Runebreaker

Chapter 49 Tight Strings

TIGHT STRINGS

The library’s silence pushed against my skull.

I’d been here for three days, surrounded by towers of books—dense history texts, maps of the kingdoms, and treaties written in Old Fae. Not a single mention of where the dragon seal might be hidden.

The fae deal rune smoldered constantly. A relentless, throbbing heat, and the black veins had spread further up my ribs. I’d stopped looking at them in the mirror.

I rubbed my burning eyes and reached for another volume. Something tugged at my awareness, a strange tightness I’d been feeling all morning. I pressed my palm against my sternum, but it didn’t ease.

I opened a small tome bound in cracked leather. The Wandering Minstrel’s Companion, the spine read in faded gold. Bard songs. Hardly reliable sources, but I was desperate. I tried to focus on the pages, but my gaze kept drifting to the window. The courtyard below was empty.

I flipped through pages, recognizing “The Miller’s Daughter” and “Ale and Roses.” Typical tavern music. I thumbed through the book, stopping at “The Dragons Sleep Below.”

Oh, the dragons ruled with fire and claw,

Do-I-dum and do-I-day,

They ate our kings and burned our halls,

Do-I-dum and do-I-day.

But clever fae with silver thread

Put every god’s rage to bed

Sing ho, the dragons sleep below,

Sing hey, they’ll never see the day.

Old Tazu ate the northern throne

Itzara melted castle walls,

Micara froze the waterfall.

Where men once ruled in stone and snow,

And blood was spilled to stop the foe.

Sing ho, the dragons sleep below,

So raise your glass and pray it’s so.

I scanned the text. Where men once ruled in stone and snow. Ruins swallowed by winter, old human kingdoms wiped out by the fae. Skalgard had dozens of stories like that. And blood was spilled to stop the foe.

The tightness in my chest pulled harder.

I bolted upright, the chair scraping against stone. My hands shook as I grabbed parchment and copied the verse, underlining the strange phrases.

I walked to the window again. The courtyard was still empty, but the wrongness intensified. I needed to be somewhere else. I rushed back to the table, shoving my notes and my book into the satchel. The pulling sensation at my navel sharpened painfully. I needed to find…what?

I strode to the door, pushing it open, and the guard outside straightened.

Torvin, the male who’d called me useless at Vaelrith.

On the day Kairos left for his campaign, I found Torvin guarding my door.

Kairos had kicked him off the warband, forcing him to look after me with clear instructions: “If she dies, I will boil your insides.”

The tall Dreadfae stood at the doorway, his face wrinkling with discomfort.

“Do I make you nervous, Torvin?”

He grunted, straightening. “Not at all.”

I watched him, wondering how many fae in this castle were secretly disturbed by my gift. Some of them, I’d noticed, skirted me in the halls. Gave me long looks.

I frowned. “I mean you no harm, you know.”

His red gaze eyed me uneasily.

I sighed. “Are you going to talk or…?”

He huffed and shook his head.

I brushed past him on my way out, and his armor clinked behind me. I glanced over my shoulder. “Do you know where Elwen is?”

“Yes.”

“Can you take me to her?”

“No,” Torvin said. “She’s occupied.”

I stopped, almost colliding with him. “With what?”

“The Master Healer gave orders not to be interrupted.”

I whirled around. “Is Kai—is the warband back?”

Torvin’s brow furrowed. “Yes, this morning.”

“And you let me sit in there all day?” A slip of warmth ran down my throat. “Where is he?”

Torvin’s frown deepened. “I can’t tell you.”

“I want to see him right—”

I clutched at my chest. A clammy feeling crept over my skin as fear swooped in my belly. Gods, what was that?

Hurt.

The word kept echoing in my head. My heartbeat slammed into my ribs, and I ran, following a tug low in my navel.

Torvin jogged after me. “Come back!”

I hurtled downstairs, narrowly avoiding a warrior who bumped into Torvin. Their armor crashed between the stone walls, but I flew down, now in a blind panic.

I burst into the mess hall. “Kairos?”

The air mixed with food and the sharp scent of unwashed bodies. His warriors tore into bread and meat at the long tables, armor spattered with blood.

“Runebreaker!” one of them called, lifting his cup.

I searched the room for a broad back and silver hair. A female with a scarred jaw jerked her chin outside.

“He’s down the hall.”

