Chapter 10 Rune #5
“Slater, you know this!” I stretched for my mug and fell on top of Slater before my fingers wrapped around the handle and tugged it free from him.
I glanced down, and he was staring up at me with desire in his eyes.
“Remember how I licked the rot from my finger in the simulation? Poisons and venoms do not affect me. They fill my magical reserves, remember? Special power.”
“Oh.” Slater deflated, his hand coming up to rest on my hip. “That’s right. My bad. It’s super hot that you can do that.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed up off of him, sitting back on the pillow with a sigh.
“You licked magical essence rot?” Eleanor asked in shock.
“Yes, and I was perfectly immune.”
She hiccuped a sob, looking at me with alarm. “You drink poisoned tea on purpose?”
“...Yes?”
Lorian groaned, like the weight of the world had just hit him. “You’re all insane. Absolutely insane.”
Zuko started laughing, and the sound literally made me melt. “I’m so turned on by the way Rune’s glaring at everyone right now.”
“Dude, what the fuck?” Raze looked at his friend in exasperation. “She’s drinking poison for fun, and you like that?”
“Not for fun,” I corrected him. “It calms me.”
“Even worse.” Raze face-palmed.
“I actually love it,” Zuko tells Raze, but his eyes are on me.
“Thank Fates you’re not trying to die.” Eleanor was still sniffling. “Sorry for jumping to conclusions.”
Aura was doubled over laughing.
“Sounding the alarm was the right thing to do, Eleanor. Just in case.” Lorian looked mildly traumatized.
“Fucking psychos.” Dimitri rolled his eyes and slammed the door behind him.
Koa’s hand was still glowing as he sighed and sat back on his heels. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I was until everyone turned my evening tea time into a dramatized scene.” I took another slow sip of my perfectly normal poisoned tea.
Slater pushed up to sit next to me and slung an arm around my shoulders.
“You know, if you ever do need saving, I’d give you a kiss of life or something.
Oh! How about a slow-mo romantic scene where I cradle your dying body, whispering your name?
Then, my love brings you back to life.” A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought about it.
“You’re going to be cradling your own body in a minute,” I muttered, drinking my tea. My magic hummed in delight, filling my reserves in a warm and honeyed way.
A drop of it slipped down my lip, trailing down my chin and falling onto my shirt.
Slater’s eyes were watching it, and he gulped. “You have poison on your lips, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve seen in my entire life, venom baby. Swear to the Fates.”
Zuko adjusted his hardening cock in his pants, not bothering to hide it. “Can I taste it on your lips?”
Koa’s eyes bulged out as if he just remembered something. “Shit, this is what he meant. Zuko, Slater, on behalf of Tibby, you need to chill with Rune.”
A giggle burst from my lips as I pushed back to my feet with my mug. “Tibby would thank you, Koa.”
Eleanor and Aura followed along behind me, and Aura paused at my door as I walked in.
“Ew. No men allowed, thanks! The girls need to bond. Have a great night!” She shut the door.
Slater and Zuko whined audibly on the other side.
“Guys, she could kill you,” Raze muttered.
“Nah, I’m immune,” Zuko gloated.
“I’m sure I am, too.” Slater chuckled lowly. “But if I’m not, it’d be a good way to go.”
“Girl bonding time?” I questioned, standing next to my bed, mug in hand.
“Of course! Girl bonding time is the best, and we’re the only three girls on our level,” Eleanor murmured, sitting down carefully at the foot of my bed, twirling the end of her braid.
“Exactly that. It’s important to have each other’s backs.” Aura paced slowly by the wardrobe. “Plus, we should get to know each other.”
“Slater and Rune seem to really know each other,” Eleanor said shyly. “Zuko, too, for that matter.”
“That’s true,” Aura agreed, looking at me with a smile. “There’s a difference between flirty and predatory, and Slater and Zuko somehow seem to be both with you.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” I brought the mug to my lips and took another long sip.
“You can’t really deny it without lying to us,” Aura pointed out, flopping dramatically between Eleanor and I.
“Okay, fine, they do seem interested!” I shot back too quickly, sipping the last of my tea.
“Well, Koa, too. I saw him watching you like you were his world already,” Aura teased. “How do you have three men into you on day one?”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the faint burn to my cheeks. “Slater, Zuko, and Koa are sweet.”
“Sweet?” Eleanor gasped. “Sweet? Rune, the three of them are literally built like the Fates themselves carved them. You stabbed Zuko, and he flirted harder.”
“Pretty sure that’s when he fell in love,” Aura giggled.
I groaned, setting my mug on the nightstand and lying down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. “Men are exhausting.”
“Fates, isn’t that the truth,” Aura grumbled.
“So true,” Eleanor murmured. “What are your experiences?”
“Unfortunately,” I muttered. “I finally started dating a little over a year ago. My brother’s best friend. He’s an icedrake, and the worst decision of my life. He kept tabs on me constantly and freaked if he didn’t hear from me.”
Aura snorted. “My ex cried after we kissed. Cried. Said my magic made his insides feel like ‘dancing lava.’ Then, he wouldn’t look at me again. What does that even mean? Imp magic doesn’t do that.”
Eleanor sighed, flopping backward dramatically. “At least yours didn’t try to mark you on the second date. I had to file a restraining order with the council.”
“Damn.” Aura whistled. “That’s worse.”
“Agreed,” I mumbled. My eyes started getting heavy. “Darian would shove ice spikes into my palms closer to the end of our relationship when I would take too long to reply to him or make him wait on me for a date.”
“Fuck,” Aura hissed.
“That’s really scary.” Eleanor let out a sad sound. “You should file a restraining order against him.”
“I can handle Darian.” I blinked a couple of times and let out a yawn that felt like it cracked my jaw.
The warmth of the poisoned tea wrapped around me like a weighted blanket.
“The spikes in the palms happened twice. I thought they were on accident, but one time, he stabbed me in the gut with one. I realized then that it wasn’t that he lost control.
He’d done it on purpose. I decided to ghost him after that.
Unfortunately, he was psychotic and didn’t realize that meant I was breaking up with him.
I told my parents and brother he was just clingy and violent.
They didn’t know the extent. Still don’t. ”
“Where is he now?” Aura asked.
“Can’t find him,” I muttered sleepily as I began to drool. I moved onto my side and curled into myself on the carpet, resting my cheek on the cool floorboards.
“That’s really scary,” Eleanor said.
“I’m sorry, Rune,” Aura murmured.
“I just…need…five…min…” My eyes slipped closed before I finished the sentence.
There was a long pause.
“Did she…just pass out?” Aura asked.
Eleanor poked my arm, but I was too tired to respond. “Yup. Tea coma. Full-on snooze mode.”
“…Is she drooling?”
“She’s definitely drooling.”
I slipped further into my slumber, but I could still hear them.
“I guess…we’ll go?” Eleanor said uncertainly.
Aura whispered, “Night, Rune. Sweet poisoned dreams.”
They gently shut the door behind them, and I completely passed out.