“I could never fault you for that,” she whispered softly as she pulled away and placed a hand on the doorknob. “I’ll see you in a few, okay?”
“Be safe,” I choked out, feeling cold now that she was out of my arms.
“It’s our final,” she reminded me. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll crush it,” I croaked, watching as she slipped out of the door and walked straight back into the drake den.
My magic buzzed volatile in my veins at the thought.
And then, the door pushed back open.
“Stop it!” Rune’s voice hit my ears just before the same drake Snakey had bitten stormed through and shoved a dagger between my ribs.
“Fuck you for taking her for yourself! How dare you soil what is meant for Roak!” he rambled nonsense.
“I’m stabbed.” I coughed, feeling my lungs sputter as I sucked in air.
I was really stabbed!
“Shit.” Rune came up behind him and placed a hand over the guy’s neck, no doubt using her venom on him.
She shoved him to the side,dead.
“You killed for me.” I coughed harder, yanking the dagger out.
It clattered to the floor as I fell to my knees.
Snakey wrapped around me, pressing on the wound like a very sweet tourniquet.
“Hold still.” She kneeled in front of me, cupping my face as she kissed me. The stab wound was already healing from my demonic magic, but I loved that she cared enough to distract me.
My eyes fluttered as she pulled back.
I grinned up at her, my voice going low because the room seemed to go smaller when she leaned in. “If I’d known getting stabbed would get your hands on me, I’d have done it sooner.”
“You’re not getting out of this with flirting.” She licked her bottom lip. “Besides, my hands are on you a lot.
“I know,” I admitted with a big grin. “I love it.”
“Good.” She leaned in and kissed me again before standing. “Let me do my mission, okay?”
I hesitated.
“Slater,”she growled sternly.
I let out a heavy breath but nodded. “I promise to try.”
She rolled her eyes and walked away again, the door shutting behind her.
I turned the lock this time.
During my moment with Rune,everyone else’s missions had exploded some way or the other. Everyone managed to move forward. Koa had taken his mission to another level when he ended up dying and burning everything in the castle until all the drakes and dragons who were here had fled.
It showed how loyal they were to their ‘leader’.
I found a terminal in the chamber outside the wing Eleanor said Rune had disappeared into with Roak.
Snakey slipped into the screen with ease and guided me to where we needed to go; the feed came up clean.
