Sweet Ruin

FIFTY-ONE

I’m in freaking Australia, wearing a ball gown!

Rune had picked up a pack of supplies in Tortua, then traced her here: to the base of Ayers Rock in the middle of the outback.

He stood behind her, his hands covering her shoulders, his rings warming against her skin. “What do you think? Do you find it quaint?”

She elbowed him. “This place is unreal!” The rock was the same color as a terra-cotta pot. Yet as the sun set, purple tinged it.

The shade of Rune’s eyes when he was relaxed.

Over her shoulder, she asked, “You’ve been here before?” The full moon they’d enjoyed in Titania was just rising here.

“On occasion. The portal to the Quondam realm is nearby. Among mortals, this monolith is central to Aboriginal lore. It’s known as the ancestors’ rock. The Aborigines revere their ancestors.” He traced her to the plateau.

“Oh my God!” She spun in place. “I never thought I’d see stuff like this. For two weeks it’s been sick.” From this height, she surveyed the alien landscape. They could have been on Mars.

She craned her head up. Had she ever seen so many stars? They glimmered like beacons.

“You approve?”

She lowered her gaze to take in just as riveting a sight: Rune grinning. He knew he’d blown her mind.

From his pack, he drew a thick blanket and spread it on the ground. He waved her to sit, then tossed her a jeweled flask.

“What’s in this?”

“Blood mead. You’ll like it.”

She settled herself happily, her satin rustling. “Is it black?” Heat emanated from the surface of the rock, making her even more comfortable.

His grin deepened. “It’s baneblood, as my vampire craves.”

“Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“I’m told stargazing is thirsty work.” He dropped down beside her with his own flask of demon brew.

She took a sip of the mead, and her eyes went wide. “It’s really good. Got a kick to it.”

“When blood bites back, huh?”

“No wonder your friend Blace loves this stuff.” So stars, and a blanket, and booze? Definite seduction vibe.

Rune knew this final step would mean they were exclusive; she couldn’t have made her feelings clearer. And still, he’d brought her to this dream place with sex in mind.

He was ready. In her excitement, she briefly dematerialized.

And once his seal was broken, he could never doubt their fated connection again. Which is why you’re about to give in, Jo.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” He reached forward to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “Your ensemble was a huge fuck-you to fey snobbery. Jet satin trumps pale gauze any day.”

“This old thing?” she teased. Compliments as well? I’m a sure thing, sport. “Speaking of fey snobbery—who was the blond guy? He kind of looked like you.” He’d referred to her as Rune’s mate, and Rune hadn’t denied it!

“King Saetthan, my half brother.”

“Why is he so bent on killing you?”

“Probably because I’m so bent on killing him. He’s now the head of the royal line I plan to wipe out. If you’re with me, situations like tonight will keep happening. The bounty on me is steep. You’d be hunted just for associating with me.”

Rune was giving her a chance to cry off—before they went eternal. “I’ll already be hunted just for what I am, right? Makes for another level of excitement.” She sipped her flask. “What about that invitation? How will we get inside Val Hall?”

“If my arrow can destroy a sword made of Titanian metal, why not wraiths?”

“That was seriously badass.” She play-punched his shoulder. “Big bada boom.”

“Indeed. At Val Hall, we’ll use my most powerful arrow. If that doesn’t work, you could try your telekinesis.”

“Maybe I can nudge their hula hoop of evil off its axis. Before they get back into position, we’ll trace for the door. You’ll take care of Nïx, and I’ll snag Thad.” She sounded optimistic, but she had to wonder: why would Nïx have alerted Jo to her telekinetic potential?

Either Nïx was a shitty psychic and a really stupid Valkyrie—or she was playing with them yet again.

“If all else fails, you can try to ghost us inside,” Rune said. “We have options.”

“Nïx seemed so cocky in that invitation.”

“Perhaps she’s slipping. She is mad after all.”

“Still, do you want to tell me about your plan B?” Maybe he’d already requested his allies’ help, and they were on the way to gather like the Super Friends. Hmm. What was the villainous equivalent of the Hall of Justice?

Rune brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “It probably won’t come to that. For now, let’s celebrate tonight’s victory and drink to our upcoming battle.”

Reassured, she raised her flask. “Good warring.” She bit her tongue as soon as the words left her lips. In her dreams, she’d heard Rune say that to his allies, even to foes he respected.

All relaxation left him, and he stood. “How long?”

She scrambled to her feet. “Since the night I met you.”

“What have you seen?”

“In the beginning I saw Magh summoning you and your first kill. You were really young.”

Muscles gone tense, he grated, “I stole, I killed, and I fucked for that bitch. I did anything she wanted of me, and I still couldn’t save my mother.” He narrowed his eyes. “Have you seen what happened after Magh sold me? I wasn’t merely a slave, as I told you.” He loomed over Jo, a challenge in his tone. “She peddled me to a brothel, Josephine.”

Did he think this admission would send her packing?

“ ‘Please or perish,’ Magh told me. Each morning, a guard would raise his sword over my neck to take my head if I’d failed to please a single patron over the night.” Rune let that sink in. “No commentary? No blunt remarks?”

She needed to touch him, but didn’t want him to think she pitied him. “I wish that hadn’t happened to you, but I’m glad you did what it took to survive. To get vengeance. I saw that too, Rune. I only wish Magh was alive so I could hunt her and drag her into the earth over and over again.”

He drew on his flask. “Why didn’t you tell me about the dreams?”

“At first because I was worried you’d try to kill me again. Then I didn’t want anything to get in the way of . . . us.”

“What else did you see?” As if his head was suddenly splitting, he pinched his temples.

“Your first meeting with Orion. And I saw a battle—it seemed from long ago—where you were all fighting together.”

“Have you seen me sleeping with others?”

She shook her head, admitting, “But I saw you tortured in that brothel.”

His gaze slid away. “Once I was freed, I chose to be there.”

She eased closer to him. “You couldn’t imagine life getting better, because for so long it hadn’t. Orion has my loyalty just for showing you a new future.”

“But the past can never be undone, and mine is sordid. I’m tainted in more ways than one.” He drank deeply. “I bet you’ve never been with a whore before.”

Unable to stop herself, she laid one hand on his strong face. “That’s not you anymore.” I’m falling for you. I want to be with you always. “You’re a different male.”

“Different.” He gave a humorless laugh. “How many times can a male be different in one lifetime, Josephine? I’d like to get to a place where I never have to change again.” He peered at her, as if saying more than just the surface words.

She’d realized he was ready for her; now he’d just confirmed it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I kept waiting for the right time.”

He exhaled. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Just the opposite; you saw my past and didn’t leave. And you didn’t pity me.” As if just registering these facts, he grasped her nape. “Gods, that means a lot to me.”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily, Rune Darklight. And how could I ever pity a male like you, my archer?” She could tell he liked that.

“I’m relieved you know. I would’ve confessed all this to you eventually.”

Before they made love? Before they went forward? “I’ll tell you when it happens again.”

He nodded, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “This is supposed to be a celebration.” He pulled her down on the blanket with him. “Gaze, woman.”

Little by little, his tension dwindled, and their usual companionable ease settled over them. In silence, they watched as full night fell and the moon climbed higher—though she could have sworn Rune was looking at her more often than the sky.

All the times in the past when she’d turned her questioning gaze to the stars, she’d been alone.

No longer.

He drew her closer. The sky above was vast and unknowable, rounded over them like a shield. She sighed, “The world is so big. . . .”