhere left to run.

I lunged for the shore anyway.

He caught me before I’d gone three steps, hauling me over his shoulder. I slammed against hard muscle. The air punched from my lungs.

“Let go!” I thrashed, kicking at his ribs. “Put me down!”

“Keep fighting. Give me a reason to lose the last of my control.”

He carried me back through the trees, each step jolting through me.

I didn’t fight anymore. I was too busy pretending the ache in my chest was only rage and not something far more dangerous.

Too busy pretending I still hated him.