Runebreaker

Chapter 54 Mine

MINE

He’s gone.

My hand skimmed across empty furs, and a hollow ache opened inside me. I sat up, my heart thudding. Where was he? Why did he leave? I slipped out of bed, throwing my wool dress over my head. The cloak went next, then I shoved on my boots and walked outside.

Snow drifted in lazy spirals, catching the last hints of light as I scanned the camp. I strode into a thicket of trees as the fluttering in my belly worsened. I kept going for a few minutes, then stopped as a muscled back peeked through a bush.

Kairos stood alone, shirtless.

I stepped forward. He turned, his eyes crashing into mine, and then he strolled toward me. His silver-white hair was mussed from sleep and each step pressed his bare feet into snow.

I winced. “Kairos, your feet.”

“The cold doesn’t bother me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Male bravado. Pretending the weather doesn’t affect you.”

Kairos huffed a laugh. “I seem to recall you nearly freezing to death in the forest.”

I groaned. “I was not.”

“If I hadn’t dragged you in my lap, you would’ve been very ill,” he said, stepping closer. “And you still fought me.”

“I had every reason to.”

He smirked. “And yet you fell asleep on me anyway.”

Damn him and those linen trousers. Slung so low on his hips, they were barely decent, clinging to the hard curve of his ass. My thighs clenched together. My fingers itched to touch, to drag those useless pants down—

Stop it.

I forced my eyes to his amused face. “What are you doing out here?”

“Meditating.”

“You meditate? How?”

He nodded. “I stand in nature, focus on my breathing, and let the silence settle me. It’s good for clearing my thoughts before battle.”

Snowflakes melted on his shoulders.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He shook his head, taking my hand. Slowly, he placed my palm over his chest, and I gasped. He was so warm.

A tight pulse of lust slammed into me. The longer I touched him, the dizzier I felt, like sipping wine on an empty stomach. His hand came up, stroking my hair as he pulled me into his arms.

“Oh. That feels really nice,” I murmured.

A sound rumbled, deep within his chest.

“I feel…like I’m drunk.”

He made an assenting noise as he kept moving, working through knots. Gods, he was so gentle. I pressed a kiss over the giant rune on his chest.

Kairos growled. “I’m trying to get myself under control.”

“I’m barely touching you.”

“I’m barely holding it together.” His grip on my hair tightened. “You smell like sex.”

“Does that mean you liked it?”

“All I want is to do is fuck you until we both pass out.”

So damn blunt. “Well, we don’t have the time for that.”

“No, and it pisses me off. Not only do I have to ride you into war, but I have to tolerate other males being around you.”

I frowned. “So…the meditation didn’t work.”

He grunted. “Get to the damn tent.”

I turned, but not before he gave my hair one last tug. I walked quickly, boots crunching over the snow, trying to think as his footsteps crunched behind me.

The fae weren’t human. I had to keep reminding myself of that. They operated on different instincts. Vaeris had been possessive too. He’d been such a bastard during dinner with Henrik. I’d told myself that was just Vaeris being a controlling ass, but maybe it was something deeper.

Kairos reached the tent first. He pulled aside the flap and let me walk inside. The copper tub steamed invitingly in the corner, fragrant oils curling through the air. I shook off my cloak and headed straight toward the tub.

I knelt to unlace my boots, but my mind kept spinning. This wasn’t lust, it felt like threads pulling tighter when I looked at him. The sex was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I swallowed as I slid my boots off.

He approached, stopping behind me. “Getting washed?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’m wearing a league of dirt.”

Kairos found the laces at my shoulder, working them loose. His knuckles brushed my skin as the last knot came undone. Then the dress fell, pooling at my feet.

His sigh warmed my neck. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

I smiled wryly. “I think I have some idea.”

I stepped into the steaming bath as he ripped off his trousers. He strolled around the tub, a spectacle of male beauty. Water spilled over the rim as he sank down, his chest touching my back. Only then did the wild edge riding him finally ease.

He massaged my scalp while his mouth traced kisses over my neck. So tender.

“Better?” I murmured.

“Much.”

I leaned against him. “You’re not going to tear anyone’s throat out?”

“I’m distracted at the moment,” he drawled. “But I can still hear them breathing out there.”

“That’s unhinged.”

“I warned you I wasn’t civilized.”

I bit on my lip. “Are all fae this…possessive?”

“No.”

“So this is just you?”

“Unfortunately,” he muttered, kneading my shoulders, “this isn’t something I can blame on my species.”

I arched a brow. “Then what is it?”

“It’s what you get for allowing a beast to court you.”

I tipped my head on his shoulder. “Court me?”

“Sanguir males typically prove their worth through feasts, gifts, songs, trials of strength.” He kept massaging, my body softening under his touch. “I’m a shit singer, but the clothes in your wardrobe. The gloves. The rich meals. The best rooms in the castle.”

“Wait. I thought you were being…strategically nice. But you were trying to seduce me? I had no idea.”

“You weren’t supposed to. Let the prey think they’re making their own choices.” He nipped at my neck. “Until they realize they’ve been caught.”

“That’s a terrifying way to put it,” I whispered, sinking into his warmth. “And yet…I don’t mind being caught.”

“Good. I’m not letting you go.”

I tried to hold onto the bliss, but my chest was already tightening. Kairos's hands stilled on my shoulders.

“What’s the matter?” he said.

“The scouts should be back by now.”

His arms tightened. “I know.”

“What if they don’t return?”

“Then we go anyway.”

