“I just can’t concentrate when I’m listening to your sweet voice,” Raider answers smoothly. “You’re too deliciously distracting.”
Val groans loudly as the praise heats through Rune’s soul. It soothes him, sparkling at the edge of his vision. Rune is perfectly content when Raider hangs up the call.
Maybe that’s what’s been keeping Rune awake and aware since he met Raider. That glorious praise makes Rune feel so alive. So real. Like he exists more completely when Raider tells him how good he is.
Closing his eyes, Rune basks in the praise until Raider calls back—a video call this time.
“Hi, gorgeous.” Raider’s golden eyes gleam. “I’ve figured out how to get you out, but I’m going to need your help.”
“Okay,” Rune agrees, though he doesn’t understand.
Raider’s grin widens, warming away Rune’s doubts. “Trust me, beautiful. I’ve done this before. There are two parts to this spell. I can deactivate the outer part, but you need to open the door.”
Rune’s brow furrows. Ice crackles inside him. “There isn’t a door.” The phone trembles before Rune composes himself. “I’ve looked for a door. I would have found it.”
Raider just nods, reassuring and steady. “It won’t appear until I’ve taken care of the outside spell. But I need to figure out where it will be. Can you give me another tour of the place?”
Rune nods.
“Good boy,” Raider says.
A flush heats Rune’s face as he flips the camera to show the rest of the room. At Raider’s directions, Rune circles the chamber. Hopefully Raider is getting what he needs, because Rune loses himself in the strangest reverie.
He hates these gray stone walls—but they’re familiar. He hates and loves the plush rugs and smooth wooden floors. His prison and shelter for the past two hundred years, if Val is to be believed about the carvings.
“Raider,” Rune says as he scans the camera over the tiny, mismatched kitchen. “Are you sure I’m not a demon?”
“One hundred percent.”
“What if I’m something else bad?” Rune swallows down a lump in his throat. “What if it’s better for me to be here?”
Raider’s certainty doesn’t falter. “Doesn’t matter. I want you out, so I’m getting you out. Besides, I already know exactly what you are—my perfect match.”
Rune laughs despite everything. “That’s all right, then.”
“There,” Raider says suddenly.
Rune pauses in his parlor. “What?”
“The mirror on the wall. The door is behind that.”
“Oh,” Rune whispers. “Of course.”
The mirror used to show him pictures, before the newly invented television arrived. Raider corroborated enough of Rune’s hazy memories that some of those images must have been true glimpses of the outside world. Rune has no idea how it works, but he’s grateful for the mirror’s help. Now it hides one last gift.
“The configuration must be weaker there,” Raider says.
Excitement shivers through Rune. “Do I move the mirror?”
“Not yet. Val, what side is he on?”
Val has something set up to track the movements of Rune’s phone. “North side!” she calls out.
“Okay, wait for me, cutie.” Raider holds the phone closer, his golden eyes lighting up. Like being closer to Rune brightens him. “You’re so wonderful, you know that, right? You’re so good and patient.”
Rune squirms with the praise, pulse quickening. As if each word is a finger stroking the back of his neck. “I’m notthatpatient.”
Raider grins. “Impatient is even better. Trust me, I can’t fucking wait to get my hands on you. You’re so perfect. You’re all I’ve been thinking about.”