I bolted out as Torvin clanked to my side, swearing. Warriors moved aside. Someone even dipped his head. The tether in my heart yanked hard, and I staggered to the left.

He’s hurt.

Four guards stood outside a door.

“Girl, that’s enough. Let’s go upstairs.” Torvin reached for my arm, but I strode forward, ripping out of his reach.

“Kairos is in there,” I snarled to the guard.

They glanced at each other.

I balled my fists. “Out of my way, or I’ll start breaking runes on your body.”

Torvin grabbed me.

“Stop,” Kairos’s dark voice boomed from inside. “Let her in.”

Torvin swore, letting me go. The guards parted for me.

I kicked the door open.

It slammed against the wall—crack. Elwen whipped around, hand flying to her dagger. A young healer dropped the roll of bandages she’d been holding. Uther had his sword half-drawn. His gaze landed on me, and he laughed, sheathing his blade.

The room was a storage chamber converted into an infirmary. Bloodied rags lay heaped in a basin. Bottles of salves and poultices crowded a table and the air reeked of copper and medicinal herbs.

Uther leaned against a crate, Elwen standing beside him.

Kairos sat on a chair, covered in blood. He bared his teeth, his skin glistening with sweat.

The world narrowed to the crimson soaking through the linen at his ribs. My heart plunged so fast it made my vision blur.

“What happened?” I said hoarsely.

Elwen gestured at him. “Hit by an arrow laced with a bleeding rune. Makes the wound reopen. Stitches are useless.”

“Torvin mentioned you arrived in the morning.” Cold rushed through me. “You’ve been like this the whole time?”

“This is nothing.”

“That’s what he said three hours ago,” Uther muttered. “Right before he bled through his fourth bandage.”

I rushed to his side, torn between stanching the bleeding and screaming at him. Why didn’t he send for me?

I felt his pain, itching under my skin. The pool of blood reminded me of the palace. How I’d almost lost him then.

Kairos straightened, paler than I’d ever seen him, and more blood oozed out. “I’ll be fine. Eventually.”

I swung my glare to Elwen. “Why didn’t you send for me immediately?”

“His fault,” Elwen huffed. “The fool made me swear not to.”

Hurt throbbed, deep inside me. I whirled on the young healer by the supply table. Her hands trembled around a jar of salve. “You stood by while his injury kept tearing open?”

Her eyes widened. “I—the king ordered—”

“Your job is to heal, not follow stupid commands from idiot males who’d rather die than admit they need help!”

Uther snickered.

I spun to him. “And you! You’re his best friend. You’re supposed to talk sense into him.”

“I tried, love.” Uther raised his hands. “But Kai’s spent a century in a prison with zero female company. He genuinely forgot that you can smell a lie faster than we can smell blood.”

Kairos growled at him. “Traitor.”

Uther shrugged as I knelt beside Kairos, inhaling the scent of his blood. There was so much of it, spread across his ribs, pooled in the hollows of his abdomen. I dug in my satchel and pulled on the gloves.

“All of you, out,” Kairos barked.

Boots shuffled as they obeyed his command. Then the door closed, and we were alone.

“Aelie, you don’t have to—”

“Shut up.”

A rune throbbed on a bolt sticking from his side, spreading dark red lines where it pierced him. Looking at the injury, I shook my head. No wonder human rebellions were so short-lived. How could we fight against weapons like these?

A crackle of magic shot up my arm as I touched the rune. The gloves protected me, but as the threads slipped loose, they lashed me. I gritted my teeth, pinching a thread that squirmed from my grip. I twisted, and it cracked with a burst of light.

Kairos sagged forward as I eased out the bolt. Slowly, the wound closed until the angry slash faded to a swollen pink, then a ghostly white line. Color returned to his face, his breathing steadying while his shoulders drooped.

“Th-thank you.”

I tossed the bolt aside.

Kairos’s grimace relaxed into a pained smile, his moonlight hair plastered to his neck. Streaks of blood across his naked torso flowed back inside him.

“Is all that blood yours?” I asked roughly.

He glanced down. “Most of it.”

“Most of it?”

“A Caelir bastard shot me from the sky.” He smiled, his eyes gleaming. “So I ripped him down and snapped his wings. He died quick. I was tired, and there were six more coming at me.”

“What about your warriors?” I demanded. “Any of them injured?”

