Runes (Paranormal Romance, YA,) (30 page)

I leaned against him, wanting to ease the pain in his voice even though I didn’t know how. “But I’m with Eirik.”

“He’s not right for you.” His voice was low, intense.

“I’ve known him all my life. He understands me.”

“Does he make you tremble with a touch?” He ran the tips of his fingers up my bare arm, his touch feather light, yet it lit a fire inside me. I closed my eyes, my entire body trembling. He lifted hair from my neck, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss on my exposed neck. Warmth pulsed through me. “Is he the first person you think about when you wake up in the morning and the last one you think about before you fall asleep?”

Torin was the one I thought about every night and every morning. I opened my mouth to tell him he was the one. That he was all I’d ever wanted in a guy, but I couldn’t speak.

“Do you know what I want to do to him every time I see him touch you? Every time he kisses you? I want to rip his head off.” He turned me around and brought me against him.

I looked into his beautiful sapphire eyes and found myself drowning, melting. He traced my jaw line then my lips with his finger. Unparalleled craving rocked through me, and I grabbed a handful of his shirt to keep from falling. He lowered his head, and I stopped breathing. All my senses focused on him.

Then our lips met.

A tingling started on my lips and skidded under my skin. His teeth nipped my lip, and I gasped, giving him access to my mouth. He gently soothed the bite with his tongue then slipped past my lips to find my tongue. The first taste of him and my world exploded. I ceased to exist. I became part of something bigger, better, and brighter.

He groaned and deepened the kiss, his arm tightening around me and pulling me closer. I let go of his shirt, reached up, and cupped his face, holding him in place. This was what I had craved ever since he stopped outside my house, this feeling of completeness. He let go of my mouth long enough to rain kisses all over my face and down my neck, but I wasn’t ready to let him go. I grabbed his head and brought his mouth back to mine, my head spinning, my entire body on the verge of something I didn’t understand.

He tore his mouth from mine and looked at me with burning eyes, his breathing heavy. I loved that he was affected by the kiss.

“You are mine, Freckles,” he vowed.

A chuckle filled the room. “This is very entertaining—”

Torin growled. “Get lost, Andris.”

“I plan to, big brother, but her love-struck boyfriend will be here any second. He’s looking for her and getting frantic.”

I stared at Torin in horror. Eirik. What was I going to do? “I have to talk to him.”

“No. We’ll talk to him together.”

I shook my head. “No. I have to do it alone.”

“I agree with her,” Andris butted in again. “Duty calls, big brother.”

Blue ice flashed in Torin’s eyes, but he ignored Andris. “Freckles—”

“This whole place is about to go ka-boom, Torin,” Andris cut in.

“What?” Torin glared at Andris, his arm tightening around me.

“What do you mean ka-boom?” I asked, my senses still humming from the kiss, but reality returning like a splash of cold water.

“Maliina is here, and she’s on the war path. I think she broke a gas pipe or something. You might not smell it in here, but inside reeks of it. I thought you’d want to know.”

Torin cursed. “You said you bound her with runes.”

Andris shrugged. “Ingrid must have released her. Don’t worry. I’ll find her and take her home.”

“Like Hel you will,” Torin snapped, runes appearing on his body, their glow visible through his dark clothes. “I’ll deal with her myself. Take Raine to safety.”

“No, I have to warn my friends,” I protested.

“Let her,” Andris added. “Why do we have to do everything by the book? Mortals and Immortals working together sounds great.”

One second Torin was beside me, the next his hand was wrapped around Andris’ neck. “I’m entrusting you with her life,
little brother
. Anything happens to her and your life is mine for eternity. Get it?”

Andris nodded, but a huge grin settled on his face.

“Good. Now get her out of here.” The runes glowed brighter, and Torin went through the door.

I ran after him, fear making my insides shaky. I reached for the door knob. I had to find the others. If anything happened to Cora or Eirik…

Andris grabbed my wrist before my hand closed on the knob. “Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?”

I yanked my arm. “Let go, you psycho. I have to find my friends.”

“No, you don’t.” He wrapped his arms around my mid-section and lifted me toward the side door leading out of the garage. I kicked and struggled, but he just laughed. “One thing you’re going to learn is that St. James is like a one-man army.”

“I know this house,” I snapped, still trying to break free. “I know where some of the people are making out. He’ll need our help to get everyone out.”

For a brief moment, I thought Andris would disobey Torin when he put me down. I turned, and he snugged me, slung me on his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes, and left the garage. I hit his back, kicked. Cool night air slapped my heated cheeks as he moved away from Torin’s house so fast everything was blurry. “Put me down.”

He did, but didn’t let go of me. We were under my tree.

“Do you know how big this is?” he asked.

I ignored him, studying the students pouring out of Torin’s house and trying to find Cora and Eirik.

“He trusted me with the most important thing in his life,” Andris added.

Seriously? He was the most self-absorbed guy I’d ever met. “This is not about you, Andris. Your girlfriend is about to kill my friends and for what?”

“For thinking you can take him from me,” Maliina snarled, and the next thing I knew I was airborne. Arms flailing, I tried to find something to grab onto. I found nothing but air. My head slammed against the wall. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and spears of white pain shot across my skull.

Disoriented, I struggled to keep my eyes open and move away from her. She landed on my chest with so much force I nearly blacked out. Air whooshed from my lungs like they were popped balloons. Pain radiated across my chest. I tried to breathe but couldn’t. It hurt too much.

Through a haze of pain, I saw Andris and Ingrid struggling. Then Maliina’s rage-twisted face blocked them from my line of vision. Her fingers, spread like claws, moved toward my face. I tried to raise my arms to block her, but she’d trapped them with her thighs.

