Rubbing my forehead to orient myself, I turn to take in my surroundings, then gasp when I see where I am.
“Rune.”
“How on earth did you find me?” He jumps up. “You’re really here.”
I reach out to touch the wall next to me. “I am. Whoa. I found you. Sort of. I have no idea where you actually are.”
“Great. So now we’re both in here.” He huffs. “Just freaking great.”
“But I can leave.”
Rune’s expression turns thoughtful. “Okay, that is helpful, but if they find you here…” His words trail off. “I don’t know what they’ll do.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get you out of here.”
“How did you find me?”
“Kallis helped me.”
He scrunches his nose. “Only because she didn’t know about me.”
“Yeah, about that… There’s something else we need to discuss.”
“I’m all ears, Stone Boy.”
“Kallis knows it was you because… well, some of your magic is in me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”
RUNE
“I don’t know how.”Atlas paces in front of me. Either his intentions are pure or the snare really doesn’t work worth a shit. “She touched my hand and she knew.”
“How would you have my magic when I don’t even have my magic?”
“It’s nothing to write home about. Some small flickers.”
I twist my lips, studying the gargoyle. This has never happened before, and I certainly didn’t initiate it. “I’ll figure that out later. Right now, you need to get us out of here.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s my whole reason for being here.” He scratches his beard as he notices the tiny, barred window.
I watch as he walks over to it, reaches up, and attempts to rip the bars off. Even as his muscles bulge and his skin turns to stone right before my eyes, the bars don’t budge. They barely rattle.
Atlas frowns, looking truly perplexed. “What the fuck?”
“Magic,” I state plainly. “Whoever has done this to me is using everything they’ve got to keep me inside.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll just teleport us out. Come here.”
I practically run into his arms, happy for any sliver of hope that I might break free so I can get my revenge. Atlas wraps his strong arms around me and closes his eyes. The air around us shimmers but then quickly fizzles.
“Shit,” I mutter.
Atlas frowns, then releases me. “Let me try something.”
He closes his eyes and I hold my breath. The air doesn’t shimmer this time and he doesn’t disappear. My heart sinks.
“Fuck.” I groan. “Now we’re both stuck here.”