I stared at the rippling water. Tazurel’s voice still scraped at the edges of my mind, demanding I hurry to Skalgard. I turned in his arms, water sloshing against the sides of the tub.

“If this is our last night—”

“It’s not.”

“But if it is.” I pressed my palm to his chest, leaning toward him. “I don’t want to spend it being sensible.”

His gaze darkened.

“I want to feel something that isn’t fear. I want to forget about the war and the dragons and the seal. I want—”

He kissed me. Half the water sloshed out of the tub as my lips fused with his. I could drown in him and still crave more. His startled grunt became a growl, and then his arms locked around me.

I couldn’t get close enough. I’d waited so long to feel happy, my heart so full it ached. Every brush of his lips sent fire racing through me. I wanted more. More of him, of how he made me feel…like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Threads of silver mist curled from his skin like captured moonbeams, weaving themselves into a tapestry above us. They pulsed with each beat of my heart, as if his magic had learned the rhythm of my blood.

We broke apart, gasping.

The warmth in my chest deepened, spreading like molten honey through my ribs.

I reached up, touching the mist. “Why?”

“My magic reacts to strong…connections.”

“This is from sleeping with you once?”

He hooked his hands under my thighs and lifted me from the bath. I yelped, grabbing his shoulders as water cascaded off us.

“Now that you’re clean, I need to make you filthy again.”

His lips smothered mine as he carried me the few strides to the bed of furs. We fell together in a tangle of damp limbs, laughter swallowed by the press of his body.

After that it was chaos—wet skin, tangled limbs, his mouth everywhere. We couldn’t stop smiling between kisses, couldn’t stop groaning when it turned desperate. I came so many times I lost count.

He wasn’t gentle, but he was careful in all the ways that mattered. Each time he broke apart with me, it left me breathless, grinning stupidly.

I couldn’t believe this was real.

When we finally collapsed, I was shaking with exhaustion. Wrapped in him, held tight, I was—

Mine.

The word dropped into my mind like a stone in a lake, and my eyes snapped open.

All mine.

His voice again, but it wasn’t in the room. It was inside me.

I raised my head from his shoulder.

He watched me softly, the hard lines of his face eased as his mist drifted around us like suspended moonlight. He looked serene. In awe.

“Kairos?” I whispered.

His hand slid up my spine, stopping between my shoulder blades as if to anchor himself. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Aelie, I love you.”

My eyes filled with tears, and I blinked rapidly.

“I don’t do pretty words,” he muttered. “Never have. So I’m just going to say it plain.

I was enslaved for more than a century, and revenge was the only thing I understood.

I woke up every day knowing exactly who I wanted to kill and how I’d do it.

That rage kept me alive…and then I saw you in that alley. ”

My heart lurched.

“You’d fallen in the snow. Trembling, scared, but staring down someone who could snap you in half.” He exhaled, pained. “Something inside me tightened like a chain pulling the wrong way. I wasn’t supposed to feel anything, but I did.”

A rough breath escaped him.

“When I took you, I thought it’d break whatever it was. Instead, it got worse. I stopped measuring my life in grudges. I started measuring it in whether you were safe. Warm. Eating enough. Whether you’d ever look at me without fear.”

His hand slid to mine, dragging it to his chest.

“You made me realize I don’t want vengeance. I want to be a male who deserves you.”

Oh my gods.

“I love you, Aelie. And all I want is to protect you, cherish you, and give you a life where you never have to hurt again.”

My lungs forgot how to work as tears spilled down my cheeks. I pressed my hand to my mouth, trying to contain it. Every lock I’d put on my heart, he’d just shattered. I touched his chest, pressing my palm against the jagged rune where his heart pounded wildly.

“I love you too,” I whispered. “I didn’t think I could anymore. I’ve spent my whole life focused on surviving the next day. Finding food, shelter, a way out. But I never knew where I was going until I met you.”

He smiled, his face softening.

“Every fae was the same. Cruel. Selfish. Eager to take whatever they wanted. I thought letting one close again would destroy me.” I laughed brokenly. “But you…you panic when I blister my hand.”

Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t bother wiping them.

“You’ve shown me that not all fae are monsters. That strength can be gentle, and protecting someone isn’t the same as owning them. That I don’t have to keep running, and…” My throat closed, but I forced the words out. “I’m allowed to want more than survival.”

Another tear fell.

“That’s why I love you.”

His eyes went glassy, and then he seized my face, hauling me against him. His mouth crashed into mine, and the taste of tears salted our lips. His arms wrapped around me so tight I couldn’t breathe, and I didn’t care. I wanted to crawl inside him. I wanted to fuse us together.

“Kairos.”

Uther’s voice cut into the tent.

Kairos went rigid, snarling. “Not now.”

“Scouts are back,” Uther said tightly. “It’s bad.”

My stomach dropped, and the murderous tension in Kairos’s shoulders shifted.

“Fine,” Kairos muttered. “We’ll be right there.”

Uther walked away, his footsteps disappearing quickly.

Kairos turned to me again, cupping my face. His thumb wiped the last tear from my skin.

“We’re not done. You and I…this isn’t finished.”

My chest tightened. “I know.”

He kissed my forehead and slid off the bed. He began strapping himself in his armor. Piece by piece, he sealed himself away—the black plates covering the runes, the softness, the fae who’d just whispered I love you. But nothing could hide what had changed between us.

I love you.

Kairos glanced up, his mouth twitching.

“Come on. Let’s go.”