Chapter 10 Rune
rune
. . .
“Are you ready, Roo?” Tibby asked with a big grin on his face, adjusting his red duffle bag on his shoulder as we stepped off the wayfaer crystal and onto Apex Elite Academy’s campus.
“I am!” I enthused, ignoring the magic skittering over my skin and hauling my yellow duffle bag further up my shoulder.
We started walking toward the cluster of dorms on our left.
After the entrance exam, accepted students were sent home to grab their bags and come back to stay at the first-year house tonight.
I’d stuffed as much poison as I could in my bag, but Dad and Pops intervened more than once while I packed.
I didn’t get as much as I wanted, but there was enough for the first month at least. Tibby told me I didn’t need more than seven sets of clothes because I’d be in the academy-issued suits for classes, anyway.
It was the same suit as the agents wore, he said.
A part of me was really excited to see a few particular men wearing them.
“First-year house is this one.” Tobias stopped in front of the smallest of the domed academy houses. “It’s weird not going in, honestly.”
The building was smaller compared to the others but no less elite.
Its yellow-gold roof shimmered faintly under the protective enchantments I was sure had been built into it.
The walls were a soft ivory stone, etched with runes that pulsed faintly.
I was pretty sure they were protection wards.
The front door was arched with polished bronze handles shaped like opposing dragons and narrow windows wrapped around the dome.
Unlike the eight designated houses, which towered with additions, balconies, and different runes, this one was simple.
It was the house I would spend my first year at this academy in.
“Aw, but Tibby, you’re in your designated house now! House of Fortitude honestly suits you most.” I grinned, gripping the water bottle in my hand tighter. “You’ll be such a badass enforcer. Just like Pops.”
“That’s true.” Tibby grinned, running a hand through his black hair and making the green lowlights shine from the rising sun. Suddenly, his smile dropped into a thin line. “Listen, I’m serious about the poisoned tea.”
“Tibby.” I groaned, tilting my head back. “You couldn’t let me make my night better? Plain water is so tasteless.”
“Pops was worried, okay?” He scratched his neck. “He asked me to intervene as soon as he woke up. You’re going to give them a heart attack if you keep this up.”
A condescending snort left me. “Oh, yeah, a phoenix and a basilisk are going to have a heart attack.”
“You know what I mean.” He narrowed his green eyes at me. “They know you’re testing new poisons and venoms all the time. They’re fine with the stuff you’ve had before, but you keep pushing it.”
“Listen, this fills up my reserves faster than shifting and going for a slither around the forest to fill my reserves, okay?” I muttered, patting my duffle bag. Thankfully, I’d hidden my poisoned herb tea bags within the folds of my clothes.
“I know that.” My brother sighed. “Just be careful. You never know when you’ll find something you don’t have an immunity to.”
“Hasn’t happened in all my twenty-two years of life.” I pouted, crossing my arms.
“Venom baby!” Slater bolted toward us like chaos incarnate.
It was really no wonder he was a chaos demon.
His red hair was wild and sticking up in every direction, and I really wanted to run my hands through it.
His black t-shirt clung to him, the dark fabric pulling tight across his chest and biceps.
I wanted to run my hands over that, too.
It was a scoop neck, and it showed off that skull tattoo he had on his throat that I admitted did something to me.
His red eyes glittered with raw happiness that was contagious.
“Hi, Havoc baby,” I cooed.
He slung his arm around me, tightly and possessively, like I was his. “Every time I see you, I forget how to breathe.”
Tibby stiffened beside me. “Uh, Roo… What the fuck?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because I could feel the heat where Slater’s arm covered my shoulder. The daisies and jasmine-scented air felt tighter—heavier.
“This is Slater.” I introduced him, not bothering to move away from the way his arm hugged me like I already belonged to him. “You met him before the exam, remember?”
“Ah, right.” Tibby gave him a long, unimpressed look. “Bram’s older brother who thinks you’re his mate.”
“Don’t be like that,” Slater whined, tightening his grip just enough to make a point. “I know she is. And you, my dear soon-to-be brother-by-mating, are going to love me eventually. Just you wait.”
Tibby’s jaw twitched. “Okay, look. I’m going to say this once.
” He stepped forward until he was chest-to-chest with Slater.
Slater was taller, but Tibby was terrifying in his own right.
“She’s not a game for you to win. She’s not some mission for you to solve or chase until you’re bored.
She’s my sister. Until she has a matebond, she’s mine to protect.