Kairos grabbed a towel, wiping his neck. “Some.”

“Some,” I echoed flatly.

“Hmm. You’re upset with me.”

“You made everyone swear to keep me in the dark. I’ve been in the library reading bard songs like a fool while you’re here. I knew something was wrong.”

He grinned. “You’re quite passionate when you’re angry. Has anyone told you that?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not. I’m genuinely impressed.” He tilted his head, studying me. “You kicked open the door.”

“Kairos.”

“It’s attractive.”

I wanted to strangle him. “You have a runebreaker. The only one in existence. And you’re suffering from a bleeding rune. Do you see how insane that is? Stop trying to protect me from myself. I’m not going to shatter because I helped you.”

He sighed. “It goes against every instinct I have.”

“What are you talking about?”

He shook his head, smiling faintly. “You’re right, of course. I was a fool.”

“You were,” I snapped. “A very stupid one.”

He nodded solemnly, but his eyes were dancing.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He shifted in the chair, wincing. “Did you find anything while I was gone?”

I crossed my arms, still irritated. “Maybe.”

“Tell me.”

Sighing, I pulled the crumpled note from my satchel. “I found a tavern song. It’s probably nothing, but some of the verses mention the dragons by name.”

His expression sharpened. “Show me.”

I handed him the note.

His brow furrowed. “‘Where men once ruled in stone and snow.’”

I shrugged. “It’s the closest thing to a real clue. Everything else is nonsense that pretends the sealing was a noble victory instead of a massacre.”

He studied the parchment. “That could be a dozen places.”

“It’s Skalgard.”

He looked up sharply. “What makes you think that?”

“Rheya.” My heart pounded as the pieces clicked together. “White walls and pear trees—that’s what she said through the scrying pool. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what she meant. But what if she wasn’t being cryptic?”

Kairos frowned. “Go on.”

“We’ve lived in Skalgard our whole lives. It’s all we know.” I started pacing. “There’s a courtyard in the merchant quarter with limestone walls and pear trees along the eastern edge. It’s the only place that fits.”

“Why wouldn’t she just say Skalgard?”

“Vaeris must have silenced her somehow. But she found a way around it.”

“If she’s there, so is he.”

“He can’t risk letting her out of his sight. Not with the terms of our deal.” I stopped moving, facing him. “Every time she’s hurt, the rune punishes him.”

“If anyone discovered that Vaeris’s life was tethered to your sister’s, they’d take her in a heartbeat.”

I swallowed hard, nausea swarming my throat.

“So he hides her,” Kairos finished. “And keeps her close.”

My breath stuttered. “Then why attack villages? Why kill peasants instead of lying low and waiting for me to come to him? Why make it harder for me—”

I faltered, the air snatched from my lungs.

“Aelie?” Kairos reached for me. “What is it?”

My hand flew to my mouth. “Oh gods. He doesn’t need me. At least not right away.”

Kairos stiffened. “Explain.”

“The Rite.” I grabbed his arm, my fingers digging in. “Why would Vaeris cancel the most beloved celebration in Skaldir? Fae love it. They travel from all over the realm to attend. He knew people would hate him for it. So why do it anyway?”

Kairos stilled.

“Unless stopping it was the point. What if the Rite isn’t about refilling Skalgard’s runes? What if it’s…maintenance?”

“Maintenance,” he repeated slowly.

“It’s a sacrifice. Yearly. In the same location, for centuries.” My voice shook. “‘Blood was spilled to stop the foe.’ What if the Rite is what’s been keeping the seal closed?”

Kairos’s eyes widened. “No.”

“Yes. Executions happen in the Square right over that rune. Kairos, it’s been under our feet this whole time!”

He stared at me like I’d struck him. “You’re telling me…that the throats I cut on that platform…every life I took…”

“Was poured into a cage.”

He turned, a hand raking through his hair. “A hundred years of blood on my hands, and it was never pointless.”

“You didn’t know.”

He laughed bitterly. “I thought I was a monster for nothing. Turns out I wasn’t. I’m not sure which is worse.”

I reached for him, but he stepped back.

“Vaeris knew,” he said flatly. “He’s always known.”

The Rite should’ve happened weeks ago. How long could the seal hold without fresh blood?

I forced the words out. “Vaeris isn’t burning villages to pressure you. He’s distracting you while the seal weakens.”