She was about to finish me. I couldn’t even fight back because every movement sent sharp pain across my chest and lungs. One second I was struggling to stay alive, the next someone yanked her from me and sent her flying.

14.
 
MEMORIES

Why wasn’t I self-healing? My head pounded, and my lungs hurt, each breath sending needles of white-hot pain through me. Arms cradled me close, and gentle fingers pushed hair away from my face. I recognized Torin’s familiar scent, his voice. He was talking, but a ringing in my ears made it impossible to hear him properly. I only caught the tail end of his sentence.

“…be okay,” Torin vowed.

“No, she won’t. Heal her… start the transformation… together forever and...” Andris’ voice ebbed, but I didn’t mistake his words. Forever with Torin sounded great.

“No,” Torin snapped.

“Why deny yourself…” I didn’t hear the rest of Andris’ words. The ringing in my ears grew louder and louder. Then suddenly it stopped.

“It doesn’t matter what I need,” Torin ground out, his voice clear. “It’s about what
she
wants. The last time I healed her, she hated it. I won’t do that to her again.”

“You’re a fool. If you can’t heal her, then let her die,” Andris said. “At least then you can—”

“Damn it, Andris,” Torin swore. “Don’t you get it? I gave her my word. I won’t let her become like us.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn’t care as long as we were together, but Andris interrupted. “This is no time to develop a conscience,” he said.

“Go. Find Maliina and stay with her. I’ll deal with her later.”

“Heal me, Torin,” I whispered, my words slurred, my breathing shallow. A weird pressure started on my temple, but my eyes sought his.

He stroked my temple and shook his head. “No, Freckles. You can’t make a decision like that now. We’ll talk later.”

“It hurts. Make the pain go away,” I begged.

“I can’t,” he whispered achingly, before pressing a kiss on my forehead. “Don’t try to move. Help’s on its way.”

“Why can’t I self-heal?”

“Your injuries are too extensive.” His voice dropped to an anguished whisper. “You need new healing runes.”

“Do it. Rune me. Please.”

“Don’t ask me to do this. I can’t sentence you to a life like mine unless you know everything, yet I can’t tell you much because I’m bound by an oath.”

“I don’t care what you are. I trust you. Please…” Pain speared across my skull, and my vision blurred. There was pounding all around me like running footsteps. It grew louder and louder, making the pressure in my head worse. “My head. Make it stop.”

“What happened?” Eirik demanded, his voice echoing eerily.

“She was climbing the tree and fell,” Torin said.

“Did you call 9-1-1?” Eirik dropped beside me.

“What do you think?” Torin snapped.

“That you might have healed her again,” Eirik snarled.

How did Eirik know about Torin? I struggled to keep my eyes open. “How…?”

“Don’t talk,” Eirik said softly. “I’m here now.”

“Is she okay?” Cora knelt near my feet. “Where does it hurt?”

“My chest.” My eyes sought Torin’s, hoping he’d take the pain away. He shook his head. My vision grew hazy again. I blinked to clear it, my eyes clinging to his. There was so much pain and despair in his eyes. Part of me was angry with him for refusing to help me while the other just wanted him to hold me. Then there was Eirik. He knew about Torin healing me and never said anything. The shrill sound of an ambulance pierced the air, adding to the ringing in my ears.

“Why does she keep blinking?” Eirik asked.

Torin answered, but I didn’t hear his words. Darkness pulled me under again.

***

When I came around, someone was lifting my eyelids and flashing light on and off into my eyes. I tried to protest, but I couldn’t speak. I tried to sit up, but something held me down. I was trapped. Voices filtered through my foggy head, and once again, I strained to hear.

“CT scan… hematoma… broken ribs…”

A sob followed. Mom. I wanted to reassure her, but I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Voices came and went—Mom, Torin, Eirik, Cora. They urged me to wake up, told me they loved me. Then there were the three women. I wasn’t sure who they were or what they wanted, but they hovered in the background, silent, watching, waiting. It was impossible to see their features. They kept changing, hazy one minute, transparent the next. At times they looked ancient, other times young like regular teens. Something about them was familiar, but I couldn’t tell what.

It was dark when I woke up again. My neck was stiff, and my chest and head throbbed. At least the pain was dull. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t and panicked. A beeping sound went off.

“Shh, it’s okay,” a familiar voice said in the void. Torin.

I managed to open my eyes, turned my head to find him, and winced when a spasm of pain radiated across my chest. A bright light drew my attention to the corner of the room. The light came from the glowing runes on Torin’s face and body. He got up, the light from his body bathing Mom, who was asleep on a chair by my bed. No, not my bed. A hospital bed. I tried to remember how I got to the hospital, but I couldn’t recall anything that happened after Maliina hit me. Now beeping machines monitored my vitals, and my body felt like I’d been run over by a truck.

A nurse entered the room and fussed over me and the machines. She checked my vitals, flashing light into my eyes, asking if I knew my name and my pain level. She adjusted the IV and fed me ice cubes from a cup. My throat was dry and painful, and the ice felt nice, but I wanted her gone so I could be alone with Torin.

“Thank you,” I managed to say.

As soon as she left the room, my eyes found Torin again. The glow from the runes made his blue eyes hypnotic. He moved closer, scooped up an ice cube from the cup, and fed it to me.

“Why am I here?” I whispered hoarsely.

He frowned. “Maliina attacked you, but I pulled her off before she seriously hurt you.” He fed me another ice cube. “I shouldn’t have trusted Andris to watch over you. He’s completely useless.”

Memories of the events at the party trickled in. “No, he took care of me, Torin. He carried me from your place, but Maliina appeared out of nowhere and attacked.” I glanced around the room. There were flowers and ‘Get Well Soon’ balloons. “How long have I been here?”

“About thirty hours.”

“The gas leak at your place, was anyone hurt?”