So, if you so much as breathe wrong in her direction, I’ll make sure you disappear. ”
Slater blinked. “Damn. That was kind of poetic.”
Tibby grabbed his shirt and shoved him back with a snarl, and Slater’s arm dropped from around me. “It wasn’t supposed to be.”
“Tibby, wait—” I tried to intervene.
Slater just laughed, holding his hand up. “Hold up. This is going to be some brotherly bonding.”
“Brotherly bonding my ass,” Tibby growled.
“If you insist.” Slater shrugged before lunging at my brother.
They crashed to the ground in a blur of flailing limbs and grunted insults.
Though, it wasn’t violent, not really. It was more like two predators testing each other’s bite.
Slater got Tibby in a headlock; Tibby flipped him into the grass.
They rolled a few times, flattening a patch of wildflowers as they did so.
Tibby had been more affected by Darian’s treatment of me than I’d realized. He was always protective but never like this.
I barely had time to react when a warm hand slid around my waist and tugged me back against a broad, muscular chest.
“Miss me?” Zuko purred, his voice all dark and wicked sounding against my ear.
I stiffened before melting against him as his fingers splayed at my hips, possessive and smug. His burnt sugar scent was unfairly intoxicating.
“Why would I miss you, toxin?” I asked, slightly breathlessly.
How was his touch sending my nerves through a shredder like this?
“Aw, you gave me a nickname?” Zuko leaned down until his breath teased the shell of my ear. “Careful, pretty little poison. You’ve got full grown men brawling over you in the evening sun. Makes me feel left out. I almost want to start biting.”
“Give in to your intrusive thoughts,” I dared him, my voice taking on a raspy tone. “Bite me.”
Tibby shouted from the ground, pinned halfway under Slater. “If he bites you, I’ll burn him!”
“No need to threaten me with a good time,” Zuko called back with a grin that was far too pleased.
Slater whooped loudly. “See? This is already the best soon-to-be sibling bonding ever!”
I sighed, leaning against Zuko’s chest more. “Fates, help me.”
“I can help you. Do you want to inject me with your venom without stabbing me this time?” Zuko offered, voice thick with that honeyed heat I was beginning to become a fan of.
I flashed him a fang-filled grin. “Only if I can try your venom this time first.”
“Rune Bloodwyne, don’t you dare!” Tibby barked, finally disentangling himself from Slater and scrambling up.
“Tobias Bloodwyne, don’t tell me what to do!” I snapped right back, sassily tossing my green braid over my shoulder.
He stomped over with every bit of his ‘big brother fury’ blazing in every step. Without hesitation, he wedged himself between me and Zuko and shoved a hand into Zuko’s chest with enough force to make him actually take a step back, though he kept a dangerous smirk on his lips the whole time.
“Oh, touchy,” Zuko drawled.
“Okay, listen here, you fucking basilisk,” Tibby growled, glaring up into Zuko’s eyes, grabbing him by his shirt.
“You might think you’re smooth with your flirting and whatever dangerous-vibe thing you’ve got going on, but Rune is not some playground you get to mess around in.
She’s my fucking sister. So, if you’re here to play games, back off.
If you so much as breathe around her wrong, I will incinerate your pretty hair and feed your ashes to a fucking stray dog. Understood?”
Zuko blinked his pretty orange eyes at my brother before his lips curved into an amused smile. “I’m not playing. I’ve actually never been more serious about a woman in my life.” His gaze slid to mine with sincerity. “I’d drink her venom every day if it meant I got to stand by her.”
Tibby made a strangled noise that was equal parts frustration and horror.
“But…” Zuko tilted his head and stared into my brother’s face with interest. “Why are you so protective of her? I’ve never met such a…doting brother.”
“Because she dated someone I considered my best friend, and he hurt her beyond repair,” Tibby seethed, the words tumbling out without a second thought. “I won’t let anyone else hurt her.”
My mouth fell open in shock. “Tibby! Why did you just tell him our business in public like that? And for the record, I am not hurt beyond repair. Darian’s a fucking asshole. I’m so far over him.”
Zuko’s eyes locked on mine. His molten-orange irises gleamed like they were carved from fire-opals. “Are you sure you’re not hurt anymore?”
My breath caught. There was something in his gaze, something almost invasive, like his stare wasn’t just seeing me but sifting through my soul. I felt a strange pressure crawl beneath my skin and a phantom pull at the base of my skull.
“Not beyond repair,” I admitted, the truth wrenching from me. “But a year-long relationship ending the way mine did hurts almost anyone.”