39. Run away with me
39
Run away with me
Kaine
“ K aine!” called Talon, stumbling forward.
I slipped out of sight, scaling the nearby wall, my daggers gripped tightly in my hands. Fuck. Why was he here?
He peered around, trying to find me.
I rolled my eyes. Idiot. When would he learn to look up?
Run, I told myself, just leave now. He’ll waste time looking for you, and you’ll get your prize .
Of course.
That’s what I wanted more than anything.
So, why weren’t my feet moving?
“Kaine?” he called again, his voice breaking a bit. My eyes stung. It was hard enough without Nidori, and now this?
I clutched the daggers hard in my hands. A week ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to pounce on him, slit his throat. Seduce, use, lose. But so much had changed since then.
I sheathed my daggers.
It had taken so much to walk away from him the first time. I couldn’t do it again.
Idiot, I chided myself, you’re so close to freedom.
It wasn’t fair. How the universe—the fucking Gods—had put us together with the knowledge we couldn’t both win.
Fuck the universe. It had already taken Nidori.
Talon wasn’t my bonded ward, but suddenly I realized that didn’t matter. Even without it, he could still be mine. He was still mine.
I dropped down from my perch, landing softly on the ground. I rolled my eyes again as Talon didn’t hear and stepped deliberately on a twig.
His face lit up as he found me, and the sight of that made my heart sing.
Fuck everyone .
I was allowed to be happy.
Talon rushed towards me, sweeping me up in a hug, and I let myself smile as he did. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him, breathing in his warm scent. Why had I not kissed him more?
As we moved apart, I buried my head in his shoulder, soaking in his warmth, his safety. He’d come back for me.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” he said quietly, and I tightened my grip on him, leaning back to look up at his lightning blue-in-black eyes.
“Let's go,” I said firmly before I could change my mind. “We should just…go. Together. Tonight.”
“Go into the tower?” he asked.
“No. Leave with me. We can just forget all this shit,” I said, my certainty growing. “Fuck the gods. Fuck their quest. Let’s go back to Nidori.”
I sank my head into his shoulder again, feeling his arms around me… I had the beginning of hope that maybe, just maybe, happiness did exist. But not without him .
“I just…I’ve never been happier than I am now,” I said quietly. “And I feel that if we go into that tower, it’ll all be over, either way.”
“No, Kaine. We need to go to the tower. Cassandra… She’s here.”
Cassandra.
She had found me. I held Talon tighter, fear building inside me as he continued.
“She found me and tricked me into telling her everything. But I got away, and I knew I had to find you again. We need to get your freedom.”
Despite the fear, my heart skipped a beat. He would do that? He’d said if he failed, his oath would break. He’d lose everything he was.
“Really?” I asked hesitantly.
“It’s not even an argument,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “You have so much more to gain and so much more to lose. I can deal with a broken oath.” He lifted my chin, looking into my eyes. “I want to see it. I want to see you free.”
There was a lump in my throat, and my eyes were…watering. If Talon mentioned it, he’d get a blade in the side again.
“Talon, I…” I shook my head, struggling to find the words. “Fuck. You’re too good for this world. Too good for me .” My voice broke on the last word, and he just held me close.
“I mean… I can’t be that good. I’m literally about to break a sacred oath and defy the God of loyalty. And sell my soul on top of that.”
“Figuratively speaking.” I said dryly.
“No. Literally,” he took a deep breath, before bringing his eyes to mine. “Kaine, will you help me?”
I stared at him, shocked, as the magic buzzed in the air around us. He lifted my hand up and pressed a kiss to it as I blinked at him. My brain took a moment to catch up and realize my part was next .
“W- if you’ll be mine?” I said, and despite all my years of practice, the words had never felt so unsteady as they slipped out.
“Fuck, yes. For as long as I live.”
The magic fizzed, encasing us both as he became my ward. We weren’t done yet, though. I needed to make this permanent.
“Your blood.” I said, my mouth dry. He reached up and offered me his forearm. I yanked it, tugging him closer and he stepped towards me.
“I want this mark to be where everyone can see.” I whispered, pushing his hair behind his head and exposing his throat. I could see him gulp but he leaned down more, baring his neck to me.
I sank my teeth in, drawing a gasp from his lips as his blood hit my tongue. I closed my eyes, relief coursing through me. He was mine, now, as long as he lived. And yet, as I’d just found out with Nidori, he could still be taken from me in a split second. My hands dug into his tunic as I swallowed his thick, hot blood and then pulled away, licking my tongue over the marks. I couldn't lose him. I had to be better.
He looked down at me, his big eyes full of warmth and a grin on his face.
I felt a laugh bubble to my lips as I looked at him.
“Hey. I know why you really came back,” I said, letting him go.
Hmm.
I took his hand.
Much better.
“Why is that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. I felt a wave of giddiness.
“You just need someone to help you with directions.”
His brow furrowed, getting that little crease he got when I teased him. “What do you mean? ”
I smirked. “Don’t try and pretend. I saw you in the woods the first day. Wandering in circles like a lost puppy.”
Purple sprang onto his cheeks; his version of blushing. “You were watching me?”
“Yes. I distinctly remember thinking how adorable you looked, trying to decide which way to go. I think you kicked a log too.”
“That’s slander!” he insisted. “I have the utmost respect for all trees, dead or alive.”
“I wonder what Nidori would say to that?”
Talon squeezed my hand. “We’ll have to ask when Leihandra heals her.”
I nodded. When. Not if.
“We need to go,” he said, face falling as he glanced around. “I blinded Cassandra and ran, and I lost her, but she’s still close. We need to get you to that tower before she finds you.”
“Yes,” I said. This was not a small island, and the tower was hours away. Cassandra couldn’t magically find me on her own, but she could get there fast.
“She’ll probably be waiting for us at the tower,” I said, hesitantly. “She’ll go there and wait for me to come.”
“We’ll make sure she won’t get you.”